Customer Reviews

Captain of the Clouds

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie was made as a way of influencing U.S. public opinion to favour entering WW11.

There is excellent footage of several Canadian Air Force Bases with their fleets of vintage WW11 training aircraft. Some of the special effects were pretty lame by today's standards but there were great shots of classic bush planes.

This movie influenced me as a kid to later head north to live and work in the trackless expanses where bush planes are still king.

During the initial period of World War II, Canada served as the free world's base for allied pilots. Captains of the Clouds is the only major movie of that period to somewhat accurately portray our contribution to this undertaking. I had not seen this movie for years, but was tempted to buy it after seeing promos for "Sky Captain", referring to the original. It is an interesting film. Brenda Marshall looks spectacular in Technicolor. The flight scenes, especially in the Canadian bush country are quite unique. And what other movie features an actual World War I Ace (Billy Bishop)in the supporting cast?

Very well done film. Colour is good. The flying scenes are quite good. A few flying scenes are not to realistic!!!
Overall entertaining!!

Warner Bros. Pictures presents "CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS" (21 February 1942) (114 min/Color) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Cagney in (his first Technicolor appearance) plays Brian MacLean, a hotshot Canadian bush pilot who delights in stealing jobs (and women) away from his competitors --- Brian is forced to shape up in a hurry when he's assigned to train other pilots for the Royal Canadian Air Force --- At the ending of the training period, he is given his first real RCAF assignment --- The seemingly unimportant task of shepherding American bomber planes across the Atlantic to England --- With startling suddenness, Brian comes to realize the true importance of his job when he is forced into a deadly confrontation with a fleet of Nazi raider planes.

A role most suited to Cagney at his cockiest!

Real-life Canadian WW1 flying ace Billy Bishop plays a small but pivotal role.

Cinematographer Sol Polito earned an Oscar nomination for his vivid color photography, a further nomination went to Ted Smith & Casey Roberts for Art Direction.

Under the production staff of:
Michael Curtiz [Director]
Arthur T. Horman [Story]
Roland Gillett [Story]
Arthur T. Horman [Screenwriter]
Richard Macaulay [Screewriter]
Norman Reilly Raine [Screenwriter]
William Cagney [Associate Producer]
Hal B. Wallis [Executive Producer]
Max Steiner [Original Film Score]
Wilfred M. Cline [Cinematgrapher]
Sol Polito [Cinematographer]
George Amy [Film Editor]
Ted Smith [Art Director]
Casey Roberts [Art Director]

BIOS:
1. James Cagney [aka: James Francis Cagney]
Date of Birth: 17 July 1899 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 30 March 1986 - Stanfordville, New York

2. Dennis Morgan [aka: Earl Stanley Morner]
Date of Birth: 20 December 1908, Prentice, Wisconsin
Date of Death: 7 September 1994, Fresno, California

3. Brenda Marshall [aka: Ardis Ankerson]
Date of Birth: 29 September 1915 - Island of Negros, Philippines
Date of Death: 30 July 1992 - Palm Springs, California

the cast includes:
James Cagney - Brian MacLean
Dennis Morgan - Johnny Dutton
Brenda Marshall - Emily Foster
Alan Hale - Francis Patrick 'Tiny' Murphy
George Tobias - Blimp Lebec
Reginald Gardiner - Scrounger Harris
W.A. Bishop - Himself (as Air Marshal W.A. Bishop)
Reginald Denny - Commanding officer

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 114 min on DVD ~ Warner Bros. Pictures ~ (04/24/2007)

A hand full of Canadian bush pilots (James Cagney, Dennis Morgan, Alan Hale, George Tobias, and Reginald Gardiner) has a dream of owning their own airline. Naturally a girl (Brenda Marshall) gets in the mix. James Cagney has to sacrifice himself and money (by getting married) to save Dennis Morgan from marring this unreliable woman and losing his dream.

Through all kinds of misunderstandings the pilots all end up in the Royal Air Force planning to give it to those Nazis. Each pilot still brings his bush nature with him; for many that nature may mean their demise.

This is one of my favorite James Cagney films because it somehow manages to intertwine an intricate plot into a very simple and patriotic story. More important however, it relies on one of my favorite film themes, that of the protagonist (Cagney) not making the transition from one era of personal glory into the next era where he becomes a stranger in his own world which has changed all around him. This film got two Academy Awards nominations for Interior Decoration (Ted Smith - Art Direction, Casey Roberts - Interior Decoration) and Color Cinematography (Sol Polito). Director Michael Curtiz visually does an excellent job with this script. It starts off in the beautifully filmed Canadian wilderness with Cagney in his usual reckless tough guy form. These early images stand for the strong individual nature of James Cagney's character Brian MacLean that is in itself based on the Cagney mystique. Gradually, MacLean and the other two main characters Johnny Dutton (Dennis Morgan) and Emily Foster (Brenda Marshall) make gradual transitions to reveal personality growth, stagnation and hidden revelations. This is a wartime film made in 1942 and the film intertwines the plot with patriotic sentiment quite nicely but stresses the practicality of creating and maintaining a proficient and professional military force if the job is to get done. The entire cast is wonderful and includes Alan Hale, George Tobias and Gig Young. Composer Max Steiner also once again turns in an insightful and intelligent score. There are some great flying scenes full of bravado, daring do and just plain out foolhardiness with Cagney leading his cronies in and out of the doghouse. This is a very entertaining film.