CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS: BLU-RAY (Warner Bros. 1942) Warner Archive

Michael Curtiz’s directorial career is the stuff of dreams and envy. Occasionally, however, he made a palpable potboiler. Case in point: Captains of the Clouds (a.k.a. Shadows of Their Wings, 1942) a glossy WWII propaganda piece to star one of the studio’s most bankable stars – James Cagney.  The picture was produced by Cagney’s brother, William and the renowned Hal B. Wallis, cribbing from a fairly straight-forward screenplay co-authored by Arthur T. Horman, Richard Macaulay, and Norman Reilly Raine, based on a story idea from Horman and Roland Gillett. Notable more for its exuberant 3-strip Technicolor cinematography, Wilfred M. Cline, Sol Polito, and Winton C. Hoch conspiring on some sumptuous Canadian exterior location work, Captains of the Clouds would later be described by Cagney as “the same old crap…I’m a no good who does good.” And actually, that is a fairly succinct summary of the movie’s plot to co-star handsome, Dennis Morgan as Johnny Dutton to Cagney’s top-billed Brian MacLean. Both flyboys do their part for the war effort. But MacLean has the uncanny knack of pissing off both his betters and his contemporaries. Cagney was none too keen about making this picture either, and frequently found himself at odds with Curtiz, determined to shoot another masterpiece with less than a perfect story at his disposal.  Perhaps the best that can be said of the picture today, is that it provided film composer extraordinaire, Max Steiner with yet another opportunity to excel at his craft, together with Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. Steiner’s patriot march was later adopted by the Royal Canadian Air Force as its unofficial anthem. It also found its way into several Carl Stalling scores for vintage Warner Bros. cartoon shorts. Steiner, who could always be counted upon to effortlessly blend time-honored songs from the actual period into his score, herein allows for two distinctly Canadian melodies to proliferate – Alexander Muir’s The Maple Leaf Forever, and, O’Canada – the official anthem since 1980, though first introduced in 1939.

Jack Warner likely viewed Captains of the Clouds (submitted by Joseph W.G. Clark as ‘Bush Pilots’) as a way to pay tribute to Canada’s involvement in the American war effort, also to capitalize on its box office with the Canucks. This, it predictably did. But it also represented a huge investment on the studio’s part, what with 80 technicians and a half million dollars in equipment departing Hollywood for the relative wilds up North. Worse, the production was hardly smooth or celebrated. Jack combed his roster for a star. Under consideration: Raymond Massey, Errol Flynn, and Clark Gable. Warner eventually decided on George Brent, but later admitted to Brent’s inability to carry the lead. The title Captains of the Clouds was pilfered wholesale from Billy Bishop’s Victory Loans’ speech and green-lit almost immediately. By then, Brent was out and 42-yr.-old Cagney assigned the plum part in his stead. If nothing else, Captains of the Clouds affords audiences the opportunity to observe Cagney – primarily a star to appear only in B&W, in his first of only 2, 3-strip Technicolor features. Cagney proved an unwilling participant until his brother came aboard as an associate producer. “I didn't like this story the last four times I did it and I don't like it now,” Cagney admitted to William, who softened this blow somewhat by allowing his brother to improvise certain scenes and dialogue.  Produced with the full cooperation of the RCAF in order to build recruitment in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, Captains of the Clouds general release came after the U.S. had already entered the war. Ottawa served as a central location, showing off the historic Chateau Laurier hotel, Parliament Hill and the Cenotaph to their best advantage.

However, much of the early footage of bush planes engaging in combat hailed from Woodcliff Camp on Trout Lake in North Bay, Ontario, and nearby Camp Caribou on Jumping Cariboo Lake in Marten River. For authenticity, aerial expert, Paul Mantz, was called in, along with veteran stunt pilot, Frank Clarke, doubling for Cagney during the flying sequences, with Albert Racicot, a Montreal-based plane dealer and aviation mechanic, training military pilots for the Canadian government. The shoot however, progressed at an arduous pace. During one scene, a husky bit co-star, Dennis Morgan, resulting in a formidable gash on his hand, requiring stiches. Cagney, forgoing a stunt double on the ground, received a concussion for his efforts after being struck by a propeller. The initially budgeted 10-day shooting schedule went considerably over, due to inclement weather. A 30-second scene depicting Cagney and his cohorts racing across a bridge took an entire day to photograph, leaving everyone’s energies depleted, while North Bay residents, unaccustomed to having a film crew in their midst, made themselves a damn nuisance, to further delay the production. To keep expenses down, Curtiz gained permission to photograph an actual graduation from No. 2 Service Training School as the fictional ‘Wings Parade’ in the movie, with 100 Harvard aircraft flying overhead to salute the grads. The climactic ferry mission was staged over the Atlantic from RCAF Station Dartmouth with Lockheed Hudson bombers and a repainted Hawker Hurricane posing as German Bf 109.

