20 reviews
I watched much of the production taking place at Kelly Field in 1941
I was to be a guard at the phony gate as the stars passed through but I was not in the picture when released. I was a private in the U.S. Army Air Corps at Kelly Field. I am sorely disappointed that some movie studio has the picture locked up so no one can now obtain a copy except at an exorbitant price on eBay. This picture seemed to be the "launch pad" for many in the cast. It was fun to see and hear stars such as Brian Donlevy and Ray Milland complaining about the hot weather at San Antonio. During the filming a plane crashed on the runway and the pilot burned in it. It seemed so very ironic that it happened in front of the cameras in reality while so much boring stuff was staged. I saw the movie in New Your on my way to Europe in WWII. Forrest Lee Green
- tgreens554
- Feb 25, 2005
- Permalink
" Veronica Lake's Metoric Rise To Stardom "
- PamelaShort
- Nov 28, 2013
- Permalink
Peekabo Goes Aloft
I Wanted Wings has its place in Hollywood history because of winning the Best Special Effects Oscar for 1941. It's story about three men who wanted to become pilots in the Army Air Corps and the women who loved them is a bit dated.
Ray Milland, William Holden, and Wayne Morris are three very different types looking to be pilots. Milland is a well known playboy from the Long Island horsey set, Morris a good natured football jock, and Holden a poor garage mechanic who wants to better himself. It all comes real easy for Milland while the other two have to sweat out under the tutelage of Flight Instructor Brian Donlevy who they keep running into no matter where they go in the Army Air Corps.
The women in their lives are Constance Moore photo journalist doing a cover story for a magazine like Life or Look and sultry nightclub singer Veronica Lake. Holden and she have a past, but she's got her eyes set on Milland's millions.
I Wanted Wings is of course at its best in the air. Director Mitchell Leisen is invading territory that normally belonged to William Wellman, still Leisen does a nice job with material he normally wouldn't be assigned to. I'm guessing Paramount wanted Wellman for director, but he was probably tied up someplace else.
These guys are all a wee bit too noble though, especially Holden who was getting type cast in what he called his 'Smiling Jim' roles. As for Milland, I'm not sure why everyone keeps going out of their way to pull his chestnuts out of the fire.
Veronica Lake got her first real big break it's with here that Leisen's talents shine. This was where the famous peekaboo hairdo with the accompanying come hither glance was invented.
I agree with other reviewers that the film was too long by about 25 minutes. Still I Wanted Wings should please the aviation fans out there.
Ray Milland, William Holden, and Wayne Morris are three very different types looking to be pilots. Milland is a well known playboy from the Long Island horsey set, Morris a good natured football jock, and Holden a poor garage mechanic who wants to better himself. It all comes real easy for Milland while the other two have to sweat out under the tutelage of Flight Instructor Brian Donlevy who they keep running into no matter where they go in the Army Air Corps.
The women in their lives are Constance Moore photo journalist doing a cover story for a magazine like Life or Look and sultry nightclub singer Veronica Lake. Holden and she have a past, but she's got her eyes set on Milland's millions.
I Wanted Wings is of course at its best in the air. Director Mitchell Leisen is invading territory that normally belonged to William Wellman, still Leisen does a nice job with material he normally wouldn't be assigned to. I'm guessing Paramount wanted Wellman for director, but he was probably tied up someplace else.
These guys are all a wee bit too noble though, especially Holden who was getting type cast in what he called his 'Smiling Jim' roles. As for Milland, I'm not sure why everyone keeps going out of their way to pull his chestnuts out of the fire.
Veronica Lake got her first real big break it's with here that Leisen's talents shine. This was where the famous peekaboo hairdo with the accompanying come hither glance was invented.
I agree with other reviewers that the film was too long by about 25 minutes. Still I Wanted Wings should please the aviation fans out there.
- bkoganbing
- Apr 25, 2008
- Permalink
Three cadets...and the screwy woman who vows to destroy one of them.
