Wing and a Prayer (1944)

Don Ameche, Dana Andrews, William Eythe and Richard Jaeckel star in this acclaimed film about newly-trained pilots assigned to an aircraft carrier immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Anticipating the battle of Midway, which will determine th

Wing and a Prayer DVD

Difficult classic movie on DVD to find! Great price,fast Shipment, good communucation and the product arrived in good condition! What more could you want? Recommend this seller! Thanks!
Kevin February 28, 2008

Worst of All Time

If anyone pays attention to the "plot" (or LACK thereof) the plot of the film is so implausible as to be laughable! No ships' Captain would EVER offer his ship and his men to be a sitting duck without first making certain his pilots were trained and under orders to shoot first and ask questions later, rather than BEG to be killed. Also, this film apparently did not have any military consultants. The pilots were swapping aircraft types in mid-air and the ship kept changing from one to another. This film was HILARIOUS! October 8, 2007

THE FLEET THAT CAME TO STAY!!

I was twelve [12] years old when I saw this movie on a Saturday afternoon at a neighborhood theater...It had a powerful impact on my immature grasp of things then...it is a beautiful made movie during the anxious WW2 years about the US Navy and its pilots...just listen to the inspiring/heroic musical score by Hugo W. Friedhofer [kudos to him] and the easy; yet, Naval discipline as it flows so naturally under the direction of Henry Hathaway...forget the nit-pickers that drag on in here...the United States was losing the War in early 1942, I say again, losing the war all the way down to the tip of Australia...movies like the "Wing" made morale on the home/front soar as high as our Navy flyers could take it...by 1944 when this wonderful film was released, the USA was on the threshold of victory all the way to Tokyo...it was a long dirty way to Tokyo as The Captain alluded to...everytime I see this movie, I see my dearest friend recreated in the role played by Dana Andrews aloft in his Grumman Avenger [TBF]...he was decorated with the Navy Cross and Distinguished Flying Cross for heroic actions against the Japanese Imperial Fleet..movies of this genre will stand the test of time immemorial...the studio bosses knew how to make real movies in this era...I had my WAR in Korea and I [we] know what it takes to defeat America's enemies and this movie, "Wing and a Prayer" demostrates that ever so clearly as the carrier heads for the battle of Midway in 1942....I ask you, "Where were you in 1942"??..Semper Fidelis...SSGT CHRIS SARNO-USMC FMF. April 7, 2007

I wanted to see a good WWII Navy movie. This is it.

I also know history. This isn't. Yes, there was a Battle of Midway. After that... No matter. lots of action scenes, many of the scenes were actors performing in front of newsreel footage in what we now call a blue screen. Years later we're all so smart it almost seems quaint & we may chuckle. But it is excellent for it's time, which was wartime.
The U.S. military, paranoid as they are, covered up the battle & this movie for a long time. They publicized the Dolittle Tokyo raid which happened a few weeks before to boost the public morale. I would have thought our smashing victory at Midway might have had the same positive effect & a negative one on the Japanese.
The plot: The aircraft carrier USS X was traveling at light speed all over the Pacific so the enemy would think we had lots of carriers. It was traveling without it's escort ships which a carrier never does. It's too valuable. Then our pilots were to fly off the carrier but never engage enemy pilots. They are to run away, so the enemy thinks we are cowards. Of course, the enemy pilots would never think of following them back to their carrier which they could promptly sink since it has none of its escort ships. As history it is totally bogus but as a movie it is great. So I'm sorry if I'm critical. Dana Andrews, William Elthey & Henry Morgan etc. did good imitations of Navy pilots. They flew torpedo planes. In the movie they did a lot of damage & some of them survived. As we now know all the torpedo pilots went down & none of their torpedos hit a Japanese ship (some torpedoes were defective). This does not diminish their heroism or sacrifice. Don Ameche was exceptionally good as the stern, by the book, Cmdr. Bingo Harper. He is cast as the villian all the men love to hate. But he had the toughest job on the ship. I've seen worse than him in peacetime. One of the better war movies.


November 17, 2006

O.K. Movie, But Lots of Inaccuracies

Don Ameche (Cmndr. Bingo Harper) and Dana Andrews (Lt. Cmndr Edward Moulton) star in this movie that supposedly describes the Battle of Midway in 1942, but there are numerous inaccuracies that leave the viewer wondering what it is they are actually viewing.

The basic plot of the movie goes something like this. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the American public was wondering where their Navy was. It appeared to them that the Navy had gone into hiding and was actually afraid to face the Japanese fleet. "Carrier X" was dispatched to lull the Japanese into thinking that the American fleet was scattered all over the Pacific ocean, when in reality, they were positioned off of Midway, ready to intercept the Japanese fleet which was intent on invading Hawaii.
Cmndr. Moulton and his squadron of TBF torpedo bomber pilots have just landed on the carrier, and Cmndr. Harper takes command of the squadron. Inflexible and strictly by-the-book, many men in the squadron soon take a disliking to Harper.

During their voyage, the men are told to refrain from engaging enemy pilots, being told to return to their carrier rather than shoot it out with the Japanese. Activities are limited to recon flights and target bombing practice. The men become more and more frustrated with the non-combat strategy. Finally, the Captain tells the crew that they are about to sail to Midway to join in battle against the Japanese fleet. Relieved, the crew can now focus on fighting the Japanese.

Despite this movie being produced in 1944, more care should have been taken in regards to historical correctness. As a reader of World War II history for over thirty years, I was frustrated to see the American people in the film asking "where is our navy" when in reality, the American fleet started striking back (albeit rather small hit and run raids) immediately after Pearl Harbor. Who can forget the heroic defense of Wake island only hours after the bombs had stopped falling over Pearl?

As for the battle of Midway aspect of the film, this was the most disappointing to me. During the actual battle, not a single American torpedo struck any ship in the Japanese fleet, but in the movie, the torpedo bombers were shown with their torpedoes striking with great regularity against the Japanese fleet. Plus, the idea of the "rogue" American carrier joining up with the rest of the American fleet in the nick of time is somewhat absurd.

I felt the acting was fairly good. Don Ameche does a good job as the cold-hearted Commander Harper, Dana Andrews is good as Commander Moulton, and William Eythe does a good job as Ensign Hallam "Oscar" Scott, a former academy award winning actor turned torpedo plane pilot.

I can only give this movie a lukewarm recommendation. If you like action and battle scenes, then the movie is ok, but for historical accuracy and correctness, then the movie is extremely poor. Don't watch this movie expecting to get an accurate account of the Battle of Midway; you won't. September 6, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...