In 1927 Paramount Pictures would hire a low budget director to produce one of the largest films made at that time. William A. Wellman may not have been greatly known for his work with celluloid, but his knowledge and experience as a World War I fighter pilot would make him an ideal choice as a filmmaker to bring to the big screen an epic aviation picture about battles in the air. Wings would be Paramount's most expensive feature to that time, pulling out all the stops, utilizing war veterans, the actual United States Air Service, and entirely new camera angles never seen before. The film would be so large and memorable (with the help of the aviation craze brought on when Lindberg flew the Atlantic in May of 1927) it would go on to win the very first Academy Award for Best Picture*.The film follows two young men, Jack (Charles "Buddy" Rogers) and Dave (Donald Arlen), rivals for the love of a local beauty, Sylvia (Jobyna Ralston). When the two men enlist in Air Service during the Great War Sylvia cannot bring herself to tell Jack he is actually in love with Dave and not him, meanwhile the Jack doesn't realize that the girl next door, Mary (Clara Bow) is absolutely in love with him. As Jack and Dave go through training their rivalry turns to mutual respect as they fight side by side in the great air battles against the German forces. Meanwhile Mary joins the war effort driving ambulances in Europe even coming in contact with Jack one night in Paris, but he is too drunk to recognize her. The climax of the picture includes a large battle where Jack and Dave share the skies. Dave is shot down and presumed dead, but in fact survives and steals a German plan in effort to return to his own lines only to be shot down by his own friend Jack, vengefully thinking to get killing Germans for taking his friend life. After being shot down Dave would die in the arms of a sorrowful dear friend. Jack would return home to a hero's welcome, as well as bringing the bad news to Dave's grieving family. Jack then reunites with Mary where he finally realizes his true loves for her.
For a film that contained conceived before shots Wellman does a masterful job bringing his knowledge of aviation to cinema. He stages shots from real fighter plans battling in the air, having the planes dive on crowds of soldiers, performing amazing air stunts, and even crashing. With careful planning and good editing the story is assembled very well, creating an enjoyable picture to watch and an even better picture to disect and realize how amazing it was to produce such a motion picture. Wellman had the right mind to compose the master plan of the picture, but it was also with the help of his stars, Rodgers and Arlen, who actually did the flying to make the picture work. Arlen too was a WWI aviation veteran, while Rodgers went through training during the production to make himself a pilot and produce the in air close up shots that show how real the picture is.
The picture was meant to be epic by every sense of the word. In the original release of the film Paramount color tinted the feature and even included some widescreen shots, shot in what was called Magnascope, during some of the air battles. Paramount even recorded sounds of planes crashing to be played in theaters in speakers surrounding the audience to add dramatic effect. This was an early form of stereo sound despite the fact that the film was a silent picture. The battles were choreographed, but with so many aircraft in the sky it is amazing to think that there was only two incidents in the air, one with a stunt pilot and the other ending with the death of an actually Army Air Serviceman.
As seen on the film poster Clara Bow was given top billing for the picture for she had just hit it big with very successful picture It, making her the official "it girl" for all of Hollywood. Despite her role being a supporting one, he presence would surely have brought in more people in to see the picture. The picture also marks an appearance of a young Gary Cooper in one of his first acting roles where he was not an extra. Cooper plays a bunk mate of Jack and Dave that is overly confident and shortly after he is introduced dies in a horrible plane crash. His carrier was just starting and would last for several decades. The same could not be said about Bow who would not successfully make the transition to talking pictures due to her thick Brooklyn accent and would leave Hollywood for being tried of the tabloids following her.
The film would open to a huge success of its own. No doubt with the help of the public craze over aviation during 1927 when Charles Lindbergh for the first time crossed the Atlantic on a non-stop trip (the equivalent to landing on the moon in 1969) Wings was a film that captured the imaginations of audiences all over. Producing aerial shots in the movie gave most people their first looks of views from the sky as planes were not a normal form of transportation at that time. Critcs and audiences alike loved the film.
At the very first Academy Awards ceremony Wings would take home two statues. The first award was given to Paramount's studio special effect man Roy Pomeroy for the category named Best Engineering Effects. This would be the only time this award was given out. Visual effect would not be awarded again until 1939, renaming the category for Best Special Effects then later Best Visual Effects. Pomeroy probably had his hand in the film with his some animation effects, superposing images, split screen work, and possibly even the mounting of the camera on the aircrafts. Secondly the film took home the Oscar for "Outstanding Picture, Production." For the first awards ceremony there was also a category called "Unique Artistic Production" which was awarded to Sunrise. Both Wings and Sunrise can be seen as best picture winners, but the categories never really made that clear. The two categories would be abolished and the Best Picture category would be introduced the following year. In retrospect of the Academy Wings is dignified with being the first to win the coveted honor of Best Picture and the only silent film to do so. At the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, the current home of the Academy Awards, it is Wings that graces the walls listing every Best Picture winner.
Wings was a picture made for its time, being caught up in the interests of aviation. It would prove to be a stepping stone for the careers of Wellman and even Bow, who had made it big month before with It. Gary Cooper despite his brief role would soon make his name known in the coming years, making a long, successful career out of acting. Being the first Best Picture winner the film has been pushed to the background in the history of motion pictures, but is an interesting study in the breaking down of many ages of motion picture production. The aviation sequences would play its part in inspiring filmmakers to come, from direct inspirations like Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels just a couple years later to the likes of George Lucas' dog fights in Star Wars, Wellman was a pioneer of the air battle sequences. At one point the picture was surprisingly thought to be lost, but was later discovered and restored. In 1997 Wings would be preserved in the Library of Congress making it one of the more significant films in the history of American cinema.
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