The story begins at a court martial. Jeff (Ray Milland) is in serious trouble and Al (William Holden) appears to speak up for him. Al's story is told in a flashback that lasts the duration of the film. There were three cadets in flight school who are friends. Jeff is a rich but nice guy, Al is a poor gas station attendant and Tom is a happy goofball. The film follows them through flight school, showing their ups and downs. In addition, there is a side story about Al and his short relationship with a real screw-ball, Sally (Veronica Lake). She is, to put it bluntly, unhinged and when he drops her, she vows to destroy him! And, during the rest of the picture she appears periodically to cause chaos (probably what psychotherapists would label a 'Borderline personality').
Aside from making all three cadets too impulsive and stupid at times, this is a rather enjoyable film. I particularly enjoy airplane flicks. Like many of Hollywood's films from 1940-41, it seems as if the movie folks knew US involvement in WWII would begin soon and so they began making movies glorifying the military and, in particular, making military training look wonderful (such as in "Caught in the Draft", "High Flyers" and "Buck Privates").
Aside from making all three cadets too impulsive and stupid at times, this is a rather enjoyable film. I particularly enjoy airplane flicks. Like many of Hollywood's films from 1940-41, it seems as if the movie folks knew US involvement in WWII would begin soon and so they began making movies glorifying the military and, in particular, making military training look wonderful (such as in "Caught in the Draft", "High Flyers" and "Buck Privates").
- planktonrules
- Jun 10, 2017
- Permalink
Better Than Average Flyer Flick
I Wanted Wings has a lot of heavyweights in the cast; William Holden, Veronica Lake, Ray Milland, and Brian Donlevy. The production values are first-rate and it is right up there with Air Force, one of the best Air Pilot movies of all time. Even Wayne Morris was good, and he wasn't even playing a detective.
There was only one part of the film that I found unbelievable. How anyone would dump Veronica Lake for Constance Bennett is well beyond my comprehension. Veronica Lake was SMOKIN HOT!. I would landed one of those planes in Yankee Stadium to get a date with her. Other than that, the training of what would shortly become WW 2 pilots was very incisive. The script was believable, and the cinematography first-rate. It reminded me a bit of An Officer and a Gentleman. Recommended
There was only one part of the film that I found unbelievable. How anyone would dump Veronica Lake for Constance Bennett is well beyond my comprehension. Veronica Lake was SMOKIN HOT!. I would landed one of those planes in Yankee Stadium to get a date with her. Other than that, the training of what would shortly become WW 2 pilots was very incisive. The script was believable, and the cinematography first-rate. It reminded me a bit of An Officer and a Gentleman. Recommended
- arthur_tafero
- Jul 30, 2018
- Permalink
Just passable air force flick bogged down by script
Mitchell Leisen was drafted in to do this one after shooting had started when it wasn't coming together under the original director. He did a good job of the flying shots but the clichéd, inconsistent script stops this from being any more than passable.
The movie is also long, unusual for Leisen as he liked fast paced movies, and I guess some of this is due to scenes capturing the feel of the air force at work. However by the time you get back to the court martial scenes at the beginning you have almost forgotten what the trial was about.
I liked Brian Donlevy - thought he was convincing. Bill Holden was just starting out. Ray Milland always reminds me of a second rate Cary Grant, except he managed to do something later in his career that Cary was unable to do - win the Oscar for best actor. There is no development at all for his character in the script. Didn't mind Veronica Lake though she was apparently not a lot of fun to work with in this her first movie.
This movie is also referenced in Leisen's next movie "Hold Back the Dawn" as the movie Leisen is making when the Charles Boyer character comes in to tell his story.
The movie is also long, unusual for Leisen as he liked fast paced movies, and I guess some of this is due to scenes capturing the feel of the air force at work. However by the time you get back to the court martial scenes at the beginning you have almost forgotten what the trial was about.
