Lafayette Escadrille

William Wellman's soaring aerial drama, "Wings," won the first Academy Award for Best Picture in 1927, and, three decades later, the director returned to World War I flying aces in his 1958 picture, "Lafayette Escadrille." Although Wellman's second depiction of early pilots and dogfights pales in comparison to his first effort, the film nevertheless has its moments. The aerial scenes, well photographed by William H. Clothier in black and white, are reminiscent of the earlier film. Evidently shot in the air, the fragile aircraft sweep across the French countryside, well, California actually, and we get point-of-view shots of pilots in their cockpits, similar to those in "Wings."

Although Tab Hunter was never known as a great actor, he plays young American troublemaker turned expatriate pilot, Thad Walker, quite well. The handsome blonde is hunky eye candy and quickly falls under the spell of equally blonde and winsome Etchika Choreau. Unfortunately, the film details the romance, trials, and tribulations of the dewy-eyed pair, which border on the clichéd, and neglects the camaraderie of Walker's fellow pilots and their daring exploits in the air. Among Walker's neglected comrades are a pre-"Fugitive" David Janssen, a pre-"Billy Jack" Tom Laughlin, and Brett Halsey. Oh, and there is another young actor among the pilots, a tall good looking guy, Clint Eastwood, whose subsequent career would overshadow those of both the film's star and its Oscar-winning director.

Albert Sidney Fleischman's screenplay has problems with credibility and evasiveness. Despite his wholesome demeanor, Walker is supposed to be troublesome, having suffered at the hands of his father. His conflicted behavior results in some melodramatics involving a French officer, the stockade, and desertion, none of which is convincing. Seeking a job because his "wife," who may or may not be a lady of the evening, is supporting him,he goes to what viewers may perceive as a madame to work at what the audience may construe as a pimp. Not only are the proceedings purposely vague in a 1950's Production Code way, they are at odds with the character as we perceive him and certainly at odds with the image Tab Hunter enjoyed.

In "Wings," Wellman focused on the aerial spectacle and relegated the personal stories to supporting status. With "Lafayette Escadrille," he goes in the other direction. If the drama had been as compelling as the dogfights and biplanes, the movie would have been successful. Unfortunately, the travails of two beautiful people do not sustain interest, despite Tab's often well-exposed torso. Despite the flaws, "Lafayette Escadrille" is not a disaster and worth a look; the aerial photography is good, the vintage planes are wonderful, Tab's muscles are well defined, and young Clint is obviously on his way to a brilliant career.

A project very close to director William Wellman's heart, this semi-autobiographical account of his escapades in the title organization during WWI only partly succeeds. Hunter is a shiftless and troublesome youth who, after stealing a car and causing an accident, decides to enlist in a French air corp which allows American men to wear French uniforms and fight the war against Germany (the U.S. not having entered the war at this point.) On the sea voyage to France, Hunter meets up with older man Janssen and young, eager enlistees Hover and Wellman Jr (playing his own father.) They've scarcely downed their first glass of beer in a cafe when Hunter falls under the spell of misty-eyed French girl Choureau. He disappears with her for ten days, only resurfacing in time for his adventures in the Escadrille. The men are shown training for their flight careers in a comic, credibility-straining way with a bumbling Drillmaster barely able to communicate with them. Eventually, they take to the air and help the cause, though Hunter (due to his obsessive love for Choreau) runs into more trouble than he was in to begin with! Here the film becomes less about the Lafayette Escadrille and more about the troubled and contrived affairs of the young lovers. The films strengths lie in the cheerful, fraternity-like interactions of the men (even if narrator Wellman dwells on each one in the beginning, denoting their ultimate fate before the viewers have even met them), many of whom are played by actors who were just on the verge of greater things. It's interesting to see men like Halsey, Hutchins, Laughlin and especially Eastwood in these roles, though their lack of screen time ultimately becomes a bit of a frustration because their fame lends their smallish roles more weight than they were probably meant to have. Another big plus is gloriously handsome and beaming Hunter, though his looks are altered part way through the film. His charm is utilized throughout to help smooth over his character's selfish and foolish edges. It's also nice to get a glimpse into this little-known aspect of WWI and Wellman clearly wanted to bring various remembrances and details of his experience to the film. What doesn't work is the unevenness in tone of the film. It sways wildly from slapstick comedy to soapy romance to documentary to action. The title suggests a survey of the air corp along with action and aerial sequences (which do occur), yet the film turns into a "Let's Play House" love story complete with unintelligible murmurings from Choreau and a loopy, boozing, one-armed hotelier. This division of focus does more against the film than for it. Though he did manage to carve out a minor Hollywood career for himself, it should be noted that Wellman Jr, though amiable, gives a very stiff, flat performance as his father (though it couldn't have been easy to step into the role and be directed by Wellman Sr!) Hunter is beautiful and gives a committed performance. Janssen doesn't get to do a lot more than smart off and the rest of the men don't appear all that much (but they do show off their attractive physiques occasionally.) There is a (non-PC by today's standards) hilarious little part played by Nakamura as the men's human alarm clock and coffee pourer. In all, an okay film that could have been much better if the focus had remained where it belonged, which is on the fighting men of the Lafayette Escadrille. Studio tampering led to a happier ending for Hunter's character than was intended, much to Wellman's dismay.

