MartinHafer I am biased, as are all film reviewers. There are certain types of films we are naturally more positively predisposed to, and this is one of them for me. I love history and aviation and so it's not at all surprising that I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Heck, there were a lot of very similar movies in the 1930s and 1940s--films about young cadets trying to make it through flight school, bombardier school, etc. After a while, they tend to blend a bit together in my head and I am sure that the average viewer would get tired of the genre pretty quickly. But if you also consider that this film was made by Warner Brothers (who made a lot of similar films) and stars some wonderful actors that I truly enjoy watching (George Brent, Olivia DeHavilland, John Payne and Frank McHugh), it's natural that I should like it. But, on the other hand, will you? Well, if you love this type of film, you are sure to be impressed. If you have not, then you probably will find that the film is a tad contrived and clichéd--particularly regarding the romantic triangle in the film. But considering how marvelously done the flying sequences are (exceptional for the time), the consistency of the writing and acting and the overall fun of the film, I think the average person would still probably give this movie a score of 6. I myself give it an 8 but realize that a good compromise between non-aviation/old movie lovers/history teachers and nuts like me is a score of 7.

cmfield I was seven years old when my parents took me to see "Wings of the Navy" in 1939 at the Vogue Theater in Montebello, CA. I believe this was the first movie I had seen. At least I don't recall any movie before this one. I remember sitting near the back of the theater with my parents. I really like the flying scenes and I remember the sounds of the airplane engines. The love scenes did not do anything for me of course. Boy that is amazing I can remember those details. I remember calling the movie Wings of the Avery. Does anyone know if there was ever a DVD or Video made of the movie? I have looked everywhere I can think of with no luck. If someone knows where I can get a copy of it I would be one happy guy.Sincerely,Charles Field

Neil Doyle While the training exercises are realistic enough in WINGS OF THE NAVY, filmed on location at actual training grounds in Pensacola and San Diego, its story is strictly formula stuff with a love triangle between two brothers (George Brent, John Payne) in love with the same girl (Olivia de Havilland) holding the action sequences together.This is almost like a B&W version of PEARL HARBOR--but lacking the punch of the PEARL HARBOR war scenes. It's a dated aviation drama, with a love story against the background of preparations for war. However, none of the characters have any real depth and there's the usual clumsy comedy attempts of Frank McHugh which become irritating after awhile.The chief players are pleasant enough and it's interesting to see how the sea planes operated in San Diego--but the script is strictly off the Warner assembly line. Olivia de Havilland is pretty as a picture as the heroine but given little to do while Brent and Payne share most of the spotlight. The training scenes give us an interesting look at the air force equipment of 1939--and I'm sure it encouraged many young men to enlist two years before World War II broke out.

Arthur Hausner The U.S. Navy Department cooperated fully with the making of this film, which was dedicated to the United States Naval Aviation Service. With war clouds hovering over Europe, the Navy knew that enlistments would increase with the release of the movie, so they eagerly allowed on-location shooting at the Naval Air Training Station in Pensicola, Florida and the Naval Air Station on North Island in San Diego, California, and allowed the use of naval equipment. I was surprised at the clunky WWI biplanes used for training in Pensicola, but was impressed with the huge "flying boats" in San Diego. These were multi-crew seaplanes which were lifted out of the water by huge cranes for storage on land, an impressive sight. The movie is sprinkled with a bit of tedious romantic rivalry between brothers George Brent and John Payne for Olivia de Havilland, some comedy provided by Frank McHugh, and some suspense about the outcome of a test flight of a plane Brent designed. It's very typical of the military films of the period, following a group of would-be pilots, some of whom make it and some of whom don't.