Cortechba Overrated

Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

DKosty123 With John Wayne, John Ford, Dan Dailey, and Maureen O'Hara involved in a true life story of a friend, you expect a perfect film here. What happens though is an interesting film, but not a great one. John Wayne plays a person who is looked upon as a hero, and give the film credit, it shows that he had many flaws. This film, which followed the classic The Searchers, just does not get to that level.There is more honesty in this one than you'd expect. Wayne actually for one of the few times in his career, works without his toupee. While the story of Wead is inspirational, he comes back from a major fall and neck injury, his life is a mix which is accurately depicted here.Wead appears to love his wife and children, but alt of most always throws them aside for his love of aviation, the Navy, and his own writing and partying. His priorities are way out of whack, yet he somehow keeps going and then recovers in a miracle from near paralysis. Maureen O'Hara only gets a few good scenes in this one as his wife.The interesting thing to Wead is that even after this miracle, he still does not appear to have learned any lesson about change. His priorities stay out of whack and he never seems to get a personal life with goals that make sense.Wayne is not comfortable playing Wead, and Ford though accurate with the main character, appears not to get a lot of the fine detail work of events behind the Biopic accurate. After The Searchers, this is truly a let down.Still, it is a movie which needed to be made because I have to admit everyone involved resisted the urge to make Wead a God to be worshiped. He obviously wasn't and you suspect after viewing it that his personal live might have gotten some white washing still. In that way, this film has a quality a lot of biopics being made in the 1950's do not. Even when he recovers and moves his left toe, they don't make it a message from God.Dan Dailey getting to do a song is a rare bonus here. Wayne does an excellent job with showing the physical problems with Wead, even after his left toe recovers. This does stick out as a unique enough effort that it is worth a look. We only wish it were more.

thinker1691 John Ford took the inspiration for this film from the actual life story of Frank 'spig' Wead, (John Wayne) who was a naval aviator and Hollywood writer. The film follows him through his early days after Annapolis and his life time competition with the U.S. Army. Despite it being a comical look at the silly escapades with his life-time friends in the army and navy, it also illuminates the guilt laden sorrow between his wife (Maureen O'Hara) and the unfortunate tragedy like the loss of his first son which the couple had to endure. Among them was the accidental fall he took at home which left him paralyzed. Through it, he was blessed with friends like 'Jughead' Carson who nursed him back through his mishap and onto the deck of a Naval ship. John Dale Price (Ken Curtis) and Herbert Allen Hazard (Kenneth Tobey) life times friends who saw their friend into the sunset of his life. All in all, this is a fun film for all and a definite inspiration to all who think of losing hope. A Great film for Wayne and a movie which became a Classic for his fans. Easily recommended to all. ****

ozthegreatat42330 The iconic director and his usual cast of players take on Naval Aviation in this look at a man who helped to advance navy aviation as John Wayne again looms on the screen bigger than life in the role of Frank "Spig" Wead, a pioneer of the navy air corps. Based on the autobiography of Wead the usual themes of adventure, patriotism and romance abound with stellar supporting roles with veteran actors like Ken Curtis, Dan Daily, and Ward Bond as a thinly veiled portrait of director Ford himself. Set against the background of World War II the film is about courage and commitment in a big way, and there really is not another actor who could have brought it to the screen with the believability that the "Duke" manages so easily. One of his finer roles.

bkoganbing John Ford remarked that Wings of Eagles was the last really good film he directed and though I disagree with that, Wings of Eagles does rank as one of his and John Wayne's best films.It's a loving tribute to a great American hero and friend of theirs, Frank W. "Spig" Wead. Wead was an early Navy flier who sustained a broken back during a fall down a flight of stairs in his home. Washed out of the Navy, Wead turned to writing and became a noted screenwriter on mostly military subjects. For John Ford he did the screenplays for his films Airmail and They Were Expendable.After Pearl Harbor Wead applied for and got active duty though he was desk bound at first. And eventually he did get to the Pacific Theater and served on one of the carriers he fought so valiantly for in and out of uniform.Wayne gives one of his best screen performances and he's equally matched by Maureen O'Hara as his wife and Dan Dailey as his good friend who sees him through the paralysis and eventual recovery.There's no happy ending here for the Duke and Maureen, unlike Rio Grande and The Quiet Man. Spig is a flawed human being, as dedicated to partying and carousing as he is to the Navy and Naval Aviation. The carousing gives John Ford an opportunity to do some of the rough house comedy his films are known for. As for Maureen who has to deal with the death of one child and the raising of two daughters, it does become too much for her. O'Hara is not given enough credit for her performance in Wings of Eagles. She calls him, "Star Spangled Spig" but from a term of derision it becomes one of admiration.Wings of Eagles proved to be the last film for character actor Henry O'Neill who plays one of Wead's Navy doctors. And it is the last film that Ward Bond did for John Ford and the last film the trio of Ford, Wayne and Bond worked together on. They did an episode on Bond's Wagon Train series which he was starting right after the shooting of Wings of Eagles. The episode aired right after Bond died in 1960.And wouldn't you know it. Bond's role was as director John Dodge which in fact was John Ford. Rather unique in the annals of Hollywood that a noted director had a broad characterization of himself in his own film. Was this how John Ford saw himself?As long as America produces men and women like Spig Wead this country will endure. And hopefully films about them will be made to record their deeds and courage.