Our story concerns Brian MacLean (Cagney), whose cocky demeanor and competitive nature is a constant source of irritation to fellow bush pilots, Johnny Dutton (Dennis Morgan), Tiny Murphy (Alan Hale), Blimp Lebec (George Tobias), and British expatriate, Scrounger Harris (Reginald Gardiner). Dutton has ambitions to start his own airline at war’s end. So, he flies by the book.  MacLean, however, considers it his duty to fly by the seat-of-the-pants. Dutton saves MacLean's life after he is struck by a still-moving propeller. Grateful for their friendship, MacLean vows to help Dutton earn the seed money for his airline. When Dutton rejects MacLean's forewarning about his gal/pal, Emily Foster (Brenda Marshall), MacLean seduces and marries her instead to spare Dutton being derailed in his dreams. Deeply wounded by what he misperceives as a friend’s betrayal, Dutton dissolves their partnership and friendship. Impulsively, Dutton gives away his life’s savings to charity, then enlists in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Inspired by Winston Churchill's ‘we shall fight on the beaches…’ speech, MacLean and the rest enlist in the RCAF, but soon realize they are considered too old for combat. Begrudgingly, Maclean and his cohorts agree to partake of the war as flight instructors for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan whose commanding officer turns out to be Dutton. MacLean and Dutton clash again, this time over MacLean’s brash and dangerous behavior while in the skies. Court-martialed and dismissed from the service for flying too low, MacLean and Tiny elect, rather foolishly, to ‘buzz’ the airfield during Air Marshal William ‘Billy’ Bishop graduation speech.  

As fate would have it, Tiny blacks out and is killed in a fiery crash. MacLean is stripped of his pilot's license. Sometime later, two transport aircrafts crash, killing all 44 ferry pilots aboard. The dearth in pilots must be immediately supplemented for a daring ferry mission from Gander to Britain. Alas, even with all the flight instructors now engaged, the numbers come up short. So, the military turns to civilian pilots to fill the void. Using Tiny’s papers, MacLean enlists. Dutton recognizes him. But Emily explains the real reason why MacLean wed, then later dumped her. Emily and Dutton reconcile, and Dutton permits MacLean to take to the skies once more. Now, commanding a flight of five, Dutton is assaulted by a German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter as they near the British Isles. Blimp and Scrounger are shot down. To ensure the mission’s success, MacLean deliberately crashes his unmanageable bomber into the Nazi fighter, sacrificing himself in the process.

As with most any war-themed/flag waver of its vintage, Captains of the Clouds was well-received by audiences in 1942. Critics, however, were not entirely convinced of its virtues. Indeed, viewed today, and despite its exceptional aerial sequences, the picture is a rather B-grade effort with A-list trappings and Technicolor pushed to the forefront to will it into a success.  While Cagney and his cohorts do their level best, the backstage plot here is dubious and fairly silly. Emily’s conversion from ‘bad girl’ to noble woman, instilling the virtues of MacLean’s sacrifice to her ex to ensure their friendship recovers, is about as convincing as using wallpaper paste to shore up a leaky dam. Does anyone believe a friend would marry his best friend’s no-good fiancée merely to spare him her wickedness? How deep does this otherwise slightly homoerotic alliance go? Bookended by some truly stunning aerial work, Captains of the Clouds has its moments of exhilaration. It also assembles the Warner’s stock company for an outing most could have phoned in blindfolded. Do they add up to a memorable…even a cohesive WWII actioner? In spite of its $2,116,000 domestic gross, with an additional $1,312,000 gleaned from the foreign markets…the answer is, not really. Cagney’s disdain for the role is, at intervals, rather obvious. Yes, he is a consummate pro. But he’s also Cagney – the physically diminutive powerhouse who wears his heart, and arguably, his ego – at least in youth, on his sleeve.  In the end, Captains of the Clouds is an amiable enough entre into WWII propaganda – seemingly effortless in its execution. It passes the time nicely, if forgettable to a fault.

Warner Archive’s (WAC) new to Blu is predictably another quality affair. The 3-strip Technicolor positively radiates from the peripheries of the screen. Outdoor scenes exhibit a startling amount of clarity while stage-bound indoor scenes are remarkably nuanced under controlled lighting conditions. Flesh tones sparkle. Colors pop as they ought – from the blood reds in flags to mustard yellow shimmer of airplane metal. Contrast is bang on perfect as is the film’s organic grain structure. No misregistration of the 3-strip process either. So, sharp images, free of age-related artifacts. You are simply going to love the way this disc looks. The 2.0 DTS mono excels with zero hiss and pop. With the exception of a trailer, no extras. Interestingly, of the 16 Technicolor features made and released in 1942, Captains of the Clouds was the only offering from Warner Bros. – a middling picture whose saving grace today is its Technicolor! The Blu-ray is perfect. Judge and buy accordingly.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

3

VIDEO/AUDIO

5+

EXTRAS

0