I liked Brian Donlevy - thought he was convincing. Bill Holden was just starting out. Ray Milland always reminds me of a second rate Cary Grant, except he managed to do something later in his career that Cary was unable to do - win the Oscar for best actor. There is no development at all for his character in the script. Didn't mind Veronica Lake though she was apparently not a lot of fun to work with in this her first movie.
This movie is also referenced in Leisen's next movie "Hold Back the Dawn" as the movie Leisen is making when the Charles Boyer character comes in to tell his story.
This movie is an overlong melodramatic mess, and yet I liked it!
This Army air corps recruitment film from Paramount Pictures and director Mitchell Leisen follows three cadets, former stockbroker Jeff (Ray Milland), insecure mechanic Al (William Holden), and amiable lunkhead Tom (Wayne Morris), as they go through flight training under the tutelage of tough instructor Captain Mercer (Brian Donlevy). The boys also find time for romance with photographer Carolyn (Constance Moore) and gold-digging nightclub singer Sally (Veronica Lake). Also featuring Harry Davenport, Phil Brown, Edward Fielding, Willard Robertson, Hobart Cavanaugh, Charles Drake, Alan Hale Jr., Craig Stevens, and Hedda Hopper.
This movie is an overlong, melodramatic mess, but I liked it anyway. The first half is not unlike many pre-WW2 military boot-camp movies, where guys bond, fight over a girl or two, and slowly reveal why they joined the service, since in those pre-war days, they all had to have some reason, be it scandalous or life re-invention. Just as things were beginning to grow stale, at around the midway point of the movie Veronica Lake shows up as a super-sexy manipulator, and things get interesting again. She looks amazing and her character is irredeemable. According to the trivia I read, this is the film where she started getting a bad work reputation, but knowing that just adds to her performance. Where it all leads is ridiculous, but entertaining, although like so many studio-era films, it's all wrapped up too nice and neat at the end. The movie features some terrific aerial footage and stunt flying, but ironically it would win the Oscar for Best Special Effects, which are arguably the worst aspect of the film.
This movie is an overlong, melodramatic mess, but I liked it anyway. The first half is not unlike many pre-WW2 military boot-camp movies, where guys bond, fight over a girl or two, and slowly reveal why they joined the service, since in those pre-war days, they all had to have some reason, be it scandalous or life re-invention. Just as things were beginning to grow stale, at around the midway point of the movie Veronica Lake shows up as a super-sexy manipulator, and things get interesting again. She looks amazing and her character is irredeemable. According to the trivia I read, this is the film where she started getting a bad work reputation, but knowing that just adds to her performance. Where it all leads is ridiculous, but entertaining, although like so many studio-era films, it's all wrapped up too nice and neat at the end. The movie features some terrific aerial footage and stunt flying, but ironically it would win the Oscar for Best Special Effects, which are arguably the worst aspect of the film.
Influenced my life and career.
I was either 12 or 13 when I saw this movie and it probably had much to do with my becoming a United States Air Force pilot. Shortly after I saw the movie my father and I attended the grand opening of Ellington Field in Houston and I saw a P-38 and fell in love with aviation.
I have seen the movie again in recent years and after twenty-nine years in the Air Force tend to pick the movie apart for the "Hollywood" production which is frequently quite different from the real world. However, it was an outstanding movie for its time and I probably have many fellow aviators that this movie influenced when they were young and impressionable.
I have seen the movie again in recent years and after twenty-nine years in the Air Force tend to pick the movie apart for the "Hollywood" production which is frequently quite different from the real world. However, it was an outstanding movie for its time and I probably have many fellow aviators that this movie influenced when they were young and impressionable.
Roll Up Your Flaps, Will Ya?
