''Flying Leathernecks'' is a 1951 American Technicolor action war film directed by

Nicholas Ray Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle Jr., August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor best known for the 1955 film ''Rebel Without a Cause.'' He is appreciated for many narrative features pr ...

, produced by Edmund Grainger, (who had produced ''

Sands of Iwo Jima ''Sands of Iwo Jima'' is a 1949 war film starring John Wayne that follows a group of United States Marines from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. The film, which also features John Agar, Adele Mara and Forrest Tucker, was w ...

'') and starring

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

and Robert Ryan. The movie details the exploits and personal battles of

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

aviators during World War II. Marines have long had the nickname "

leatherneck Leatherneck is a military slang term in the USA for a member of the United States Marine Corps. It is generally believed to originate in the wearing of a "leather stock" that went around the neck. Its original purpose was to protect the neck fro ...

", hence the title.

Plot

Major Dan Kirby arrives at VMF-247 (the "Wildcats") as the new commander when everybody in the unit was expecting Captain Carl "Grif" Griffin to take over. Kirby is strict and makes this understood from day one. Assigned to the

Cactus Air Force Cactus Air Force refers to the ensemble of Allied air power assigned to the island of Guadalcanal August 1942 until December 1942 during the early stages of the Guadalcanal Campaign, particularly those operating from Henderson Field. The term " ...

during the

Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...

, Kirby has few planes available and a lot to accomplish with a Guadalcanal airfield attacked daily by the Japanese. His pilots are young and behave like "kids", sometimes disobeying orders and foolishly losing precious pilots and planes. Kirby is requiring maximum effort, and Griffin is not as tough as Kirby wants. Griffin stays closer to his young pilots, one of whom is his own brother-in-law, Vern "Cowboy" Blithe. Kirby hates the decisions he has to make, knowing that he is sending pilots to their death, but the success of the missions is the most important thing. He keeps his feelings secret from the rest of his squadron. The hard conditions of the war force Kirby to get even stricter with his exhausted pilots. He even refuses sick leave to men with malaria or to allow planes with problems to return to base. Tensions between Griffin and Kirby soon peaks. While Griffin recognizes the hardships Kirby faces, he is often more driven by his sentimental side. Kirby is a fan of low-level ground attacks to support the Marine units, but HQ does not approve of his tactics until Marines are dangerously imperiled by the Japanese. Kirby then adjusts squadron tactics, despite losing a number of pilots while trying to prove his point. In his most successful operation, he leads his squadron in an attack on a huge Japanese convoy – a scene likely based on the

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942, and was t ...

. The Wildcats' line chief, MSgt Clancy, is an old Marine veteran and comrade-in-arms of Kirby. To the consternation of other units on Guadalcanal, Clancy uses unorthodox creative methods to obtain provisions for the unit. His improvising helps the poorly equipped Wildcats, but by the end of the film, Clancy is a PFC, having lost six stripes. Kirby is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and Griffin to Major. Mustered back to Hawaii and destined for Washington D.C., Kirby is given the chance to return to the Pacific front and organize low-level ground attack tactics. He returns to the same unit and aircrew, now equipped with F4U Corsair fighters. Kirby leads his men against Japanese troops and

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

attacks during the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

. During a crucial moment in the battle, to avoid splitting his formation, Griffin denies assistance to his brother-in-law Blithe, and as a result Blithe is killed. During the battle Kirby’s guns jam and he crashes his plane into a bomber. He is able to bail out but is injured and picked up by a Navy launch. Leaving the squadron, Kirby appoints Griffin as CO of VMF-247, as he understands that Griffin now can place the lives of his pilots second. They split with a friendly promise to meet again. Kirby admits that every moment in which heand now Griffinis required to make a decision is a nightmare, but that comes with the territory of being a leader under these circumstances.

Cast

Background

The film's screenplay was credited to

James Edward Grant James Edward Grant (July 2, 1905 – February 19, 1966) was an American short story writer, screenwriter and film director, who contributed to more than fifty films between 1935 and 1971. He collaborated with John Wayne on twelve projects, start ...

