Men with Wings (1938) User Reviews (12)

Color Movie

[stevemac65 · 7/10 · 6 April 2006]

It seems to me that I heard or read that this was the first color movie ever. It seems improbable that it is the first as The Adventures of Robin Hood with Erroll Flynn came out this same year and the color in it is remarkable! Anybody know whether it is the first color movie that was made? I recorded this movie from a television broadcast years ago. The station showed the original color version which was dreadful. The characters could hardly be recognized. The colors smeared into mostly pastels of pink, yellow, and green. Then the station later broadcast an enhanced version, which I also recorded. I think I still have both copies although today they would be very old VHS tapes.

I guess I'll have to drag them out to see if they are worth watching again.

Earthbound Aviation Drama

[richardchatten · 7/10 · 10 January 2018]

'Men with Wings' enabled director William A. Wellman to combine his twin enthusiasms for both aviation and Technicolor, but ultimately fails to live up to its soaring title. It starts well in 1903 with its lead trio (including the young Donald O'Connor) as kids experimenting with a kite in the fields of rural America, picturesquely staged in rich early Technicolor by Oscar-winning cameraman W.Howard Greene.

The film's high spot is the magnificent flying sequence depicting a dog fight between WWI biplanes against a Technicolor blue sky and enormous fluffy white clouds. The film continues to look ravishing throughout, as does the lovely Louise Campbell, but after the war ends and she ends up with the wrong guy, soap opera begins to take over the plot, and models take over the flying scenes.

It's interesting to see the various familiar faces in supporting roles in colour, and although MacMurray is top billed, the real hero (apart from the aircraft) is plainly Milland.

Sappy Wooden Acting but Great Early Flying Scenes

[gsfsu · 7/10 · 6 December 2017]

This movie has two competing plots. One involves the relationship between two boys and one girl as they grow up and associate themselves with the new aircraft industry. The other involves the growth of the aircraft itself. The two plots fumble and fall over each other constantly with the love story getting the majority of the film.

The photography and flying scenes are really great for a movie of this age. The acting however leaves much to be desired. Both Fred MacMurray and Ray Milland are less than enthusiastic and the girl has some really poor lines and is less than convincing as a girl torn between two lovers.

Andy Devine provides some comic relief and is much thinner than seen in his subsequent Western sidekick roles.

In my opinion this movie tries telling too much story and doesn't connect the individual scenes adequately - and others are quite unbelievable (such as when the newspaper owner and editor pitch in to help complete an aircraft). Audiences of 1938 might have gone wild over the flying sequences but they don't wear well almost 80 years later. There have been several other movies that show WWI aircraft flying sequences much better (The Blue Max and Red Baron to name two).

Nevertheless, if you love this movie and would like a copy please email me (GSF1200S4U at yahoo dot com) and I will send you a copy.

Great old flying movie from the golden years.

[dennis-cosley · 20 June 2005]

This movie ruined my life! I, too, first saw this movie when I was 9 years old and have never forgotten it. It only hooked me on flying and led to a 30 year career in aviation. I would be love to find a copy of if there is one extant. As I remember it, it was in vivid color and had an outstanding cast. I understand that it has not been copied to video. Too bad, at age 74 I still remember the line by Walter Abel as the fatally burned Nick Ranson (and father of Virginia Weidler's Peggy Ranson) ... "Tell them, when they crash, to turn off the switches!" In 52 years of flying, I have never crashed, but I always turned off the ignition. :-)

Little Donald O'Connor is too cute!

[HotToastyRag · 3/10 · 6 January 2019]

I'll tell you right now, the first fifteen minutes of Men with Wings are the best. Walter Abel takes the lead as an aeroplane enthusiast and pioneer, and his young daughter, Virginia Weidler, is also passionate about flying. Her best friend, Billy Cook, and her crush, Donald O'Connor, fly kites together and try to keep up with Walter as he builds his flying machine. Both Billy and Donald make their film debuts, and they're paired together again in Tom Sawyer, Detective and Beau Geste. These three kids are adorable and have a natural chemistry-if you're a Donald O'Connor fan, you need to see him as an irresistibly darling child.

