Customer Reviews

The Man and His Wings: William A. Wellman and the Making of the First Best Picture

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Success in Hollywood is often achieved by working within the system, but some of the greatest stars and directors were those who didn't fit in. William A. Wellman was one of the latter: "He was a square peg looking at round holes," writes his son William Wellman Jr. in _The Man and His Wings: William A. Wellman and the Making of the First Best Picture_ (Praeger). Wellman senior looked back on his career and reminisced: "I've been fired from every studio in Hollywood except Disney - they never hired me!" The junior Wellman has made his own way in show business, including making a documentary about his father's work and an upcoming movie biography. He obviously loves his subject, plainly writing in admiration. One of the attractions of the book is that much of it is written by the senior Wellman himself, letters and unpublished memoirs included in large chunks here. The book climaxes with the making and reception of the silent film _Wings_, which Wellman directed in 1927. It is perhaps Wellman's best work, although he made movies until 1958, including such standouts as _The Public Enemy_ with James Cagney in 1931 and the sardonic and hilarious _Nothing Sacred_ in 1937. Before Wellman made his great movie about pilots in World War One, he was himself a pilot in World War One, and his jaunty letters to his family from the time tell a great deal about the authenticity of _Wings_.

Wellman got kicked out of high school and was convicted of being a car thief before heading to France in 1917 to become a flier in the French Air Service (the US Air Service had turned him down due to his lack of education). Wellman joined the Lafayette Escadrille, and it is some sort of miracle that he learned to fly; the instructors spoke only French and then turned their charges over to a series of training aircraft, without ever getting into an airplane with a student. He was a bold pilot. In one of his first forays, he was the only volunteer for a risky mission, one that all the French pilots turned down; he just wanted to get into the action quickly, he explained. He had so many close calls in the air that he lost plenty of planes, each named Cecilia for his mother. Cecilia V was shot down just four months after Wellman had begun his service, and his head and back injuries were enough in this accident to get him discharged, fully decorated, from the Lafayette Flying Corps. Douglas Fairbanks sent him a cable of congratulations, and told him there was a job if he was ever in Hollywood. Wellman climbed from studio messenger to director of westerns, and Paramount only reluctantly rewarded him with the directorship of _Wings_. It was a big risk, budgeted at all of two million dollars (breaking all previous records), but Paramount reasoned that at least Wellman knew his subject. When we watch the still-exciting dogfight chases today, it is hard to remember that Wellman had no books or previous films to learn from. It was news to the executives who oversaw him, for instance, that a dogfight cannot be filmed in a cloudless sky, because in an open sky there is no sense of speed.

_Wings_ had good preview response, but the studio was still worried over public reaction. It opened in New York three months after Lindbergh's flight, a premiere to which Wellman was not invited. The movie was a sensation; it played in New York for two solid years. Wellman also wasn't invited to be at the first Academy Awards celebration, in which his film won the first Best Picture award, which was handed, by Douglas Fairbanks, to Adolph Zukor, the president of Paramount. How different things were back then; Fairbanks handed out all the awards himself, none of the recipients made speeches, and it took all of five minutes. Wellman would be handed his own Oscar eventually, for co-writing the original _A Star is Born_ (1937). _Wings_, however, is as good as any popular entertainment movie has ever been; if you ever get a chance to see it in revival, I guarantee that you will find that the audience still thinks the movie a rousing one. I find it listed as one of the few Best Picture winners that are not available on DVD, but there seems to be hope that one will be coming out soon. After reading this hugely entertaining book about the man who made it happen, I can't wait to see it again.

As a descendant of a motion picture aviator who coached the leading aviators of WINGS, I can authentically say that the depth of loyalty and passion of William Wellman Jr.'s book, is highly inspiring.

The "Man and His Wings", is a series of breathtaking rushes! It is a passionate adventure throughout. The emotions expressed fly the whole range from tenderly touching to stunningly exhilarating. This book places you in the cockpit engaging in Wellman Sr.'s combat crashes, the intensive making of WINGS and beyond. Prepare to soar and crash land, then roar again through this book. You might even let out an exhilarated cowboy-aviator-warrior type "wahooooooooo!" (as I did) when landing the final written words of this book.

This is one of the rare books that I would like to reread to relive each passionate moment. The times we live in are becoming more Wild West again. Paying attention and tribute to "Wild Bill's" loyal aviator code of conduct and instant Karma reactions may help us adapt faster while we progress into the Wild West of change.

This adventurous biopic has the framework material for the making of a motion picture or wild stage drama inspired by the life of William Wellman Sr. At least a "Wild Bill" documentary has been released to further this thrilling adventure.

Over 60 photos from personal life, the screen and behind-the-scenes of WINGS and other intensive films, enhance this daring aviator/director's adventure.

One of my favorite quotes from Wellman's book is "Mine was a clean battlefield, young men died up there, they were never buried up there--but their bravery still drifts through the clouds, like ghostly headstones."

Daringly Best,
Shawna Kelly
Descendant of Aviator Actor "Daredevil" DeLay
Author of Aviators in Early Hollywood (Images of America: California)

The first Academy Awards announced in 1929 went to William Wellman's 1927 anti-war epic WINGS, the film which invented many techniques still used to film aerial battle scenes: Wellman went on to direct other films and stars, but WINGS remained his opus. THE MAN AND HIS WINGS: ROBERT A. WELLMAN AND THE MAKING OF THE FIRST BEST PICTURE could've been reviewed in our film section, but is featured here for its inclusion of family documents, mementos and personal correspondence from his father's World War I background to reveal the military influences of a director who would change Hollywood forever. A fine behind the scenes look at both Wellman and World War I experiences.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch