Pilot #5
I caught Pilot #5 a while back and actually took notes on it, but seriously, it's not really a good enough to merit a long review.
Pilot #5 starts somewhere in Japan during WWII. There's only one plane left and five pilots who are willing to fly it. (I don't remember the character names, except for Gene Kelly's, so I'm going to use the actor's names instead.) Vito (Kelly) , Van Johnson, and the other two actors portraying the pilots all volunteer, but Franchot Tone is selected to pilot the plane because he answers why he wants to go with "For my country."
Ah, yes, we've entered the world of WWII propagandistic films. Pilot #5 is pretty heavy-handed, and not very exciting either, at least to my modern and liberal thinking mind. The story is all about Franchot, pilot #5, and his relationship with Vito. The story is told through flashbacks about their life before joining up. It's all very melodramatic, and fairly forgettable. He and Vito were friends, but a girl separated them. Plus there is a whole story about a man running for governor who has a propagandistic outlook but masks it in populism (shades of G.W.B.!). But in the end, Vito gives up the girl to Franchot and he joins the army. They get married and he leaves to fight in the War.
Franchot flies his plane to the Japanese carrier but the bomb doesn't fall like he thought it would. What is Franchot to do? Oh, our Pilot #5 is ready to die for his country and he flies the plane into the carrier as the other pilots listen over the radio.
Pilot #5 is really only interesting as a curiousity piece -- a film about WWII producing during WWII. If you are a Johnson fan, like me, don't waste your time. Our boy Van doesn't have much to do in the film, and it must have came pretty early in his career. But if you are a Kelly fan -- it might be interesting just to see what Kelly could do other than dance. I haven't seen too many movies where Kelly doesn't either dance OR sing, so this was pretty interesting.
FILE UNDER: Classic Films ; Van Johnson
Pilot #5 starts somewhere in Japan during WWII. There's only one plane left and five pilots who are willing to fly it. (I don't remember the character names, except for Gene Kelly's, so I'm going to use the actor's names instead.) Vito (Kelly) , Van Johnson, and the other two actors portraying the pilots all volunteer, but Franchot Tone is selected to pilot the plane because he answers why he wants to go with "For my country."
Ah, yes, we've entered the world of WWII propagandistic films. Pilot #5 is pretty heavy-handed, and not very exciting either, at least to my modern and liberal thinking mind. The story is all about Franchot, pilot #5, and his relationship with Vito. The story is told through flashbacks about their life before joining up. It's all very melodramatic, and fairly forgettable. He and Vito were friends, but a girl separated them. Plus there is a whole story about a man running for governor who has a propagandistic outlook but masks it in populism (shades of G.W.B.!). But in the end, Vito gives up the girl to Franchot and he joins the army. They get married and he leaves to fight in the War.
Franchot flies his plane to the Japanese carrier but the bomb doesn't fall like he thought it would. What is Franchot to do? Oh, our Pilot #5 is ready to die for his country and he flies the plane into the carrier as the other pilots listen over the radio.
Pilot #5 is really only interesting as a curiousity piece -- a film about WWII producing during WWII. If you are a Johnson fan, like me, don't waste your time. Our boy Van doesn't have much to do in the film, and it must have came pretty early in his career. But if you are a Kelly fan -- it might be interesting just to see what Kelly could do other than dance. I haven't seen too many movies where Kelly doesn't either dance OR sing, so this was pretty interesting.
FILE UNDER: Classic Films ; Van Johnson
posted by Rebecca at 4:49 PM
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