Wings (1927)
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Wings Movie Review
Wings is a 1927 silent war romance film directed by William Wellman and starring Charles Rogers, Richard Arlen and Clara Bow. It’s such a wonderful film.
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“Dave, I was trying to get just one more Heinie for you“
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Its storyline is somewhat sappy, but mostly pleasantly old-fashioned and consistently involving. It follows the friendship between two men during World War I, their fighting over a girl, their bonding, aerial battles and eventual tragedy. Surely this is a traditional, obviously highly emotional melodrama, but I like melodramas and this is one of the better ones from this decade.
The characterization is very strong in my opinion as all characters are well developed and likable. Richard Arlen is excellent as David and his story is probably the most tragic one. I just loved the ending as it was simply heartbreaking to witness when it comes to his family. His departure is so well done that the ending is thus all the more emotionally rewarding.
Gary Cooper plays a very small role in this film that kick-started his career and he is magnetic and charismatic in the small time that he got. Of course Charles Rogers as Jack Powell is the very best thing about the film. His performance is absolutely fantastic as he conveys emotion so well and it’s a shame that he hasn’t gotten himself a bigger career. Jack is such a wonderful protagonist to whom you easily start to sympathize with. And the actor is definitely very handsome and charismatic in the role.
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I have mixed feelings about Clara Bow here. She was most certainly right when she stated that this is “a man’s picture” as the film excels in camaraderie, machismo and male friendship/bromance and obviously her place/impact in this whole affair is thus muted. However, she still gave a phenomenal performance and although not as strong as she was in ‘It’, here she is again incredibly sexy, sweet, charming and consistently intriguing and likable. I loved her romance with Jack and that finale is beautiful as is their first scene together.
The movie truly did establish everything in its first act so stupendously that the emotion in the third act is thus hugely felt and it shook me for sure. The second act is definitely lacking as the film is too long in those aerial fights and especially ground battles, but as I said the other two acts are the highlights. As for the famous scenes, the kiss between the two men is important for Hollywood and although I deem it entirely friendly and not romantic, it was filmed and executed so touchingly that I could definitely see the other romantic side creeping in. And naturally Clara Bow’s nude scene is highly memorable and again groundbreaking for 1927. And the drunk scene is also highly amusing and visually authentic with those bubbles.
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Wings is obviously hugely influential and groundbreaking when it comes to its technical aspects. The battles in air are simply striking in their quality. It is evident that William Wellman battled in this war and he had the necessary expertise to make the battles seem so realistic and professional. The action sequences in this film are definitely somewhat overwhelming and the film lasts for almost two and a half hours, but they are mostly incredibly entertaining and beautifully shot.
The cinematography truly is phenomenal and I loved the restored version of this film as it features some sound effects of the car and planes as well as the fire being colored. That led to an incredibly modern experience. But the film does not need those effects as it is so stupendously directed by Wellman, so phenomenally shot in every scene and so deftly edited that it stands the test of time and did not age at all in my opinion, even though the story may seem too traditional for some.
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The romance is wonderful if somewhat underutilized as the heart of the film lies in the friendship between Jack and David which was beautiful to witness. The film is emotional, but also very funny at times thanks to terrific slapstick humor at its disposal. I also really liked its dialogue. Wings won in both of the categories it was nominated for: the now obsolete Best Engineering Effects and Best Picture. The first one is thoroughly deserved and although ‘7th Heaven’ probably deserved to win Best Picture more, I am still more than happy that this wonderful film won and their decision here is thus pretty strong.
With groundbreaking and striking aerial combat scenes, stunning cinematography, deft editing and professional direction from William Wellman, Wings truly is a fine technical achievement with the performances from Charles Rogers, Clara Bow and Richard Arlen all being superb as well. The romance is sweet, the heart of the film lies in its male friendship and although it may be to traditional in plot to some, to me it is pleasantly old-fashioned and emotionally rewarding in its third act. It is a charming, epic and wonderful war romance leading to a very strong first Best Picture winner that aged like fine wine and still manages to impress.