- rmax304823
- Aug 1, 2017
- Permalink
Wonderful film about early pilot training
This film is a wonderful depiction of pre-WWII pilot training. Veronica Lake is wonderful as she chases her man. And although it was considered romantic in 1941, today it would be considered stalking. The film was made at Kelly and Randolph Fields in San Antonio, Texas. Today you can visit the places where the film was made and see the exact same buildings and features as are in the film. Even some of the artwork seen in the film still hangs in the same place at Randolph Field today. Many of the military actors in the film were actual military members at the time. Although a little long, it gives you a fascinating glimpse into the world of prewar pilot training. The film is a must see or own for any true military history buff.
- huber76311
- Jan 9, 2007
- Permalink
Cameras are cameras
When Constance Bennet's character is sitting on the tail of the bomber taking pictures, she's using a range finder camera. When she jumps down, she's now holding a TLR (twin lens reflex).
- norecoil-82480
- Aug 13, 2022
- Permalink
What wings?
As a former Air Force pilot, I noticed that none of the pilots wore their wings while in their workaday blouses (as opposed to flight suits or more formal jacket and tie uniforms). That must have been standard just before WW II. The film is hardly a gung-ho recruitment poster. It shows some unconvincing cowardice (from Ray Milland) and some slightly more convincing insecurity (from Wm. Holden). It does have some good shots of training planes doing aerobatics -- and those must have been responsible for the Academy Award for special effects. Holden's emergency landing in a small field is also well done. The film hints at the kinds of things pilots have to learn, but doesn't educate us to the process. The early version of the B-17 did not have a tail-gun, so that design feature permits Veronica Lake to stowaway late in the film. By the way, the base security at March Field must have been really lax! Lake is wonderful as a sinuous singer (voice dubbed) in a glimmering gown. That she turns out to be Holden's ex-ember strains credulity. But this sub-plot is strong, simply because of Lake and Holden, who is given the only three-dimensional character in the film and who deals with his character with restraint. The love plot between Milland and Moore is bland, except for the brief instant when she grants him permission to kiss her. While the film was made in 1941, the pilot class that Holden, Milland, and Wayne Morris (who later became a Navy ace) is 38a -- early 1938. The film, then, is supposed to depict a time-span of a little more than two years, though we are given few signals about when it happens -- other than the elegant late 30s autos -- or how much time the action consumes.
An officer and a gentleman
- dbdumonteil
- Sep 22, 2010
- Permalink
Doesn't completely fly
The cast is a great one, Ray Milland, William Holden, Veronica Lake etc were rarely less than worth watching and all gave great performances when they hit their stride and found what they excelled most at. Mitchell Lesisen was not a consistent director but was a competent one, evident with the likes of 'Midnight', with a fair share still of worthwhile films. The idea for the film sounded great and do appreciate, if not quite love, this kind of film and have done so for a while.
'I Wanted Wings' is not one of the best representations of any of them though. It is definitely worth a look, is mildly recommended and there is a good deal to admire about it. To me though 'I Wanted Wings' was an uneven film and only slightly above mixed bag level, not the easiest of films to rate and review when contemplating on what my thoughts were after watching. Why people here find appeal in it is definitely understandable, but it is also understandable as to why it won't click with others.
Will start with 'I Wanted Wings' good things. It is beautifully shot and the scenes in the air still look impressive today. The music is both sumptuous and moody. Leisen did do better direction elsewhere, some of his most inspired direction being in 1950's 'No Man of Her Own', but once the film gets going he frames things beautifully and stylishly, has enough momentum and the interaction between the actors is great, especially in the friendship bonding where they actually look like friends.
Did find the script uneven, but enough of it is thoughtful and engaging and the story engages enough too, especially when up in the air which have tension and emotional impact. Holden does a noble job as the film's most interesting character and Lake does a lot with a thankless and not always plausible one that she portrays intensely and movingly. Her hysteria on the plane felt very real, and may well have been as apparently she was the main source of the difficult shoot. Brian Donlevy is well cast in a role well suited to him and brings a good deal of authority.
