Noutions
Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .
ThrillMessage
There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.
Nayan Gough
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
richard-1787
As the three previous reviewers have indicated, this is a pretty bad movie. Whether it is true that it was actually made to make the WASPS look bad, as claimed by one of those reviewers, I don't know. But it is certainly true that it makes some of the women pilots look selfish, over-emotional, etc. I don't ever recall once hearing any of the men in the movie comment on how good the women were at their job.It's strange, frankly, that Hollywood would bother to make such a poor movie during the war. I just finished reading *Hollywood Goes to War*, which recounts how the Office of War Information (OWI) worked with the studios to put a positive face on just about every aspect of our involvement in the war - not always successfully, granted. It seems hard to imagine that Universal - which generally made horror flicks and musicals - would intentionally set out to scuttle the WASPs. But then, it also seems strange that Universal managed to get Loretta Young, then a big star, to appear in one of their movies.I suspect there is some untold story here behind all this.Nonetheless, this is a pretty poor movie. Unless you have an interest in seeing World War II aircraft, there's really not much point in watching it.
MartinHafer
The title "Ladies Courageous" is obviously inspired by the 1930s MGM film "Captains Courageous". However, instead this is the story of a group of women volunteers who served the armed forced by ferrying airplanes from the States to where ever they were needed--thus freeing up men to do the actual fighting. While the film is SUPPOSED to celebrate these women and SHOULD have been an advancement for the cause of equal rights, in many, many ways it seems to have the covert message "women really AREN'T as qualified as men". Why? Because too often these supposedly professional women act as if their every action is governed by feelings or raging hormones. Now don't get me wrong...I do NOT agree with this at all...but the film seems to constantly reinforce this idea because these supposedly smart women often act awfully dumb...and it's up to their Colonel (Loretta Young) to continually pick up the pieces and try to make the best of the many disasters caused by some of the women--particularly the Colonel's nutty sister. A truly weird film and one that should have inspired....not inspired laughter!
tamrak58-1
This film, unfortunately, is a disgrace to the WAFS/WASP women who flew for the military during WWII. After being depicted in Ladies Courageous as sluts and emotionally disturbed nut cases who steal airplanes to commit suicide -- the REAL women fliers during WWII were looked down upon and scorned. They were often accused of only signing up to serve their country so they could "get a man".One thing the movie is good for is that it was filmed on location at Long Beach Army Air Field in California so what you see in the film is the actual Pilot's Ready Room and the real WAFS barracks etc. Other than that this movie is a sad commentary on how women were seen through the eyes of the American film industry during WWII.
hannah6786
Women entered the work force during WWII. Some did so out of necessity, some did so out of patriotism and the women who were WASPS, women pilots, flew because they loved to fly. They were fiercely patriotic women who dared to dream of flying. I am helping one of these wonderful women prepare stories from this period (she is in her 90's). I am so proud to know her and have a chance to help compile this tiny bit of history. This movie was made and used as a propaganda movie by the "good old boys" as a way to get rid of women pilots. It made them appear like tramps. This is far from the truth. It did, unfortunately, work. The WASPS were deactivated as Congressmen were told to watch the movie, as if it were a documentary on the behavior of the girls. These women braved the unimaginable at this time in our history. They are heroes to every young woman who has a dream. This movie slanders their memory and service. It trivializes their bravery and service. Some of these ladies died. One of the jobs was to serve as a "tow target." That meant they flew with a big bullseye behind the plane so BOYS could get target practice. Too honorable and dedicated to reject such a foolish job, they did it. They were helping! Young girls of today have no comprehension how hard their grandmothers fought to give them the opportunities they have today. Someday, soon, I hope, they will remake an accurate form of this movie -- while some of these treasures are still alive. (Very few WASPS are still alive.) I was incredibly sad to see the summary of this movie, saying how it helped the "war morale." War is hell, but to use a movie as a vehicle to trash this group of brave women makes me sick. Would somebody please re-make this movie? Tell the REAL story of dedication, hard thankless service and sometimes death. My old friend actually started to cry when she told me Hollywood made a movie alleging they were all tramps. It always seems strange to hear an old woman to use those words. Yet, she was once a young woman -- she was one of the first women pilots in the world -- 21 years old with the wind blowing through her hair - literally. This was not done to get a man. They had to be perfect and "the best," because they had to prove themselves. I also could not believe that Congresmen watched this movie as "evidence" of how the women pilots behaved. It could not be farther from the truth. Remake time! Please!