, based on a story by Kenneth Gamet, but some sources claim that

Beirne Lay, Jr. Beirne Lay Jr., (September 1, 1909 – May 26, 1982) was an American writer, aviation writer, Hollywood screenwriter, and combat veteran of World War II with the U.S. Army Air Forces. He is best known for his collaboration with Sy Bartlett ...

was an uncredited contributor as well. Director Nicholas Ray chose Robert Ryan to play opposite John Wayne because Ryan had been a boxer in college and was the only actor Ray could think of who could "kick Wayne's ass". The role of the more "human" Captain Griffin is a fictional one and contrasts with the more austere Major Kirby.

Tim Holt Charles John "Tim" Holt III (February 5, 1919 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He was a popular Western star during the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in forty-six B westerns released by RKO Pictures. In a career spanning mo ...

was originally announced as part of the cast.

Production

As indicated in the opening scene of the film,

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

, himself a pilot with interests in aviation, bankrolled the production. Hughes made the decision to film in Technicolor, making use of color wartime combat footage. Principal photography began in November 1950 at

Camp Pendelton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oc ...

and El Toro Marine Corps bases and then moved to RKO-Pathé Studios in February 1951 for sound stage sequences.Carlson 2012, p. 183. The fighter aircraft appearing in the first part of the film are not the historically accurate Grumman F4F Wildcats but Grumman F6F Hellcats, provided from the training units based at the nearby

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located next to the community of El Toro, near Irvine, California. Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the home of Marine Corps Aviation on the West Coast ...

. The Wildcats did not continue in U.S. service after the war, while an appreciable number of Hellcats were available in 1951, the year the film was produced. In close-up shots, it is easy to make out the overpainted markings that adorned post-wars Hellcats. T-6 Texan trainers painted white were used as

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation Positional notation (or place-value notation, or positional numeral system) usually denotes the extension to any base of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system (or ...

fighters. The

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...

was also featured prominently in the last half of the film.Orriss 1984, p. 159. During filming, a near disaster occurred when "Air Boss" Paul Mantz and his photo crew, while filming a low-altitude attack, were caught in a premature dynamite detonation. The

B-25 The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in e ...

camera platform was badly damaged, but Mantz managed to successfully carry out an emergency landing.

Historic references

The role of Major Kirby portrayed in this film was inspired by real World War II

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

Maj. John L. Smith for his missions over

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

in 1942. His actions in the war were renowned by the time the film was made. John L. Smith was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

in 1943 and later promoted to Lt. Colonel, as was Kirby in the film. A distinct similarity in appearance between Smith and actor John Wayne was noted.

Reception

''Flying Leathernecks'' was critically received as another example of wartime aerial heroics. Howard Thompson in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' commented that "As long as it stays in the air, ''Flying Leathernecks'' is an exciting thing to watch."Orriss 1984, p. 160. '' Variety'' had a similar review, noting: "Actual color footage of battle action in the Pacific has been smartly blended with studio shots to strike a note of realism.""Review: 'Flying Leathernecks'."
'' Variety'', December 31, 1950.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Carlson, Mark. ''Flying on Film: A Century of Aviation in the Movies, 1912–2012''. Duncan, Oklahoma: BearManor Media, 2012. . * Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies." ''The Making of the Great Aviation Films''. General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989. * Orriss, Bruce. ''When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II''. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. . * Parish, James Robert. ''The Great Combat Pictures: Twentieth-Century Warfare on the Screen.'' Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, 1990. . * Ricci, Mark and Boris and Steve Zmijewsky. ''The Films of John Wayne''. New York: Citadel Press, 1970. .

External links

* * * * {{Nicholas Ray 1951 films 1951 war films American war films American aviation films Pacific War films Films scored by Roy Webb RKO Pictures films Films directed by Nicholas Ray Films about the United States Marine Corps World War II aviation films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films