Reviews (8)

Technicality, or where were you in 1942?
For those of you that will or want to screech about how technically incorrect this movie is, remember this movie was made and released in 1944. That means it was made and released during the Second World War. The U.S. government was loathed to confirm the fact that a sea battle even took place near Midway Island, let alone disclose what our force make-up was or what our or what it believed the enemies real battle looses were.

Additionally, in 1944 it was still unknown for certain what was results of the Torpedo Bombers attack. It wasn't until after the war that it was learned what actually happened. Although it is true that the Torpedo Bombers didn't get hits on the Japanese Carriers, the real point is that the TBF Squadrons took nearly 75% casualties in this battle, that if it wasn't for those brave men who gave their lives up at very-low altitude, the Dive Bombers coming in from 12 to 15,000 feet above the torpedo attacks may not have got the chance they needed to get through the Japanese air cover. Once again, it's also true that in 1944 none of this information was either known or if suspected, any where near releasable to the population as true.

Heck, one of our submarines reported sinking one of the 4 Japanese carriers and was actually credited with the sinking. That was until post war interrogations of the Japanese sailors that fought at Midway revealed they saw submarine torpedos hit a carrier during the air attacks and break up, without detonating.

By the way, the character portrayed by Dana Andrews was right to be worrying about Japanese radar. Because even though the Japanese didn't have radar on their ships at Midway, the United States Navy thought they might have radar and trained its Carrier Wings to expect its use. When you get right down to it, this film is as technically correct as the US Navy in 1944 could be.

I saw 'A Wing and a Prayer' at least 30 times on board US Navy ships and on TV since 1946. I bought the VHS copy I'm reviewing now about two years ago. If you like classic war movies made during WWll, this is one of the best. It's a fine film, with excellent acting.

a wing, a prayer and a snooze
Not the greatest WW II movie I've ever seen. During that time Hollywood could throw practically anything on the screen and people would come to watch it. This has the usual cast of 4-Fs acting brave, and Don Ameche, usually a laughing boy in lighthearted musicals, is particularly ludicrous as a tight lipped officer who sternly goes around making hard decisions that have to be made. Why couldn't he at least have sung one song to Betty Grable? Aside from these quibbles, this movie is good because it is about a more interesting, innocent time in America when Americans were naturally patriotic and patriotism wasn't a product of corporate America.

Technical Inaccuracies But Highly Entertaining
Most of the reviewers of A WING AND A PRAYER focus on the historical background that led up to the battle of Midway. It is quite true that when this film was released in 1944, much of the data that Americans now take for granted was not available or well-known. However, when critics harp on the background of the film rather than on its cinematic virtues, I think that some injustice is done. Putting aside the technical lapses--and I grant there were more than a few--the film itself did what its producers wanted. It roused the patriotism of America in a way that is still vastly entertaining today. Director Henry Hathaway got the most out of a sterling cast led by Don Ameche and Dana Andrews as Navy officers who every day had to balance the brute exegencies of war against its inevitable human cost. For a film about war, there is remarkably little war in it. Most of the action is the drama resulting from human interaction. Unlike most navy war films of the time, A WING AND A PRAYER tried to show the behind the scenes mechanics of war more than the bang-bang of anti-aircraft. It is this concentration on how to get a carrier fleet ready for the business of war that lends this movie its undeniable aura of plausibility. Pilots and crew are shown facing the stress of pre-combat with not all of them surmounting it. It is not until the end that American planes get busy shooting at the Japanese. There is a quite effective scene in which the captain, played by veteran character actor Charles Bickford, plays the radio broadcasts of combat over the ship's PA system. As the crew hears the shouts of men and the clangor of planes, the crew is mesmerized by the vicarious sounds all around them. A WING AND A PRAYER is one of the less heralded WWII films that chose to focus more on the events leading up to combat than on the combat itself. For those who have personal experience of combat, this movie rings as resonant a bell as any other movie that emphasizes the opposite.

War Classic is a must for your library.
You'll find some war footage I haven't seen elsewhere! Film is one to savor the life aboard a carrier in WWII.

Technicality, or where were you in 1942?
For those of you that will or want to screech about how technically incorrect this movie is, remember this movie was made and released in 1944. That means it was made and released during the Second World War. The U.S. government was loathed to confirm the fact that a sea battle even took place near Midway Island, let alone disclose what our force make-up was or what our or what it believed the enemies real battle looses were.

Additionally, in 1944 it was still unknown for certain what was results of the Torpedo Bombers attack. It wasn't until after the war that it was learned what actually happened. Although it is true that the Torpedo Bombers didn't get hits on the Japanese Carriers, the real point is that the TBF Squadrons took nearly 75% casualties in this battle, that if it wasn't for those brave men who gave their lives up at very-low altitude, the Dive Bombers coming in from 12 to 15,000 feet above the torpedo attacks may not have got the chance they needed to get through the Japanese air cover. Once again, it's also true that in 1944 none of this information was either known or if suspected, any where near releasable to the population as true.

Heck, one of our submarines reported sinking one of the 4 Japanese carriers and was actually credited with the sinking. That was until post war interrogations of the Japanese sailors that fought at Midway revealed they saw submarine torpedos hit a carrier during the air attacks and break up, without detonating.

By the way, the character portrayed by Dana Andrews was right to be worrying about Japanese radar. Because even though the Japanese didn't have radar on their ships at Midway, the United States Navy thought they might have radar and trained its Carrier Wings to expect its use. When you get right down to it, this film is as technically correct as the US Navy in 1944 could be.

I saw 'A Wing and a Prayer' at least 30 times on board US Navy ships and on TV since 1946. I bought the VHS copy I'm reviewing now about two years ago. If you like classic war movies made during WWll, this is one of the best. It's a fine film, with excellent acting. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great Scott! Great Western!
This is the stuff that Columbia/Tristar should be releasing on disc
not another deluxe,special edition of "Spiderman" Randolph Scott is
in top form as the leader of a band of rebel confederates who after
Robbing a Union Convoy & killing all on board they come to find out
that the civil war has ended over a month ago. Faced with choice of
being executed or fleeing for home. As men option the latter only
a posse of bounty hunters ruin the groups chances as
they are forced to take hostages and hold up in a stagecoach shack.

One of the best in a series of good westerns made by Randolph
Scott in the 1950's This one sports a great plot with a good cast
of characters including Donna Reed,Richard Denning and Lee Marvin
The remaster quality is excellent(almost blinding) in it's bright
technicolor glory. Come on Columbia get the lead out of that film
vault and release "The Bounty Hunter" and "Commanche Station"!

Minor Scott masterpiece
Director Roy Huggins has produced a winner in the classic oater HANGMAN'S KNOT. Released in 1952, this film features Scott, with a supporting cast including Donna Reed and Lee Marvin, as a Confederate agent sent west with a small party to capture Yankee gold for the beleaguered Confederacy. Action is taught and the dialogue, in its leanness, is at times reminiscent of the later Budd Boetticher Scott westerns of the late 1950s. This is certainly one of the best Randy Scott movies of the 1950s and maintains interest thoughout. ... Read more