Prior to viewing 1927's
Wings, I had never watched an actual silent film era movie. My only exposure to them were short clips seen on TV, usually accompanied by some sort of narrated commentary about the film or actor. Other than that, Mel Brook's
Silent Movie and the first half of Pixar's
Wall-E are the only things I've viewed in their entirety that come even remotely close to the concept. Having relied on sound to tell the story my entire life, I worried about losing interest or becoming easily bored.
Well... I did get bored at times, but it had nothing to do with a lack of sound or spoken dialogue.
First, a brief plot synopsis (No Spoilers*): Jack Powell (Charles "Buddy" Rogers) and David Armstrong (Richard Arlen) are two aspiring American pilots about to leave for war. Both are in love with the same girl, Sylvia Lewis (Jobyna Ralston), who actually prefers David. Meanwhile, Jack's neighbor, Mary Preston (Clara Bow), is infatuated with him, but he doesn't know it. The two head to training where they eventually become friends, and are shipped off to France to aid the Allies. During a mission, David is gunned down and presumed dead. The climax of the film is an epic dogfight, where Jack vows to avenge his friend's supposed death.
I love a good war movie, and even more, I love a good WWI movie. I've always been drawn to the "Great War." Probably because it was just so aggravatingly futile, making it a perfect backdrop to the sort of bittersweet storytelling that I love. This is touched upon in
Wings, though much too briefly for my taste. Sure there's a messy love triangle and the potential for unrequited love, but that is not what this movie is about. This movie isn't even about the futility of war, despite its sometimes gory depiction of death (more on that later) and melancholy intertitles. This is an action movie-- plain and simple.
The boredom I experienced happened mostly during the overly long dogfights. While these scenes are impressive, they get old real quick. In fact, the first real air fight scene is the best in the entire film, making the concluding dogfight seem weak by comparison. (I was interested to read that several of the actors cast had WWI flying experience, and flew the planes themselves in order to shoot the closeups. Now that's some real "doing-your-own-stunts" cred.)
As for the romance, this subplot is mostly relegated to the very beginning and end of the movie. The character Sylvia is introduced in the beginning, setting up the love triangle aspect, but then not seen again until the end (and hardly mentioned in between). Mary Preston fairs much better thanks to Clara Bow's fame, but it's pretty obvious that the movie was rewritten to include the studio's biggest star. Mary becomes an ambulance driver in France, and pops up from time-to-time throughout the story. While Bow's appearances are a fun break from the seriousness of the war scenes, they often seem like afterthoughts to the main plot.
Going into this movie I was expecting it to show some age, primarily in the form of cheesy special effects and a certain amount of chasteness. Boy, was I wrong! The special effects are actually good, with death defying aerial acrobatics that are very thrilling. And as for those gory deaths I mentioned earlier: during one dogfight a pilot is shot from behind and blood gushes out of his mouth. Seriously, it
gushes. Later, you're treated to an eyeful in the form of Clara Bow's breasts. Yes folks, there's even brief nudity! Needless to say, I was shocked. Didn't Hollywood have rules prohibiting this sort of thing back then? Well, not yet, but I bet this was one of the movies that helped shape the infamous
Hays Code that would dominate the film industry for several decades.
So, where do I stand on
Wings, the first Best Picture winner and only silent film to earn the title? I like it, but I don't love it. Maybe I'm just too reliant on sound to tell a story. I noticed early on that the actors were saying way more lines than were written in the intertitles, making me wish I could read lips to know exactly what was being said. The love triangle started out promising, but wasn't given time to develop. Poor Sylvia becomes a throw away character, and Mary's just... there. Still, the entire movie is surprisingly entertaining, and a great glimpse into the past.
Oh, did I mentioned I watched this on
YouTube? It's certainly a much different world today than it was 84 years ago.
* Even though these movies are decades old, I will do my best not to spoil the endings. Any plot details I do give will be as minimal and superficial as possible.
