04 Mar Flying Tigers
Flying Tigers, WWII Movie starring John Wayne
(1942) The legendary Flying Tigers were a group of pilots who fought in China against the Japanese. They volunteered to do this even before the US had entered World War II. Everyone recognized their fighter planes … the noses were painted to look like a shark’s mouth.
In the beginning of this movie, there is the standard disclaimer that “The characters and events depicted in this motion picture are fictitious …” It is true that the names were changed. The lead pilot was played by John Wayne. At 35 years old this was his first war movie, by the way. A Colonel did come in to talk to him once but he was not General Chennault, the actual creator and commander of the Flying Tigers.
So although the names and actual details were changed, the movie is definitely based on the real unit. TCM’s host Robert Osborne explained that two members of the Flying Tigers were technical advisers. I was surprised when he went on to say that footage was included from actual newsreels confiscated from the Japanese. These showed dogfights between the Japanese and American pilots.
John Wayne’s leading lady was an English actress named Anna Lee who became famous in later years as Mrs. Quartermaine in the soap opera General Hospital.
Flying Tigers was nominated for three Academy Awards, including for special effects. As the NYT movie critic wrote, it was a “first-rate aerial circus chock-full of exciting dogfights.”
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