Thunder Birds
by William A. Wellman
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Dame May Whitty, Gene Tierney, Jack Holt, John Sutton, Preston FosterDirector: William A. Wellman
Brand: Fox
Cinematographer: Ernest Palmer
Editor: Walter Thompson
Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck
Writer: Darryl F. Zanuck
Producer: Lamar Trotti
Writer: Lamar Trotti
Writer: Laurence Stallings
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 78 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-06-06
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of Thunder Birds
Movie Review: Appealing WWII Romance with Beautiful Technicolor Cinematography
Summary: 5 Stars
THUNDER BIRDS is far from a classic but it one of the most visually appealing films you will ever see and is a very pleasant programmer. The movie boasts the most gorgeous Technicolor cinematography from the early 1940's that I can recall and was rarity for a non-period drama, non-musical to be filmed in Technicolor this early. Gorgeous Gene Tierney is an absolute vision but she has competition from the beautiful Arizona scenery, the gorgeous blue skies, and the stunning bright yellow airplanes. This is a "war movie" that never sets foot on the battlefield but centers on the training of enlisted men. British John Sutton is sent to America to be trained to fly for the RAF but he has a intense fear of flying. His instructor Preston Foster is supportive and proves to be a great ally when others want him drummed out but there friendship becomes threatened when Sutton falls for the local girl Gene that Foster has long been lightly courting.
This William Wellman film may not rank with his very best but it's highly watchable and is the sort of pleasant, light drama thats charmingly smooth and plays well in repeat viewing. The DVD print is absolutely gorgeous. The cinematographer Ernest Palmer is the real star here and he is outstanding.
Summary of Thunder Birds
Preston Foster gives a ?striking performance,? John Sutton ?is excellent? and Gene Tierney ?is outstanding? (The Hollywood Reporter) in this thrilling, topnotch drama directed by Oscar® winner* William A. Wellman. Highlighted by exceptional aerial sequences and suspenseful, heartfelt romance, Thunder Birds remains ?the first story of its kind the world has ever known!? (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesPeter Stackhouse (Sutton) wants to overcome his fear of flying in order to earn his wings and fight for his country. He becomes fast friends with Steve Britt (Foster), a patient and understanding instructor who sees the fighting heart in Peter and vows to give him every chance. But when both men fall for the same girl (Tierney), their camaraderie is put to the highest test?even as they fight side-by-side for their beliefs!
While it certainly shows its age, Thunder Birds is still a perfectly entertaining example of the pre-war programmers that Hollywood churned out at the height of World War II. From a story conceived by Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck (under the pen name "Melville Crossman"), this Technicolor tribute to bomber and fighter-pilot training was a perfect project for director William A. Wellman, an adventurous "man's man" who specialized in aviation films (including his 1927 Oscar®-winner Wings) and took this assignment so Zanuck would agree to finance Wellman's 1943 classic, The Ox-Bow Incident. The movie opens with patriotic commentary by celebrated journalist and author John Gunther (Death Be Not Proud), singing praises for the American, Chinese, and British allied forces who diligently train for battle under the sunny skies of Thunderbird Field, Arizona, where "their job is to fight, and they play the game to win." The standard-issue romance is strictly routine, but it gives radiant star Gene Tierney a chance to shine as she juggles the affections of a seasoned pilot trainer (Preston Foster) and a British trainee (John Sutton) who must conquer his fear of heights before earning his wings. Aviation buffs will love the dazzling Technicolor footage of vintage planes in action, and for all its cornball sincerity, Thunder Birds is worth seeing as a typical example of the kind of sturdy, well-made entertainment that wartime audiences flocked to in support of troops at home and abroad. As an added bonus, this Fox DVD includes brief clips of newsreel footage, showing Tierney christening a B-25 bomber with the name "Thunder Bird" and signing her name in cement at Graumann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, promoting her film and a war that Americans were determined to win.--Jeff Shannon
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