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Jun 11, 2015akirakato rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This is a 1930 American war drama directed and produced by Howard Hughes. The dogfight scenes are gripping, breath-taking and thrilling to hell. Pioneering aerial cinematographer Elmer Dyer captured many of the aerial scenes with Paul Mantz, who as the principal stunt pilot led the team of actual World War I pilots hired by Hughes. Mantz considered the final scene, in which an aircraft had to make a steep pullout after a strafing mission, too dangerous, and reported that his pilots would not be able to do the maneuver safely. Hughes, however, piloted the aircraft himself. As Mantz had predicted, Hughes failed to pull out, crashed and was seriously injured with a skull fracture. He spent the next few days recuperating in the hospital, where he underwent facial surgery. Three other aviators and a mechanic were not as fortunate, having been killed during the film's production. Pilot Al Johnson crashed after hitting wires while landing at Caddo Field, near Van Nuys, California, where most of the location filming took place. Pilot C. K. Phillips crashed while delivering an S.E.5 fighter to the Oakland shooting location. Rupert Syme Macalister, an Australian pilot, was also killed, and mechanic Phil Jones died during production after he failed to bail out before the crash of a German Gotha bomber, piloted by Al Wilson. Except for the dogfight scenes, the acting is poor and the story is NOT believable.