The War Lover simply tells the tale of two B-17 pilots in love with Daphne Caldwell (Shirley Anne Field) during the middle of WWII. To make things a little more complex (and of course a little more interesting), Capt Buzz Rickson (played by Steve McQueen) is a strong leader of his crew and the other pilot in love with Daphne is in his crew (Lt. Ed Bolland, played by Robert Wagner). The frustrating piece to Buzz is that Ed is winning the war of love.
My Likes:
A story about WWII, especially one about air crews. I've been fascinated for some time in bomber crews and what they went through. Several boring days waiting for a mission and then you have several hours of raw excitement as you fight your way to and from the target. The War Lover does a great job showing this. The crew of The Body (the name of the B-17) are tight and fly as one. Rickson leads, and none question him. This is the romantic look at the bomber crew. We see the crews excitement as the number of missions mount, knowing the odds are against them surviving their 25 missions.
My Dislikes:
The missions, the planes, and the romance. The directors had the chance to follow the actual 8th Air Force missions in 1943 and they totally blew it. They showed that they went to Sweinfurt (twice actually) but totally failed to take into account the other historical missions around this (Munster pops to mind). Very disappointing given that the missions were history.
The airplanes were disappointing also. They showed B-17G's (chin gun) vs. B-17F's (what would have been flown given the time period). This a minor nit until we add the fact that several 17's that crash landed failed to have ball turrets or other equipment on them. I know B-17's were in short supply by 1962 but I expect people to try (in some ways it would have been better if they'd used models for the crashlandings).
The romance also didn't sell me. Shirley Anne Field is ok in the role but Robert Wagner just didn't do it for me with her. I couldn't feel that they belonged together. McQueen was good at playing the "lover of war", but he's a little distant for a person to like (yes, I know they wanted that but still, you want to like him because he's leading the crew of The Body).
My Rating:
Three stars and no more. This movie had the chance to set up a great story and blew it. Hanover Street does a better job showing a similar story and Harrison Ford blows McQueen and Wagner out of the water. The romance in Hanover Street is also better to put it simply. If you're not into Harrison Ford then watch From Here to Eternity. If you want to watch a bomber movie about the crews, try 12 O'Clock High or Command Decision. The only point I felt any real like in the movie was seeing the relationship between the crew members, especially the ending. There's some good pieces here, but not enough to overcome a rather weak story.
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Customer reviews
Loved it very much, great story. However at least the copy that I have played for only 2 hours and 5 minutes, the listing states 3 hours 11 minutes. I checked IMDB and the run time is 2 Hours and 5 minutes.
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Top reviews from other countries
Darth Maciek
Hero? Psychopath? Closeted homosexual? Impotent? All of above? One thing is certain, this "war lover" is in a lot of pain...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2014
Record Collector
Between Vin Tanner and Virgil Hilts is Buzz Rickson
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 11, 2013Amazon Customer
An authentic view of crewing a B17
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 13, 2014
