moonspinner55 Lots of fun. Wells Root and Commander Harvey Haislip penned this screenplay from an original story Haislip also co-authored about an eager Naval Flight School cadet (Robert Taylor) in Pensacola flying solo out to Southern California to join Hellcat Fighters who have just lost one of their beloved teammates; he makes a colorful entrance (having to ditch his plane and parachute into the ocean because of fog!) and finds an early friend in a somewhat-emotional woman...the Skipper's wife! Camaraderie between the pilots on the ground is enjoyably written and played, with Taylor's charming self-assurance an interesting dynamic within the group (he isn't cocky, he's careful--though anxious to fit in). Subplot with Ruth Hussey's lonesome wife is soapy yet surprisingly skillful, while the aerial maneuvers are nicely photographed. An extra bonus: Red Skelton as a joshing lieutenant...and Walter Pidgeon looking younger than I have ever seen him. **1/2 from ****

wes-connors For service in World War II, brash Robert Taylor (as Alan "Pensacola" Drake) is assigned a "Flight Command" role, with the squadron of Navy fliers known as the "Hell Cats". At first, Mr. Taylor's confident cockiness rubs everyone the wrong way; but, he earns his comrades' respect, through charm and ability. Taylor also catches the eye of otherwise happily married Ruth Hussey (as Lorna Gary), wife of "Hell Cat" commander Walter Pidgeon (as William "Billy" Gray). Will their "love triangle" be consummated? Ordinary flag-waving film, ostensibly about Taylor fitting in with his squadron; however, the war sacrifices Ms. Hussey makes become the film's main focus. The supporting players outperform the leads; in particular, Shepperd Strudwick (as Jerry Banning) and Paul Kelly (as Dusty Rhodes). Mr. Strudwick's "fog device" provides an interesting sub-plot. The inter-cut "fog device" visual is an example of one of the film's irritants. Frank Borzage (direction) and Harold Rosson (photography) make some scenes look nice. **** Flight Command (12/17/40) Frank Borzage ~ Robert Taylor, Ruth Hussey, Walter Pidgeon, Paul Kelly

bkoganbing Aviation buffs will love Flight Command. The special effects are outstanding for 1940, very much like Howard Hughes's classic Hell's Angels. If this were made at 20th Century Fox, Tyrone Power would have been cast as the lead. Power had a patent on hero/heel types over at that studio. Robert Taylor who plays the lead here usually played straight up heroes in his films. Taylor played hero/heels, but not as often as Power did. Taylor debuted in that kind of part at MGM with A Yank at Oxford and wouldn't play one again until his classic Johnny Eager.Taylor is a wiseacre fresh naval cadet straight out of the flying school at Pensacola, hence the nickname the others give him. Because of deaths an opening occurs at the elite Hellcats fighter squadron and Taylor is brash enough to think they requested him personally. His attitude doesn't make him too many friends, among them being the squadron leader Walter Pigeon, his wife Ruth Hussey, and her brother Sheppard Strudwick. Strudwick is working on an instrument that will enable planes to land in fog, but gets killed trying to test fly it.That opens all kinds of complications and misunderstandings among the men of the squadron and Taylor gets to feel mighty unwelcome. But he gets a chance to redeem himself in the end.A few days earlier I did a review of another aviation picture Ceiling Zero and commented how Warner Brothers played on the cheap with the special effects. MGM did just the opposite, Flight Command got two Oscar nominations for visual special effects and sound, both well deserved.Carrier based aircraft was still an unproven tactic for war, although aircraft carriers had been developed since the early twenties. But it hadn't yet been shown to be effective in war. It's almost quaint to watch the cast using ancient World War I era biplanes as training vehicles. But that's what the United States Navy had available back then. It was two years until the battle of Midway and less than two years until Pearl Harbor when Flight Command came out. A whole lot of aviation progress was made in that period, it had to be.Flight Command out of necessity has to be dated, but it is still a good film to watch bearing in mind what these men were training for.

lorenellroy This is in some respects the Top Gun of its era-a drama about pilots ,and in particular the efforts of a hotshot trainee cadet from the flying academy at Pensacola to be accepted by the pilots of an elite service corps to which he is posted. The pilot -played by Robert Taylor-does not make a propitious start ,being forced to ditch his plane in heavy fog and mistaking his Commanding Officer's wife for a possible date .Matters get worse when a project he becomes involved with ,that aims to make it possible to land safely in fog ,goes fatally wrong ,and he is also falsely suspected of breaking up his C.O ' marriage. The second world war is taking place(There are references to Dunkirk) but the U S is not yet involved and the movie lacks the impetus that some combat sequences would have given to it. Its poorly acted -Taylor is as wooden as ever ,Ruth Hussey is frankly awful and even the normally dependable Walter Pidgeon looks as if he would rather be doing something else Frank Borzage was an excellent director in more romantic and poetic movies but is like a fish out of water in the macho world of aviation and square jawed heroics . The end product is frankly dull.