Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

bkoganbing The Flying Tigers and God Is My Co-Pilot are the two films out of World War II which are dedicated to the American volunteers who flew for the nascent Chinese Air Force both before and after America officially got into World War II. Though this film is based on fictional people it holds up a lot better than God Is My Co-Pilot because it avoids the racial stereotyping of the Japanese. The Japanese are seen, but only in aerial combat shots with no dialog. And it's true they did have a nasty habit of machine gunning fliers while they were parachuting down, no avoiding that.The main plot of the film is John Wayne as the disciplined leader of this particular squadron of Flying Tigers based somewhere in western China and an old and rather undisciplined friend John Carroll in a rivalry over nurse Anna Lee. Carroll's irresponsibility causes the death of one man and maybe another.Still he's not a bad sort, just an overgrown kid. Carroll actually has the best moment in the film consoling Mae Clarke the widow of one of the Flying Tigers.Some nice aerial combat shots are in this film and it really should be seen today to explain some of the Chinese attitudes towards the Japanese today. We got into World War II on December 7, 1941 which in fact the men in Wayne's squadron hear about in the film. The Chinese were essentially at war with Japan starting in 1931 with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. It was a longer struggle for them than for any other country.Other performances of note are Paul Kelly as Wayne's second in command and Gordon Jones are Carroll's sidekick. Check it out if it is shone on TCM.

grahamsj3 This film, made in 1942, is naught but a US propaganda film. This is an early John Wayne film and, unfortunately, his acting is absolutely not up to his later standards. The rest of the cast, quite frankly, isn't very good either. While the story is decent and it's quite well-written, I had to give it a pretty low score. It seems that most of the good actors were either already engaged or had joined the US Armed Forces by the time they filmed this. I don't think it was very well directed, either, or perhaps it was very hurried. I think they did everything in one take. It's sad, really, because the Flying Tigers story is epic and heroic. Instead, several of the pilots are shown to be nothing but money-hungry mercenaries whose only motivation is the bounty paid per aerial kill. Oh, well...sorry about that, but it wasn't even a very good try.

Michael O'Keefe A very good movie to help military enrollment soon after the U.S. entered WWII. And what could possibly be wrong with a John Wayne flick? Capt. Jim Gordon(Wayne)leads an American Volunteer Group which flew for the Chinese against the Japanese...right up to that fateful day December 7, 1941. Some very graphic scenes of aerial combat blends with a little romance and comic touches. Gordon comes to odds with an old friend Woody Jason(John Carroll), who seems to need to prove his prowess in the air. Plus Woody forces himself into a relationship with the Captain's girl(Anna Lee). This ambitious war drama also stars: Paul Kelly, Mae Clarke, Gordon Jones and Jimmie Dodd. Not among the greatest of the genre, but memorable.

classicsoncall The "Flying Tigers" gets off the ground early as Commander Jim Gordon (John Wayne) leads his blue group fighters into exciting aerial battle against the Japanese. The film takes a look at an American band of mercenary fliers defending China just prior to our entry into World War II. For historical perspective, there's a scene right after Gordon chastises hot shot flier Woody Jason (John Carroll) for missing a night time reconnaissance flight; on Gordon's desk is a calendar with the date - Sunday December 7, 1941. President Truman's declaration of war is listened to intently by the squadron on the radio, and soon after the Tigers get orders to take out a railroad supply line.In between aerial dog fights, Gordon has his hands full managing the aforementioned loose cannon Jason, an old friend who thinks the war was made just for him. He sees each Japanese opponent as another five hundred dollar bounty, and is too impressed with himself to follow orders, even when it leads to disastrous results. The set up though allows Jason to lead the movie to it's predictable ending, in which he redeems himself by ramming a damaged transport plane into a Japanese rail car loaded with military supplies. This right after giving parachuted buddy Gordon the old Geronimo out the plane's door before disobeying orders one last time.John Wayne's romantic interest in the movie is suitably portrayed by Anna Lee, her character a nurse at the air base tending to Chinese children and wounded fliers when necessary. Other supporting players of note include Paul Kelly as Commander Gordon's Number #2 man Hap Smith, and Gordon Jones as Alabama, who has a fondness for saying "I'm getting that old feeling" whenever hot shot Jason makes an appearance. Jones looks a bit out of place in the film, perhaps I've seen him too many times playing the foil to Abbott and Costello in any number of their own movies and TV shows.Both as a war film and a John Wayne vehicle, "Flying Tigers" is generally adequate, taking some liberties from a historical viewpoint to be considered entirely accurate. For fans of the "Duke", it's the type of action adventure in which he excels, combining elements of courage and heroism on which his fame as an entertainer rests.