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This gem of a film was a “first” for Hollywood, in many ways. "Wings" was the first aviation war drama, and the first film to win an Oscar - at the first-ever Academy Awards! It was also one of the first films to show a male-to-male kiss, but SPOILER ALERT: no male romance was implied. Still pretty darn progressive for 1927, just sayin'. Originally, Paramount’s board of directors was against making an aviation film. With tiny planes flying in the air, how could the public tell the good guys from the bad? Head of production Jesse L. Lasky also wanted to add sound effects to the film – which wasn’t common at the time. The board of directors felt that sound effects would keep the audience awake.
Yes, that’s what they said. People, the board of directors said, came to the movies to relax – and sometimes to get some sleep! But eventually, they relented and the production race was on…
"Wings" is a gripping World War 1 drama that was shot at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas over a period of 9 months. The usual length of time for shooting a feature film in those days was about a month, so…Paramount wasn’t happy. The director? Newbie William A. Wellman (the only director who had experience as a WW1 combat pilot). William not only hired the best stunt pilots for the special flight work, but also took it upon himself to go up in the camera plane to capture the action - which was a huge risk for him. But he was ex-military, so ... "no big deal". The United States Army Air Corps assisted with the flight scenes and provided the pilots and planes. Word is, the military brass didn’t like the director, and the feeling. Was. Mutual. Drama? I mean.
The original story was a novel, but was re-written to include superstar Clara Bow’s character (the love interest). She wasn’t very happy with her part, though. “Wings is a man’s picture”, she said, “and I’m just the whipped cream on top of the pie”. You could have said the same about pretty much any film of the time, as Old Hollywood was notoriously sexist. This doesn’t mean everyone IN Hollywood felt this way – they were just mirroring society as it was. The same is true today, just an FYI. But “whipped cream” or not – we loved Miss Bow in "Wings"!
One of the most-repeated stories around the production of "Wings" is “the flag incident”. Remember, in these times there were no walkie-talkies for the director to tell the far-away film crew to light the dynamite, drop a ton of bricks out of a crane, etc. These people had to rely on visual cues. In the big battle scene, not only would there be “combat” on their (fake) battlefields, but a (fake) “village” would be be destroyed with explosives. This was based on a real event in the war (the St. Mihiel Drive). This very expensive scene could only be shot once. No pressure. Everyone working in this scene knew to watch the director’s tower. William had a clear view of everything from there, high above all the organized chaos that would take place. When the cameras were ready, he was going to take a flag and wave it back and forth. As soon as the crew saw the flag waving from the tower – they'd know it was time to let all hell break loose! Foolproof plan, right?
Well, the battle scene was “the” scene to watch, and the Mayor of San Antonio had shown up to witness the special occasion. He even brought his teenage daughter with him. Big mistake. The two were invited up to the director’s tower, where they could see everything happening. After a while, they found themselves still waiting for the big moment. The mayor’s daughter got bored and looked down at the crowds of people below, who were there to watch. Suddenly she saw a friend of hers (named Mildred) in the crowd, and she decided to show off her prestigious spot. She yelled, but her friend didn’t hear her. She waved her arms, but still got ignored. Finally - in her vain, foolish desperation to be seen, the Mayor’s daughter grabbed “the flag”. Oh yes. She did. The little diva frantically waved it back and forth, yelling “Mildred!!! YOO-HOO!! MILDRED!!” and then...ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE. And not one camera was ready. The biggest, most spectacular scene in "Wings" was never seen on the silver screen, all because an uppity teenage girl wanted to be seen by her lowly friend. After much consideration, Jesse L. Lasky decided to have the sets re-built, and the scene re-shot. But according to the authors of history, it wasn’t quite as dramatic. We’ll never know, will we?!
Silent film directors did plenty of things in their time that would NEVER be allowed today. It’s important to note that some of them did not truly mean any harm, they were just very ignorant compared to today - and there were little to no rules. One example is the “drunk scene”. One of the stars, Charles “Buddy” Rogers, was 22 years old but had never had alcohol before, and he didn't know how it would affect him. In the scene where he’s in a nightclub and very drunk – he’s not acting. He actually is very drunk. In today’s Hollywood, alcohol is not allowed on set at all. Wonder why…
"Wings" is rated PG-13 by today’s standards, so we don’t recommend it for children – but it’s a magnificent film, featuring technical “wonders” of the time such as machine-gun noise, flashes of color in the air battle sequence, and animated “bubbles” during the aforementioned “drunk scene”. The battle scene that DID get filmed is truly spectacular, especially when you consider that it was done TWICE. Thanks a lot, Miss Flag-Snatcher. Because it’s a fine jewel in the crown of Paramount, the full film is not currently available to watch for free - but we highly recommend renting or purchasing! Original theatrical trailer below (with music):
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