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An Eisenhower-esque attempt to appease the anglo-canuck war effort.
James Cagney's warm-hearted, yet rebellious and haughty character would have made a lot more sense if script was written about Alaskan bush pilots and USAAF.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
07/23/23
Full Review
Audience Member
It was a coincidence, this being Remembrance Day, that I threw on this selection from the James Cagney Signature Collection DVD boxed set, and it's weird that this Hollywood film came out as a tribute to the Royal Canadian Air Force. Really unique as a war film, and I loved Billy Bishop's cameo, in his full title, giving out 'wings' to those fortunate pilots who successfully passed RCAF training. Especially recommended for fans either of James Cagney or war films in general.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
It was a coincidence, this being Remembrance Day, that I threw on this selection from the James Cagney Signature Collection DVD boxed set, and it's weird that this Hollywood film came out as a tribute to the Royal Canadian Air Force. Really unique as a war film, and I loved Billy Bishop's cameo, in his full title, giving out 'wings' to those fortunate pilots who successfully passed RCAF training. Especially recommended for fans either of James Cagney or war films in general.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/24/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I yield to no one in my admiration of James Cagney as actor. But quite frankly, he's too urban, too much from the sidewalks of New York to be a convincing Canadian bush pilot. But Brian McLean is a typical cocky Cagney character. So if you can get past Cagney's speech pattern, you'll enjoy the film.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
Audience Member
What is special about this movie is that the real Billy Bishop appears near the end, and Jimmy Cagney is timeless. A Canadian connection makes it personally fun.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Lots of action, fast paced and humorous WWII moral booster for the war effort. Canadian bush pilots enlist in the R.A.F. only to find out they're too old.
[img]http://ts1.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=4785951299931352&id=de8abc196d1094fb719e6496ad36810e&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.airmuseum.ca%2fpics%2fcc07.jpg[/img]
Cagney leads a great cast, but wisecracks his way out of a pilot's licence. Always the rebel at heart, Cagney can't conform to the military.
SEE an example of that here:
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/74820/Captains-Of-The-Clouds-Movie-Clip-Flying-in-formation-.html
SEE the trailer here: (forgive the commercial though)
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/21226/Captains-of-the-Clouds-Original-Trailer-.html
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3d/Captains_of_the_Clouds.1.jpg/200px-Captains_of_the_Clouds.1.jpg[/img]
A love interest quickly starts between the actors
Brian MacLean (James Cagney), Johnny Dutton (Dennis Morgan), "Tiny" Murphy (Alan Hale, Sr.), "Blimp" Lebec (George Tobias) and "Scrounger" Harris (Reginald Gardiner) are bush pilots competing for business in rugged Northern Ontario, Canada in 1939, as the Second World War is beginning.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fc/Captains_of_the_Clouds-_.jpg/200px-Captains_of_the_Clouds-_.jpg[/img]
While Dutton flies by the book, MacLean (Cagney) is a seat-of-the-pants kind of pilot, mirroring the differences in their personalities.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/02/Captains_of_the_Clouds-_next_ones.jpg/200px-Captains_of_the_Clouds-_next_ones.jpg[/img]
There is a love twist to this one as well. Cagney gets between a guy and his fiancee, only to marry her and get rid of her.
[img]http://ts3.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=4785951299931338&id=dc5276b93427c125e9358fca32ccf977&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.airmuseum.ca%2fpics%2fcc04.jpg[/img]
Cagney is his usual fast talking, ready to fight type guy. Bound to please most anyone, the film is in then new Technicolor. The ending is not terribly credible, which is the only fault in the film for the most part.
[img]http://ts1.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=5033822447864432&id=6a61a30f5d2e1ce934524e41c7753371&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.vintagewings.ca%2fPortals%2f0%2fVintage_Stories%2fArchivedStories%2fcaptains08.jpg[/img]
Tidbits and Notes:
1 The vivid aerial scenes filmed in Technicolor were another aspect of the expensive production that garnered critical attention.
2 Reviews were mixed; while some critics felt the film suffered from a stagey plot and a forced romantic story line, the aerial scenes were considered the film's redeeming feature.
[img]http://ts4.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=4600211142541383&id=228b91160b11912bd8aeead67e083cc0&url=http%3a%2f%2fimg101.imageshack.us%2fimg101%2f1658%2fbscap314hk1.jpg[/img]
3 Even though it seems unlikely, the secluded location and lack of telephones necessitated the use of homing pigeons obtained locally to send out messages to the other film units.
4 The aerial sequences were under the direction of Paul Mantz, long-time Hollywood stunt pilot, who used a Stinson Model A trimotor camera ship.
[img]http://ts1.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=4715462281921652&id=c0cf0538997464996d9dd5eb9c53d3e8&url=http%3a%2f%2fi603.photobucket.com%2falbums%2ftt112%2fwildbillkelso_berlin%2fNorseman%2fCF-HGO_13.jpg[/img]
5 MacLean's aircraft, CF-HGO in the scenes, was a Noorduyn Norseman flown by veteran stunt pilot Frank Clarke (who doubled for James Cagney in flying scenes), Johnny Dutton's silver CF-NBP was an actual Fairchild 71C bush plane, while Laurentian Air Service's Waco EGC-7 and AGC-8 cabin aircraft provided the other float planes.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/66/Captains-_Bush_planes.jpg/250px-Captains-_Bush_planes.jpg[/img]
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Produced by Hal B. Wallis
William Cagney
Written by Arthur T. Horman
Roland Gillett
Richard Macaulay
Norman Reilly Raine
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1a/Captains_of_the_Clouds.jpg/220px-Captains_of_the_Clouds.jpg[/img]
Starring James Cagney [img]http://ts4.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=4858239876268771&id=057e2d953fa65885488704f3e12c1eed&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.dvdcorral.com%2fdvd%2fimages%2fmax%2f085391137009.jpg[/img]
Dennis Morgan
Music by Max Steiner (score)
Harold Arlen (title song)
Cinematography Wilfred M. Cline, Sol Polito
Winton C. Hoch
Editing by George Amy
[img]http://ts3.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=5019447171088654&id=281b6bd3442024ca4e181600aa802640&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.moviepropking.com%2fCAPTAINS_OF_THE_CLOUDS-4.jpg[/img]
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) February 12, 1942 (NYC)
February 21, 1942 (US)
Running time 114 minutes
Country United States
Canada
Language English
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Captainsoftheclouds3iz.jpeg/220px-Captainsoftheclouds3iz.jpeg[/img]
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
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