The films involving early flying, aircraft and the conflict of air battle are very interesting. However, due to the limited equipment and the lack of good directors and writers, the earliest offerings of movie flying are greatly lacking. The late great Howard Hughes did one called 'Hells Angels' which was not bad, but difficult to follow. This is one of those attempts. The casting is overloaded with prime star material, in fact this movie has some of the best aspiring talent in Hollywood. If you'll look closely, you'll see, David Janssen, playing Duke Sinclair, Clint Eastwood playing George Moseley, Tom (Billy Jack) Laughlin as Arthur Blumenthal, Paul Fix as the General and Will Hutchins as Dave Putnam. Tab Hunter is Thad Walker in this story which is more love story than W.W.I fighting epic, is fine for it's day, but somewhat of a sleeper for modern audiences. Nvertheless, a good offering of primitive flying and fanciful storyline for it's time. ***

I saw this movie while stationed on the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt CVA42 sailing in the Mediterranean sea in 1959. It's true that it was more a romantic than an action movie. However, at the time I was thinking more about meeting women than flying airplanes, and I was completely caught up in the engrossing love story. It was a movie that I walked out of on air, and couldn't get out of my mind for months! My visits to Med ports such as Cannes and Nice, France, Majorca and Barcelona, Spain were totally changed as I looked for, and eventually found, a real-life Renee (although in Majorca not France).

The true action movie of this story has now been made in the form of "Flyboys", which I just saw and liked also. The story had a bit of the romance in it, with a very appealing French girl as well, but told much more of the flying, and heroic side, of the story. Aside from some hooky computer effects, this was a great flying tale, appealing equally to the flier and action fan in me.

Both are highly recommended.

Thad Walker (Tab Hunter) steals a car and hits a bicyclist. Luckily, the victim survived. His abusive tycoon father is not so delighted. Thad runs away to Europe as a stowaway on a ship. He joins the Lafayette Escadrille, a squad of American flyers fighting for France during WWI. He falls for French girl Renée Beaulieu. George Moseley (Clint Eastwood) is a member of the squad.

To me, Tab Hunter is a beef cake with limited acting skills. He doesn't have that many chances to be shirtless, but he makes every one of them count. It is interesting that they gave him a scar on his face. It actually helped his acting. The movie is slow and plodding when it's only his story. It becomes more fun when it's the group. It doesn't hurt to have future star Clint Eastwood in the mix. I like the group, but I like the flying more. I love the trainer planes. They look like kites with wings. If there is more room to grow, it would be more flying sequences. I'm a sucker for real planes and real flying. There is some good flying at the end, but the movie needs more of it especially during the middle part.