Flying Tigers
John Wayne plays the tough commander of Flying Tigers, the famous  fighter squadron that fought to save China from the Japanese. Wayne finds he is  fighting a war on two fronts: he's taking on the enemy with only a handful of  inexperienced men and patched-up planes while keeping a cocky new pilot from  stealing his girl. The story has little in common with real history, and lots of  classic post-Pearl Harbor propaganda fills the script. Regardless, the movie is  all Wayne's, and Wayne fans will enjoy seeing the prototype for what would  become the Duke's trademark portrayal of the military fighting man.Although the pressure of making life-and-death decisions in wartime may be more  maturely explored inTwelve O'Clock High,Flying Tigersstill has  enough characterization and action to keep the viewer's attention (not to  mention special effects by the pioneering Howard Lydecker).--Mark Savary