Evening star., 1941-06-06

Ou, N'
10 To match the Air Corps generos-
ity in donating its latest material
and technical advice, Paramount
donated some of its finest material
in the shapes of Ray Milland, Brian
Donlevy and Veronica Lake-espe-
cially that of newcomer Miss Lake.
Between them, the picture at the
Palace. an engrossing revelation of
life as it might be lived-and loved
by the young men sprouting Amer
ica's desperately needed wings.
The human story which counter
points the strictly military (but also
dramatic) aspects of Il Wanted
Wings indicates that the glories
and hazards in the life of a young
pilot are not limited to his profess
sional life If what happens to the
three young men whose stories are
told in the picture is accurate, there
Is never a dull moment in the life
of a flying cadet. The training ritual
designed to make man of him ends
daily only to expose him to another
ritual by which an instructive blond
is trying to make monkey of him.
AS it works out in the case of Il
Wanted Wings" it keeps the picture
moving at that pace which keeps an
audience happy no matter how mis-
cradle the characters on the screen
may be at any given moment.
Six major characters are involved
In the story of which Air Corps 1t.
Bernie Ley, jr.. is one of the au-
thors. The principal ones are three
flying cadets, one the debonair rich
lad Ray Milland), the second a
natural athlete on the numbskull
side CWayne Norris, the third a
bitter, disillusioned, but likable
young man whose background was
an automobile repair shop CWilliam
Holden. The other three are hard
boiled, heart-ofgold flight instruc-
tor brian Donlevy), f1ippant typ
ical American girl who works for a
picture magazine onstance
Moore), and, last but far from least,
a pitlable, seductive blond whose
moral values are tragically askew
(Miss Lake..
The dramatic conflicts worked out
between them are by no means
novel, but their lack of novelty is
pretty well masked by the frame
within which they are set. The
major one embraces the emotions
of Playboy Milland, bitter young
Holden and sirenish Miss Lake.
Having broken HoldenS dark heart
by playing upon his inferiority
complex, Miss Lake goes through
the picture all out to get her hand,
on Milland, whom she recognizes
as a bird in hand worth at least
a million dollars. The mess she
makes of things leaves it dubious
throughout the picture that Uncle
Sans young pilots ever will get
their emotional lives Strengthened
out in time to become properly
qualified to repel an enemy. When
she finally is killed off in the crash
of a bomber on which she has
slowed away it looks like a good
omen for the future of the Air
Corps.
That part of its area which is
devoted to showing the training
ritual for flying cadets, a course
which is photographed from the
weighing-in process all the way
through to plotting four r-motored
bombers, is easily the equal of the
other passages in dramatic value.
These are reputedly thoroughly doc
umented shots, and they leave no
doubt that the adventure of becom-
ing a military pilot is one of the
most inviting thrills left to man.
Photographically and dramatically
they constitute some of the most
brilliant sequences of the picture,
proving that aviation can stand
romantically on its own, even with
out Miss Lake in the background.
Director Mitchell Leisen has
made adroit use of his people as
we'll as of the camera-which seems
to be getting recognition in Holly