Plot.
Poster of Wings

Wings

1927 · Film · 144 min

  • Drama
  • Action
  • War
  • Romance

Plot

Two young men, one rich, one middle class, both in love with the same woman, become US Air Corps fighter pilots and, eventually, heroic flying aces during World War I. Devoted best friends, their mutual love of the girl eventually threatens their bond. Meanwhile, a hometown girl who's the lovestruck lifelong next door neighbor of one of them pines away.

About Wings

Wings is a 1927 American war film which won the first Academy Award for Best Picture. While the sound version of the film has no audible dialogue, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects. The original soundtrack to the sound version is preserved at UCLA. The film stars Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, and Richard Arlen. Rogers and Arlen portray World War I combat pilots in a romantic rivalry over a woman. It was produced by Lucien Hubbard, directed by William A. Wellman, and released by Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation. Gary Cooper appears in a small role, which helped launch his career in Hollywood. The film, a romantic action-war picture, was rewritten by scriptwriters Hope Loring and Louis D. Lighton from a story by John Monk Saunders to accommodate Bow, Paramount's biggest star at the time. Wellman was hired, as he was the only director in Hollywood at the time who had World War I combat pilot experience, although Richard Arlen and John Monk Saunders had also served in the war as military aviators. The film was shot on location at Kelly Field in San Antonio, between September 7, 1926, and April 7, 1927 on a budget of $2 million (equivalent to $29 million in 2025). Hundreds of extras and some 300 pilots were involved in the filming, including pilots and planes of the United States Army Air Corps which were brought in for the filming and to…

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cast

  • Clara BowMary Preston
  • Charles 'Buddy' RogersJack Powell
  • Richard ArlenDavid Armstrong
  • Jobyna RalstonSylvia Lewis
  • El BrendelHerman Schwimpf
  • Richard TuckerAir Commander
  • Gary CooperCadet White
  • Gunboat SmithThe Sergeant
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