Thunder Birds (1942)

Not even bad in a good way

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This isn't a review but this is the only website I know of that even remotely deals with subtle nuances one might have seen in a little known movie that features the lovely Gene Tierney in one of her first big films. This little gem directed by the great William Wellman has a scene in it where Gene steps out of the shower with ringlets in her hair that were captured by the Technicolor light in such a way as to take my breath away and have never forgotten it. Her hair was usually shown dry and perfectly coiffed and this is the only movie of hers I know where those fantastic ringlets were shown.Thank you, IMDb for letting this love-sick Gene Tierney fan express his admiration for an actress from Hollywood's Golden Age.

The man who directed this film about aerial training, William "Wild Bill" Wellman, was a daring pilot himself, and was not only responsible for Wings, the first Oscar winning feature, but also helmed The Ox Bow Incident, Public Enemy and 1937's A Star Is Born, and compared to those classics, this is rather weak tea, rescued by Technicolor, a 22 year old Gene Tierney, and its historical value as a WWII flag-waver. Studio director Daryl Zanuck wanted to give Gene Tierney, his doll-like starlet, plenty of exposure; here she was just a few years away from her indelible performances in Laura and Leave Her To Heaven; Tierney is paired with old reliable Preston Foster in a tale set in the Arizona desert, where the brilliantly colored blue and yellow prop planes dazzle the eye, set against desert sands and clear blue sky; the story is essentially older man vs. younger flier (sometimes leading man John Sutton) who vie for the heart of the fair maid, but the side benefits of the film outweigh the tired plot elements: how often do we see young Chinese and British airmen in Arizona being trained by Americans? How things change!

THUNDER BIRDS only gets a "6" from me because of its brilliant Technicolor photography, which looks marvelous on the print TCM is showing. Otherwise, I'd rank it much lower, even though it stars GENE TIERNEY, PRESTON FOSTER and JOHN SUTTON.Ironically, as long as it stays in the air, it's on firm ground. The minute the planes land, the routine story does nothing but get nowhere for seventy-eight minutes.There are a few compensations. One of them is Tierney looking stunning in all of her Technicolor close-ups. The other is the pleasure of seeing PRESTON FOSTER and JOHN SUTTON get more screen time than usual as the men she has to choose between. Unfortunately, all three of them have one-dimensional roles that any routine actor could play and none of them deliver anything special in the acting department.Under William A. Wellman's direction, it's the spectacular aerial photography that stands out. He's unable to do anything with the trite happenings on the ground, given the poor quality of the script.Trivia notes: When Sutton talks about his grandfather, he pulls out an old photo of director William Wellman wearing pilot gear.The background score depends heavily on "There Will Never Be Another You" from the Sonja Henie/John Payne film ICELAND produced by Fox the same year, this time used only as orchestral music.

The plot is nothing much new. An older, experienced aviator (Preston Foster) is hired as a civilian instructor at Thunder Bird Airfield in Arizona. His missions: (1) To shepherd a class of American, British, and Chinese novices through primary flight training, and (2) to woo an old girl friend, Gene Tierney, who happens to live on a ranch next to the field.One of his British students is the elegant-sounding and clean-cut young John Sutton. The poor guy used to be a doctor but then volunteered for the RAF, a position for which he seems manifestly unsuited. He gets airsick and is acrophobic, like me. Encouraged by his aunt, the no-nonsense Dame May Witty, he does his best to overcome his defects. After some initial flights, Foster says he's going to wash Sutton out but Sutton begs for another chance and Foster relents, for now.That's not all that's going on though. The ability to fly is one thing, but then there's Gene Tierney to contend with. Wow. Sutton and his co-cadet Richard Haydn (the voice of the caterpillar in "Alice in Wonderland") run into Gene Tierney in a dress shop. They admire her legs and she taunts them, flirtatiously, and leads them on. Preston's love for Tierney, if that's what it is, in unrequited but Tierney and Sutton get along quite well together. Did I mention her legs? Did I mention her facial features? She looks like the result of a mating between a Chinese porcelain doll and a fox.But never mind the romance. That's ground. The figure is the flying. The director, William Wellman, was a flier himself and though this was strictly a contractual obligation, his fascination with airplanes illuminates the film. I can only think of a few other films that have so successfully captured the exuberance of flying biplanes in their colorful pre-war paint schemes in the blue and crystalline air of Arizona. Such beauty for such an ugly end.If you find the romantic theme music familiar or appealing, it's written by Harry Warren for another movie about ice skating in the same year, 1942. The title is "There Will Never Be Another You," and it's entered the Great American Songbook. You can download it from anywhere.There's not much else to be said about the movie. The performances are all professional, the plot is the result of innumerable recyclings, and the visual imagery is splendor itself, especially the girl and the airplanes. Did I mention her legs? A cheerful and diverting way to spend an hour and a half.