Milland doesn't look as comfortable, the character is not a particularly meaty one and he came over as a little bland. Some of the writing in the romantic moments was a bit soapy, especially in the fairly underdeveloped Milland and Constance Moore (who could have brought more personality to her plot device role) subplot, and sometimes talky in the flashback.
Also felt that 'I Wanted Wings' is brought down by some overlong padding (such as the Milland and Moore subplot) and also just didn't find the trial stuff particularly interesting and easily forgettable. If this was trimmed length-wise, the film would have tighter and felt less bloated or suffered as much from the longer than needed length. The decision of who to stay with/dump between Lake and Moore also didn't ring particularly true.
On the whole, worthwhile but uneven. 6/10
'I Wanted Wings' is not one of the best representations of any of them though. It is definitely worth a look, is mildly recommended and there is a good deal to admire about it. To me though 'I Wanted Wings' was an uneven film and only slightly above mixed bag level, not the easiest of films to rate and review when contemplating on what my thoughts were after watching. Why people here find appeal in it is definitely understandable, but it is also understandable as to why it won't click with others.
Will start with 'I Wanted Wings' good things. It is beautifully shot and the scenes in the air still look impressive today. The music is both sumptuous and moody. Leisen did do better direction elsewhere, some of his most inspired direction being in 1950's 'No Man of Her Own', but once the film gets going he frames things beautifully and stylishly, has enough momentum and the interaction between the actors is great, especially in the friendship bonding where they actually look like friends.
Did find the script uneven, but enough of it is thoughtful and engaging and the story engages enough too, especially when up in the air which have tension and emotional impact. Holden does a noble job as the film's most interesting character and Lake does a lot with a thankless and not always plausible one that she portrays intensely and movingly. Her hysteria on the plane felt very real, and may well have been as apparently she was the main source of the difficult shoot. Brian Donlevy is well cast in a role well suited to him and brings a good deal of authority.
Milland doesn't look as comfortable, the character is not a particularly meaty one and he came over as a little bland. Some of the writing in the romantic moments was a bit soapy, especially in the fairly underdeveloped Milland and Constance Moore (who could have brought more personality to her plot device role) subplot, and sometimes talky in the flashback.
Also felt that 'I Wanted Wings' is brought down by some overlong padding (such as the Milland and Moore subplot) and also just didn't find the trial stuff particularly interesting and easily forgettable. If this was trimmed length-wise, the film would have tighter and felt less bloated or suffered as much from the longer than needed length. The decision of who to stay with/dump between Lake and Moore also didn't ring particularly true.
On the whole, worthwhile but uneven. 6/10
- TheLittleSongbird
- May 19, 2020
- Permalink
Underwhelming.
The education of air force pilots with ladies and ordeals
There are some remarkable performances here, particularly by Veronica Lake, who sings beautifully and then causes the downfall of two promising pilots and almost succeeds in wrecking the entire film. William Holden is the other very remarkable performance as a very young man full of insecurity - this is a very rare character for William Holden in the very beginning of his career, making a pilot who commits mistakes and gets out of it alive, even if he stops flying for a while in a painful time out forced on him by circumastances. Ray Milland as the rich pilot aspirant with lots of money to pay for himself also commits horrible blunders and even tries a break as a deserter together with Veronica Lake but is saved by William Holden. They are a perfect pair as wannabe heroes who in a manner of speaking succeed by failing. Brian Donleavy as the senior officer is quite correct and does nothing wrong but gets hurt anyway. In brief, who wants to be a pilot through a dramatic education like this? There are some very impressing flying exhibitions as well, the "flying fortress" is showing its muscles, and although this film does not reach up to the level of other flying virtuoso films like David Lean's "The Sound Barrier", it is quite impressing enough and very interesting for its human psychology, as you can't fly away from human problems and complexities even as the best pilot in the world. Interesting is also that this film was made before Pearl Harbour in the idyllic days before the war got serious and America involved in it, which is why the film makes a very fresh impression, like a school for war in peacetime without any fear of any war, while things would soon get serious for real - after the film was made.
sheer nonsense
Ok, so this was some Pre-War prop the studios churned out to relax the American Public and get them to have faith in FDR's 1940 campaign promise (Mr. Roosevelt said at Boston on October 30: "I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again: Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.")...ironically this movie was actually released months before Pearl Harbor, and was heartily approved by the Army Air Corps who cooperated with Paramount in the production...
