Flying Leathernecks (1951) - Ray's gung ho, Technicolor aviation spectacle

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The thrill of aviation, male rivalry - and a beautiful dame - is all promised on this characteristically red-white-and-blue poster for Nicholas Ray' Flying Leathernecks

Major Kirby takes command of a squadron of Marine fliers before the pivotal WWII battle of Guadalcanal is about to take place.

Flying Leathernecks is a very pro-American war romance-drama, which is perhaps most memorable for the many authentic WWII color clips that are edited into the beautifully Technicolored story. This gives the film an aesthetically messy quality, and some of its effects are dated by today's standards.
The plot is fairly standard for its time: A lax squadron gets a new major, - in this case John Wayne (Island in the Sky (1953)) is the just hammer of a man, - and the Tune Is Changed. In Flying Leathernecks, Robert Ryan (Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)) is the cowardly opponent. At no point are we worried, however, that good will not prevail.
Flying Leathernecks provides entertainment, including some funny supporting characters, SPOILER and its ending take us back to a trite American Dream-type of 1950s fantasy family, which is certainly fascinating.
It is written by James Edward Grant (Special Delivery (1976)), with story by Kenneth Gamet (Santa Fe (1951)), inspired by real-life battle of Guadalcanal hero, Major John L. Smith, and directed by great Wisconsinite filmmaker Nicholas Ray (55 Days at Peking (1963)). A leatherneck is a nickname for a Marine.

Related posts:

Nicholas Ray: Top 10: The best big flop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
55 Days at Peking (1963) or, Peking anno 1900

Watch a 1-minute clip from the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 2.6 mil. $ (North America rentals only)
= Unknown
[Flying Leathernecks was released 28 August (USA) and runs 102 minutes. Ray hired Ryan, because he thought of him as the only actor who could "kick Wayne's ass". Aviator and film producer Howard Hughes financed the film and decided to use color. Shooting took place from November 1950 - February 1951 in California. A near-catastrophe took place on the set in relation to a dynamite explosion. Without budget and foreign box office numbers known, it is impossible to say, if the film was a theatrical hit or miss. Wayne returned in The Quiet Man (1952), Ryan in The Racket (1951). Ray returned with uncredited work on The Racket and as credited director of On Dangerous Ground (1951). 4,037 users at Rotten Tomatoes have given Flying Leathernecks a 3.4/5 average rating.]

What do you think of Flying Leathernecks?

Bride of the Gorilla (1951) or, Jungle Obsessions!

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Sensationalist poster for a rather dull film, Curt Siodmak's Bride of the Gorilla

QUICK REVIEW:

One night deep in the jungle, an unpopular man of wealth dies under mysterious circumstances. His wife remarries quickly; - unfortunately with a man, who soon will only stay in the jungle, persuaded by black magic and plant-toxins that he is a gorilla!
Despite this fascinating obsession, Bride is a luckless acquaintance. Cover images are inter-cut with unconvincing studio jungle-trash and squarely dumb lines such as the police commissioner's (played by Lon Chaney, Jr.): "I know my jungle!"
Raymond Burr (Perry Mason (1957-66)), however, does a nice job in the gorilla lead.
The film is one of the more suggestive creature features, as you never really see anything much in that department, which will disappoint many audiences, and the film has also mostly been revived for ridicule since its creation.
A shame, since it has some nice talent involved, besides Chaney, Jr. and Burr, the film is directed by German Curt Siodmak, who wasn't much of a director, but who wrote great scripts for many films, most notably The Wolf Man (1941).

Raymond Burr and Barbara Peyton in Curt Siodmak's Bride of the Gorilla

Watch this trailer, with director Joe Dante (Gremlins (1984)) talking interesting, lurid trivia about Bride

Budget: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown

What do you think of Bride of the Gorilla?

The African Queen (1951) - Classic romance bravura de Huston/Bogart/Hepburn

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A colorful, sensationalistic and somewhat hyperbolic poster for John Huston's The African Queen, which highlights its adventure romance elements

Perhaps one of the most wonderful films ever made, The African Queen sees Humphrey Bogart (King of the Underworld (1939)) in his only Oscar-winning role as a squirrel-like, drunkard captain on the titular steamer,  The African Queen, and Katharine Hepburn (Mary of Scotland (1936)) as a missionary, who is on a Christian's journey for the Queen through the impossible, German-infiltrated Africa of 1914.

Animals, suspense, blood, sweat, tears and magnetic on-screen chemistry between the star leads that's a sheer joy to the senses, - The African Queen is a truly marvelous piece of cinema with all of that and more. It is an adaptation of C.S. Forester's (The Good Shepherd (1955)) same-titled 1935 novel by James Agee (The Night of the Hunter (1955)), John Collier (I Am a Camera (1955)) and Peter Viertel (We Were Strangers (1949)).
It is one of the not few magnificent films by Missourian master co-writer/director John Huston (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)), a romantic war-adventure classic that you do not want to miss!

Related posts:

John Huston: Chinatown (1974) - Roman Polanski's masterpiece (actor)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) or, The Final Ape! (actor)
Casino Royale (1967) - The packed spy spoof frontrunner, a film very much of its time (co-director)
The Asphalt Jungle (1950) - The twentyfour carat noir caper thriller
Top 10: The best adventure movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
 

Watch a short trailer for the film here

Cost: 1 mil. $

Box office: 10.7 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 10.7 times its cost)

[The African Queen premiered 26 December (Los Angeles, California) and runs 105 minutes. The script was changed to fit with the censorship of the day, and also to change Bogart's character to a Canadian, since he could not perform the desired Cockney accent. Shooting took place in Congo, Uganda, England and Los Angeles, California from May - August 1951. Shooting a Technicolor film with big stars on location in difficult terrain was rare at the time, and the shoot was beleaguered by sickness and dangers. Bogart and Huston made it through without incident and ascribed their fortune to their not drinking the local water but sticking to the whiskey brought along from the West. The film grossed superior 4 mil. $ in North America (37.4 % of the total gross) and 256k £ in the UK, where it was the 10th highest-grossing picture of 1952. It has also been re-released numerous times in many countries. It was nominated for 4 Oscars: Bogart won Best Actor, his only Oscar win ever. Best Actress (Hepburn) was lost to Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire; Director was lost to George Stevens for A Place in the Sun and Best Writing, Screenplay was lost to Michael Wilson and Harry Brown, also for A Place in the Sun. The film was also nominated for 3 BAFTAs. The titular boat is now renovated and on display in Key Largo, Florida. Bogart returned in Deadline - U.S.A. (1952), Hepburn in Pat and Mike (1952). Huston returned with Moulin Rouge (1952). The African Queen is certified fresh at 100 % with a 8.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The African Queen?