Then, Walter dies in a plane crash and the kids grow up. When the cast gets replaced by Louise Campbell, Fred MacMurray, and Ray Milland, the movie goes downhill. There's an uninteresting love triangle, lots of boring airplane footage, and some unsuspenseful war drama. Fred isn't likable, and Ray "blandly" lives up to his name. It's worth noting, however, that this movie was filmed in Technicolor; Gone With the Wind wasn't really as groundbreaking as it thought it was.

William Wellman's Lifelong Love Of Aviation

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 1 May 2008]

I was surprised to see Edna Ferber not listed as an inspiration for Men With Wings. It has the scope and background of one of her novels, in fact in some aspects it's like an airborne Cimarron.

Men With Wings is the story of aviation from the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk where Walter Abel is covering the event right up to 1938 and the threat of a second World War looming ahead. It's seen through the eyes of three fictional people who become a love triangle. Billy Cook, Donald O'Connor and Virginia Weidler grow up to be Ray Milland, Fred MacMurray and Louise Campbell.

Milland is the smart one, he goes to MIT and becomes an airplane designer. MacMurray is the adventurous one, he grows up to be an air ace in World War I. But MacMurray is a fly by the seat of your pants pilot who's not real comfortable with new technology. But the progress of aviation is not all these two have a disagreement over.

Louise is Walter Abel's daughter and she's grown up in aviation and has had it for good and evil. As boys Cook and O'Connor send her aloft in a big kite and Abel becomes a believer in flight after seeing the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. She marries one of the leads and the other steps gracefully aside.

The comparison to Cimarron bears attention with MacMurray whose character is definitely modeled on Ferber's Yancey Cravat from Cimarron. It's also modeled in real life on Eddie Rickenbacker who became an airline president after his World War I service. Of course Rickenbacker was not as technology resistant as MacMurray.

Aviation buffs will love Men With Wings. It's done in early technicolor and by dint of that director William Wellman improved on his Academy Award winning Wings. The aerial footage is some of the best ever done and it's done with a loving hand. Just about everyone knows of William Wellman's lifelong love of aviation, acquired since his service in the Lafayette Escadrille in World War I.

I wish Men With Wings were shown more often. I certainly hope it's a candidate for restoration as the print I saw, the color was pretty washed out. For aviation buffs everywhere.

Great Action Film

[54-14er · 9/10 · 5 February 1999]

I agree with your other viewers--a very well made action film. I saw this when I was 8 years old and loved it--even though some of the crash scenes were scary. I did see it on TV once, perhaps 10 or 15 years ago, so I think the negative still exists. AMC should be encouraged to broadcast it.

Depicts the early years of aviation in the US

[fbledsoe · 16 September 2001]

I saw this movie as a ten-year old, and it made a profound impression on me regarding the dedication and sacrifices of the men who were involved in the development of aircraft and powerplants in the early days when aviation was in its infancy.

I would like to see it converted to video and made available again.

An excellent movie for its time

[Beldar-3 · 10 March 2000]

I was fortunate enough to tape this movie off of a local PBS station in New Jersey, and I consider it one of my treasures. My copy is very viewable. I liked this movie as a youngster, and like it so much I made a model of the Fokker DVII in the black and white motif the same as the one Pat Falconer (Fred McMurray) shot down in the WW I sequence. It too is one of my prize possessions. As I said in the summary, considering the year it was made it holds up well.

How my interest in aviation was started.

[stayinmanchester · 2 May 2004]

I saw 'Men With Wings' when I was about 10 years old and it started a life- long interest in aviation. In 1964 I bought myself a 1932 bi-plane (a Spartan Arrow) and I still have it, although my son flies it more than I do these days. I have flown many airplanes in my lifetime including a Vultee Valiant, a DC3 (Dakota) many Tiger Moths and Piper Cubs (on floats) and many more. I have had an article on my airplane published in the February issue of Aeroplane and one on flying the Vultee Valiant in 'Flypast'. I have not seen 'Men With Wings' since that first time, and would love to see it again. If anyone has it on video(pal) or DVD, I would love to buy a copy. Ray Blain