And with that said, this thing is silly and sad and amateurish and rididculous. A 5th rate story, weak as oatmeal acting, cartoonish special effects (opening cartoon of B-17's in a mock bombing of LA)...worth watching?
Sure... Just don't expect much, despite the cast...
Sure... Just don't expect much, despite the cast...
Veronica Lake's First Major Role in Air Corps Morale Boaster
Veronica Lake, the late-teenage actress with her soon-to-be famous blond hair "peek-a-boo" style, attributed one scene in her first big role in movies in March 1941's "I Wanted Wings" for giving her her unique look, leading to one of Hollywood's more prominent but short-lived careers in the 1940s.
"I was playing a sympathetic drunk," she later recalled. "I had my arm on a table, and it slipped, and my hair - it was always baby fine and had this natural break - fell over my face. It became my trademark and purely by accident." Because of her acting in "I Wanted Wings" as well as Preston Sturges' "Sullivan's Travels" later in the year, Veronica was called "the find of 1941."
Appearing in "I Wanted Wings" was a challenge for Lake, 18, who played the femme fatale for leads Ray Milland and William Holden. The Paramount Pictures film was one of Hollywood's first look at the United States Army Air Corps, the predecessor to the Air Force, in the period leading up to the United States' entrance into World War Two. Wealthy Yale grad Jeff Young (Milland) and former-mechanic Al Ludlow (Holden) are best friends. While the film shows all phases of air training, the two pals hit the local nightclub circuit, where they meet singer Sally Vaughn, Al's old sweetheart. She's sexy, but has a reputation of being nothing but trouble, with a capital T.
Veronica's personal life was eerily similar to Sally's. Born Constance Ockelman in 1922's Brooklyn, N. Y., her father died when she was ten. The actress said she wanted to be a surgeon and actually took a premed course at Montreal's McGill University. After her mother remarried, Constance followed the family to Los Angeles, where after acting school, she appeared in several area plays. In a number of tiny roles in nondescript films beginning in 1939, she was screen tested for the nightclub singer role in "I Wanted Wings." Producer Arthur Hornblow, Jr. Gave her the part and changed her name to Veronica Lake, describing her eyes as "calm and clear like a blue lake." The teenager gained a reputation of being difficult on and off the set for director Mitchell Leisen as well as for actor Brian Donlevy. "I was frightened to death of everything," remembered Lake in her memoirs. "What I did was to develop a shell, a very cocky and snippy shell that seemed to work. I was trying to act thirty and usually ended up acting fifteen."
Veronica had just married art director John Detlie, 14 years her senior. After one yelling dress-down from director Leisen, she began to cry. Milland went over and whispered in her ear, "'Hey shorty, never let them see you cry. They spot one chink in your armor and they'll never let up. Walk away-but never cry." She got in her car and started to drive to New Mexico, where her new husband was busy working on a film. On the way, she drove off a cliff, breaking her toes. "It took Paramount three days to figure out where I'd gone," she wrote. "I'm sure Ray Milland or the studio never thought I'd walk that far."
Milland equally had an encounter with fate while making "I Wanted Wings." Loving the sport of parachuting, Milland was wearing a chute back pack while he was flying with an experienced pilot testing an Air Corps training plane for the movie. The actor felt is was a good time to get a free jump in when the plane's engine started sputtering. As he was ready to jump the pilot told Milland to forget about it since he had to quickly land the plane without taking the time for anyone to jump out. On the ground the actor told some of the film crew he was disappointed he didn't get to parachute. Jaws dropped as he was describing his missed opportunity to some of the costume designers. One told him the chute pack on his back was a prop and contained just stuffed sheets and not a parachute.
