Wing and a Prayer

Rating:
Summary: "A Wing and a Prayer" - An excellent W.W.II Period film!
Review: During W.W.II the Hollywood movie studios, as a part of the war effort, created many war films that were of a genre loosely known as "propaganda films". These films generally presented the movie goer with the same three basic points of view: 1. Why we need to fight W.W.II 2. We not only need to fight, but we need to fight as a team. 3. The going is tough now, but if we persist we will win. Many people (me included) think these movies presented the best of American values. ------ "A Wing and a Prayer" is an excellent example of this type of movie. It follows the exploits of "Carrier X" and her crew through the desperate opening months of W.W.II when Japan, following the US Pearl Harbor disaster, was seeking to destroy the remnants of the US Navy by engaging them in a decisive large scale sea battle, and remove them as a Pacific threat. We learn, though the death of several U.S. aviators, the reasons why they are willing to die for their country (why we fight). The cocky young "movie star" pilot ("Oscar") who thinks mainly of himself, at the beginning of the movie, is forced, by the end of the movie, to make a decision that weighs his own life and that of his crew against the lives of the men of "Carrier X" (sacrifice and teamwork). Finally we are shown that if we persist in our just cause we can, through sacrifice and teamwork, succeed against overwhelming odds (defeat of a large Japanese task force by a smaller American force). Though "Carrier X" is never identified, it is rumored that it is loosely based on the exploits of the USS Yorktown. Although the accuracy of everything from aircraft types used, to damage inflicted by and upon the enemy, and the accuracy and order of specific events can be questioned, the one thing cannot is that, in general, this situation actually happened (The Battle of Midway). ---- Finally, when considering your purchasing dollar, this is an excellent period film that belongs in your library, it can be viewed and reviewed, and still remain fresh and entertaining. Four Stars!

Rating:
Summary: Technicality, or where were you in 1942?
Review: For those of you that will or want to screech about how technically incorrect this movie is, remember this movie was made and released in 1944. That means it was made and released during the Second World War. The U.S. government was loathed to confirm the fact that a sea battle even took place near Midway Island, let alone disclose what our force make-up was or what our or what it believed the enemies real battle looses were.

Additionally, in 1944 it was still unknown for certain what was results of the Torpedo Bombers attack. It wasn't until after the war that it was learned what actually happened. Although it is true that the Torpedo Bombers didn't get hits on the Japanese Carriers, the real point is that the TBF Squadrons took nearly 75% casualties in this battle, that if it wasn't for those brave men who gave their lives up at very-low altitude, the Dive Bombers coming in from 12 to 15,000 feet above the torpedo attacks may not have got the chance they needed to get through the Japanese air cover. Once again, it's also true that in 1944 none of this information was either known or if suspected, any where near releasable to the population as true.

Heck, one of our submarines reported sinking one of the 4 Japanese carriers and was actually credited with the sinking. That was until post war interrogations of the Japanese sailors that fought at Midway revealed they saw submarine torpedos hit a carrier during the air attacks and break up, without detonating.

By the way, the character portrayed by Dana Andrews was right to be worrying about Japanese radar. Because even though the Japanese didn't have radar on their ships at Midway, the United States Navy thought they might have radar and trained its Carrier Wings to expect its use. When you get right down to it, this film is as technically correct as the US Navy in 1944 could be.

I saw 'A Wing and a Prayer' at least 30 times on board US Navy ships and on TV since 1946. I bought the VHS copy I'm reviewing now about two years ago. If you like classic war movies made during WWll, this is one of the best. It's a fine film, with excellent acting.

Rating:
Summary: Very intertaining but not technically accurate
Review: I enjoyed watching the movie since WW2 combat movies are my favorite. I do not like to nit pick but I was surprised to find three obvious errors in the movie: 1. The F6F Hellcat was not even designed yet durring the battle of Midway. The F4F Wildcat was the mainstay carrier fighter. 2. Dana Andrews remarks about a Jap radar fix and the Japs did not have radar. 3. At the battle of Midway the torpedo bombers did not sink any Jap carriers. The four sunk Jap carriers were sunk by dive bombers.

Anyway entertaining it was and I would recommend viewing it.

Rating:
Summary: Very intertaining but not technically accurate
Review: I enjoyed watching the movie since WW2 combat movies are my favorite. I do not like to nit pick but I was surprised to find three obvious errors in the movie: 1. The F6F Hellcat was not even designed yet durring the battle of Midway. The F4F Wildcat was the mainstay carrier fighter. 2. Dana Andrews remarks about a Jap radar fix and the Japs did not have radar. 3. At the battle of Midway the torpedo bombers did not sink any Jap carriers. The four sunk Jap carriers were sunk by dive bombers.

Anyway entertaining it was and I would recommend viewing it.

Rating:
Summary: just to set the record straight (Kreutzman and San Jose)
Review: I have been looking for this video for 46 years. When I was 6, I read about this movie that was shot using my dad's action film from landing his hellcat(not during the battle at midway) all shot to s--t from a strafing run on a train and an arial battle on the way home that took out his instruments including compass and radio. His fuselage was virtually cut in half and one wing was hanging and he ran out of fuel as he finally sighted the carrier. He clipped the tower (made the XO jump to the water)losing the back half of the fuselage and the wing and landed with only a few bruises. (During the movie,Midway, they used my dad's landing again and as he climbed out they cut and inserted the pilot being dragged out.) The reporters that photographed and filmed this for Life and Natonal geographic and other interests entitled the articles " ON A WING AND A PRAYER" and this was where the title originated.(years before the song and the B-52 bunch Mr. Kreutzman)

