Flying Tigers

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
John Wayne stars in this American propaganda movie, made soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and consequently featuring many Japanese warplanes being blown out of the sky. Squadron Leader Gordon (Wayne) commands the US Flying Tigers squad against Japan's fleet of bombers, but resentment grows amongst his team when one pilot's glory-seeking efforts place the mission at risk.

AMAZON REVIEW
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 in Twelve O'Clock High, Flying Tigers still has enough characterisation and action to keep the viewer's attention (not to mention special effects by the pioneering Howard Lydecker). --Mark Savary