Even though Veronica doesn't appear until 50 minutes into the film, she dominates every scene she's in after her stunning entrance in "I Wanted Wings." The moral boaster for the Air Corps film was surrounded by a number of hair-raising sequences resulting in a Best Visual Effects Oscar for the aerial adventure film.
"I was playing a sympathetic drunk," she later recalled. "I had my arm on a table, and it slipped, and my hair - it was always baby fine and had this natural break - fell over my face. It became my trademark and purely by accident." Because of her acting in "I Wanted Wings" as well as Preston Sturges' "Sullivan's Travels" later in the year, Veronica was called "the find of 1941."
Appearing in "I Wanted Wings" was a challenge for Lake, 18, who played the femme fatale for leads Ray Milland and William Holden. The Paramount Pictures film was one of Hollywood's first look at the United States Army Air Corps, the predecessor to the Air Force, in the period leading up to the United States' entrance into World War Two. Wealthy Yale grad Jeff Young (Milland) and former-mechanic Al Ludlow (Holden) are best friends. While the film shows all phases of air training, the two pals hit the local nightclub circuit, where they meet singer Sally Vaughn, Al's old sweetheart. She's sexy, but has a reputation of being nothing but trouble, with a capital T.
Veronica's personal life was eerily similar to Sally's. Born Constance Ockelman in 1922's Brooklyn, N. Y., her father died when she was ten. The actress said she wanted to be a surgeon and actually took a premed course at Montreal's McGill University. After her mother remarried, Constance followed the family to Los Angeles, where after acting school, she appeared in several area plays. In a number of tiny roles in nondescript films beginning in 1939, she was screen tested for the nightclub singer role in "I Wanted Wings." Producer Arthur Hornblow, Jr. Gave her the part and changed her name to Veronica Lake, describing her eyes as "calm and clear like a blue lake." The teenager gained a reputation of being difficult on and off the set for director Mitchell Leisen as well as for actor Brian Donlevy. "I was frightened to death of everything," remembered Lake in her memoirs. "What I did was to develop a shell, a very cocky and snippy shell that seemed to work. I was trying to act thirty and usually ended up acting fifteen."
Veronica had just married art director John Detlie, 14 years her senior. After one yelling dress-down from director Leisen, she began to cry. Milland went over and whispered in her ear, "'Hey shorty, never let them see you cry. They spot one chink in your armor and they'll never let up. Walk away-but never cry." She got in her car and started to drive to New Mexico, where her new husband was busy working on a film. On the way, she drove off a cliff, breaking her toes. "It took Paramount three days to figure out where I'd gone," she wrote. "I'm sure Ray Milland or the studio never thought I'd walk that far."
Milland equally had an encounter with fate while making "I Wanted Wings." Loving the sport of parachuting, Milland was wearing a chute back pack while he was flying with an experienced pilot testing an Air Corps training plane for the movie. The actor felt is was a good time to get a free jump in when the plane's engine started sputtering. As he was ready to jump the pilot told Milland to forget about it since he had to quickly land the plane without taking the time for anyone to jump out. On the ground the actor told some of the film crew he was disappointed he didn't get to parachute. Jaws dropped as he was describing his missed opportunity to some of the costume designers. One told him the chute pack on his back was a prop and contained just stuffed sheets and not a parachute.
Even though Veronica doesn't appear until 50 minutes into the film, she dominates every scene she's in after her stunning entrance in "I Wanted Wings." The moral boaster for the Air Corps film was surrounded by a number of hair-raising sequences resulting in a Best Visual Effects Oscar for the aerial adventure film.
- springfieldrental
- Jun 27, 2024
- Permalink
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the United States Air Force becoming an independent branch of the Armed Forces.....
- tarwaterthomas
- Sep 17, 2022
- Permalink