The other pilots came up with this name because my dad was a very devout mormon and was often working or praying while the others were partying. His name was Lt. Robert Maxwell Black, thus his nicknames Moldy Maxwell or Black Angel. His praying and one winged landing equals the "wing and a prayer". I talke to a Utah man that was on that bomber crew and he said because bob black was a utah hero, all the papers carried the wing and a prayer story. It just seemed appropriate for his story too, so they used it. (for that reason, not the song)

Rating:
Summary: just to set the record straight (Kreutzman and San Jose)
Review: I have been looking for this video for 46 years. When I was 6, I read about this movie that was shot using my dad's action film from landing his hellcat(not during the battle at midway) all shot to s--t from a strafing run on a train and an arial battle on the way home that took out his instruments including compass and radio. His fuselage was virtually cut in half and one wing was hanging and he ran out of fuel as he finally sighted the carrier. He clipped the tower (made the XO jump to the water)losing the back half of the fuselage and the wing and landed with only a few bruises. (During the movie,Midway, they used my dad's landing again and as he climbed out they cut and inserted the pilot being dragged out.) The reporters that photographed and filmed this for Life and Natonal geographic and other interests entitled the articles " ON A WING AND A PRAYER" and this was where the title originated.(years before the song and the B-52 bunch Mr. Kreutzman)

The other pilots came up with this name because my dad was a very devout mormon and was often working or praying while the others were partying. His name was Lt. Robert Maxwell Black, thus his nicknames Moldy Maxwell or Black Angel. His praying and one winged landing equals the "wing and a prayer". I talke to a Utah man that was on that bomber crew and he said because bob black was a utah hero, all the papers carried the wing and a prayer story. It just seemed appropriate for his story too, so they used it. (for that reason, not the song)

Rating:
Summary: a wing, a prayer and a snooze
Review: Most of the reviewers of A WING AND A PRAYER focus on the historical background that led up to the battle of Midway. It is quite true that when this film was released in 1944, much of the data that Americans now take for granted was not available or well-known. However, when critics harp on the background of the film rather than on its cinematic virtues, I think that some injustice is done. Putting aside the technical lapses--and I grant there were more than a few--the film itself did what its producers wanted. It roused the patriotism of America in a way that is still vastly entertaining today. Director Henry Hathaway got the most out of a sterling cast led by Don Ameche and Dana Andrews as Navy officers who every day had to balance the brute exegencies of war against its inevitable human cost. For a film about war, there is remarkably little war in it. Most of the action is the drama resulting from human interaction. Unlike most navy war films of the time, A WING AND A PRAYER tried to show the behind the scenes mechanics of war more than the bang-bang of anti-aircraft. It is this concentration on how to get a carrier fleet ready for the business of war that lends this movie its undeniable aura of plausibility. Pilots and crew are shown facing the stress of pre-combat with not all of them surmounting it. It is not until the end that American planes get busy shooting at the Japanese. There is a quite effective scene in which the captain, played by veteran character actor Charles Bickford, plays the radio broadcasts of combat over the ship's PA system. As the crew hears the shouts of men and the clangor of planes, the crew is mesmerized by the vicarious sounds all around them. A WING AND A PRAYER is one of the less heralded WWII films that chose to focus more on the events leading up to combat than on the combat itself. For those who have personal experience of combat, this movie rings as resonant a bell as any other movie that emphasizes the opposite.

Rating:
Summary: Technical Inaccuracies But Highly Entertaining
Review: Most of the reviewers of A WING AND A PRAYER focus on the historical background that led up to the battle of Midway. It is quite true that when this film was released in 1944, much of the data that Americans now take for granted was not available or well-known. However, when critics harp on the background of the film rather than on its cinematic virtues, I think that some injustice is done. Putting aside the technical lapses--and I grant there were more than a few--the film itself did what its producers wanted. It roused the patriotism of America in a way that is still vastly entertaining today. Director Henry Hathaway got the most out of a sterling cast led by Don Ameche and Dana Andrews as Navy officers who every day had to balance the brute exegencies of war against its inevitable human cost. For a film about war, there is remarkably little war in it. Most of the action is the drama resulting from human interaction. Unlike most navy war films of the time, A WING AND A PRAYER tried to show the behind the scenes mechanics of war more than the bang-bang of anti-aircraft. It is this concentration on how to get a carrier fleet ready for the business of war that lends this movie its undeniable aura of plausibility. Pilots and crew are shown facing the stress of pre-combat with not all of them surmounting it. It is not until the end that American planes get busy shooting at the Japanese. There is a quite effective scene in which the captain, played by veteran character actor Charles Bickford, plays the radio broadcasts of combat over the ship's PA system. As the crew hears the shouts of men and the clangor of planes, the crew is mesmerized by the vicarious sounds all around them. A WING AND A PRAYER is one of the less heralded WWII films that chose to focus more on the events leading up to combat than on the combat itself. For those who have personal experience of combat, this movie rings as resonant a bell as any other movie that emphasizes the opposite.

Rating:
Summary: a wing, a prayer and a snooze
Review: Not the greatest WW II movie I've ever seen. During that time Hollywood could throw practically anything on the screen and people would come to watch it. This has the usual cast of 4-Fs acting brave, and Don Ameche, usually a laughing boy in lighthearted musicals, is particularly ludicrous as a tight lipped officer who sternly goes around making hard decisions that have to be made. Why couldn't he at least have sung one song to Betty Grable? Aside from these quibbles, this movie is good because it is about a more interesting, innocent time in America when Americans were naturally patriotic and patriotism wasn't a product of corporate America.

Rating:
Summary: title and movie don't go togeather
Review: When I was little in about 1945 I saw a movie with B-25s flying out of England to Europe. An aircraft had lost an engine and returning home,the crew was singing this song . They looked out and saw the field like the song says. This song does not go with the JET AIRCRAFT mission. I am retired A.F.