1927/1928: Wings

The first film to win the Best Picture Oscar was 1927's "Wings," directed by William A. Wellman for Parmount Pictures.  It was the only silent film to win the award.  It also won for Best Engineering Effects (Roy Pomeroy).

Prior to seeing "Wings," I don't think I'd seen a feature-length silent film before.  I'd seen plenty of silent short films, but at almost two and a half hours, I didn't know if was going to be able to get into "Wings."

Well, I did, and all I can say is "WOW!"   This is a phenomenal film.

Jack (Charles "Buddy" Rogers) and David (Richard Arlen) live in the same small town.  David's family is wealthy, and Jack's is more working-class.  Both boys vie for the affection of Sylvia (Jobyna Ralston), who in fact loves David, but humors Jack and leads him to believe she loves him.  Meanwhile, Mary (Clara Bow), is in love with Jack, but Jack considers her "just a friend."

When the US enters WWI, both Jack and David sign up to become fighter pilots.   Assigned to the same squadron, they are at first enemies, but eventually become best of friends, both serving with distinction.  Mary joins the war effort as an ambulance driver and encounters Jack while he is on leave in Paris, but he is too drunk to recognize her.  Mary gets Jack back to his hotel room, and after Jack passes out, she changes her clothes.  It is at that moment that two military policemen enter the room to tell Jack that his leave has been cancelled.   Of course, they make the wrong assumption, and Mary is forced to resign and returns to the states.

It is interesting to note that Clara Bow received top-billing for the picture.  Granted, she was the box-office draw at that point, but by no means is she the star of the movie.   It's not too much of an exaggeration to say she's barely in the movie.  "Wings" is a wartime buddy-picture, and it belongs to Buddy Rogers and Richard Arlen.

The climactic sequence centers around the Battle of Saint-Mihiel.  Jack and David have a spat about Sylvia before they take off.  During the battle, David's plane is shot down, and he is presumed dead. Devastated by the loss, Jack goes wild, gunning down Germans at a fevered pitch, even swooping down and killing a German general in his car.   Once the battle is over and the squadron is returning to their base, Jack spies one lone German plane still in the sky, heading towards the Allies.  Vowing to kill one more German for his dead best-friend, Jack shoots the plane down.  When he lands in the field to take a war souvenir from the plane, he makes a sickening discovery: David survived when his plane was shot down, and he was able to steal a German plane to get back to the Allied base.  The plane Jack just shot down was piloted by David, who now lays dying.

Richard Arlen and Buddy Rogers

Heartsick, Jack rushes to David's side, holding him in his arms.  The scene is meant to be fraternal, but I have to say, it's the most romantic scene in the film.  The two friends swear their undying friendship to each other as they caress each other's face and hair.  Jack kisses David, in what is one of the first same-sex kisses in cinematic history. Finally, David dies in Jack's arms.  It's a heartbreaking scene.

Jack returns home a hero, and begs forgiveness from David's parents.  David's mother absolves him of blame, saying it was war that killed David, not Jack.  And finally, Jack realizes that Sylvia loved David, and that he (Jack) really loves Mary after all.

I really enjoyed "Wings."  My only complaint was that it was a bit long, and some of the scenes could have been tightened-up a bit.   But some of the longest scenes were also the most thrilling: the aerial combat scenes.  Contemporary audiences must have been blown away!  The film was lauded for it's combat realism (meaning it's pretty gruesome), and the acting was outstanding, particularly Buddy Rogers.  And I'll say it right now: Buddy Rogers was adorable!  I've developed a 90-years-too-late crush on him!

I highly, highly recommend "Wings."  You can rent the 2012 remastered version on Amazon.