Fighter Squadron (1948)
Directed by Raoul Walsh
Genres - Action, War |
Sub-Genres - Adventure Drama, War Drama |
Release Date - Nov 27, 1948 (USA - Unknown), Nov 27, 1948 (USA) |
Run Time - 96 min. |
Countries - United States |
MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
Excellent Technicolor photography, principally in the aerial scenes, is the main asset of the cliché-ridden Fighter Squadron. Set in the months just prior to D-Day, the plot zeroes in on Marjor Ed Hardin (Edmond O'Brien) leader of a squadron of fearless combat pilots. In keeping with the conventions of the era, the training and flying sequences are counterbalanced with comic byplay involving wheeler-dealer Sergeant Dolan (Tom D'Andrea), whose flippant attitudes towards the opposite sex are a bit hard to take today. Far more effective is the performance of 15-year-old Jack Larson, making his screen debut in the role of a rookie pilot who grows up in a hurry after scoring his first kill (Larson later gained TV immortality as Jimmy Olsen on Superman). Also making his first screen appearance, in a role so small it isn't even billed, is a former truck driver named Rock Hudson.
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Themes
Keywords
war, against-all-odds, America, barnstorming, battle [war], courage, crew, death, fighter, fighter-pilot, flying, leader, luftwaffe, mission [quest], nerves, protegé, sky, squadron, territory
