WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

secondtake Captains of the Clouds (1942) It's always a bit weird to see semi-propaganda films made with mainstream talent, as if it's just another movie. It kind of eats into the credibility of movies in that period in general, as distinctive art forms as opposed to commercial vehicles. So this has (for example) songs by Harold Arlen (Over the Rainbow fame) and Johnny Mercer, and some photography by the great Sol Polito (though there were four shooters involved, due to the range of situations required). And the director is the indisputably excellent Michael Curtiz, who was making "Casablanca" at roughly the same time. This is a movie about the Canadian air effort in the war. The lead by James Cagney is slightly odd in this regard, but it gives the movie creds. The leading woman (reddish hair and very red lipstick for the Technicolor production) is a more suitable Brenda Marshall. The scene is in an isolated lake country, dependent on small planes for getting everything they need in and out (including teams of huskies, at the beginning). It's all quite beautiful, and if the characters are back woods caricatures, that's part of the whole shtick with this kind of film. So this is a manly world with people dickering over money, but showing a kind of integrity that makes them dependable and ready to support the war effort once it gets going. The speech by Winston Churchill heard by radio (halfway through the film) is the key turning point, and the men rise above their petty small town rivalries. The "girl" is what really matters behind all their arguments. But war, of course, changes even love. Devotees of war films will appreciate the accuracies in the training and the aircraft used. Of course, this was shot not long after it actually was happening (a year or two) and legitimacy is almost unavoidable on some level. But finally I have to get to the actual plot, the human interactions that make up the story, because this is a weakness overall. The attempts to give personal relatability to the events are natural, but not all that convincing. So seeing it sixty years later it can't be watched quite for the story itself, but for the many parts that make up the overall arc. Curtiz is great and he makes the most of it all. Max Steiner's music helps though it is a little overblown for a lot of what a mount to documentary sections. The fact it's in color is interesting (for the expense) and it's actually part of what makes it interesting-and it's quite believable, clean, not oversaturated color, brilliantly controlled.

suttonstreet-imbd As a pilot, yes I enjoyed the airplanes. And the early technicolor views of Canada. But this is such a false, poorly written Hollywood script that I found the movie almost unwatchable. Every cliché in the book is trotted out, many of them at odds with the story. A guy marries the girl to keep his pal from marrying the wrong girl. Wrong because she dreams of the city life and this means she will run through the guy's money when he should be starting his dream airline. Really -- that's why you marry someone? But he, being the strong, silent type, and somehow thinking this is noble, doesn't tell his pal who ends up so bitter and broken-hearted that he throws away his money and never starts his dream airlines anyway. The irony seems to go completely unnoticed, probably because irony is not in the script. After another pal dies in an airplane crash, the hero sneaks onto the flight using his other pal's papers, and no one recognizes it is the wrong guy! A clever ploy that I am guessing only works in Canada. Well, you get the idea.

utgard14 James Cagney's first color film is a formulaic but entertaining effort about a bush pilot who joins the Royal Canadian Air Force during WWII. The Technicolor is beautiful -- rich, luscious, vibrant colors that just pop out at you. It really brings the photography of the Canadian wilderness to life. This was also the first Hollywood movie shot on location in Canada. The cast is made up of solid WB contract stars. In addition to Cagney, there's Dennis Morgan, Alan Hale, Brenda Marshall, and the annoying George Tobias.I'll admit, as much as I like Cagney, in some of his pictures I just can't stand his characters. The plot here is very similar to previous Cagney films. He plays a cocksure jerk who "steals" friend Dennis Morgan's girl (Brenda Marshall). The movie does mix things up a bit by having him do this to HELP Morgan, if you can believe that! At least the altered formula allows Morgan to keep some dignity, unlike poor Pat O'Brien who played runner-up to Jimmy in several earlier films like this. Of course, this alteration to the formula is at the expense of Brenda Marshall's character. So if you're looking for a strong female character, look elsewhere. All in all, it's an enjoyable picture that's really nice to look at. Watch it for the fine cast and stunning Technicolor.

Robert J. Maxwell There are few surprises here but they aren't really needed. In fact, we might be shocked if any genuine innovation appeared in a 1942 Warners flag-waving adventure about a small gang of Canadian bush pilots who join the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. No, this fits the template in a way that satisfies and uplifts. In a changing and often disappointing universe we can always depend on director Michael Curtiz and his studio to deliver the reassuring goods.Half a dozen bush pilots fly around in the lake country transporting supplies to isolated settlements. The pilots include some familiar names -- the handsome Dennis Morgan, the comic George Tobias, the avuncular and not overly bright Alan Hale. James Cagney brings his own float plane into this milieu and begins to undercut everyone else's business. On top of that, he marries Morgan's girl friend, Brenda Marshall, simply to keep Morgan from ruining his plans to establish his own airport. Morgan would fail if he hooked up with the flighty and impulsive Marshall. Just a pal looking out for his buddy. Actually I'm not too sure that Cagney, with his New York cockiness, fits too well into this picture of rural Canadian types. He overcomes any weaknesses, though, by dint of the application of sheer skill. He's so graceful, so bouncy, in speech and manner. When he's knocked cold by a spinning propeller he practically does an entre chat before he collapses.The friendships and rivalries come to a head when war is declared and they all join the RCAF. Hale is rejected for being too old. Cagney's daredevil style during training gets him cashiered, but there is the usual climactic expiation.In addition to the easily grasped plot and the headlong pace, there are some dazzling shots of airplanes in flight. The skies are royal blue, the fir forests are veridian, and the scattered fair-weather cumulus clouds are puffs of cotton. Makes one want to take to the air. Well, makes SOME of us want to take to the air anyway. Others of us are guided by the maxim that what goes up must come down, without any specifics about exactly how the descent is achieved. The model work is of the period and not very convincing but who cares? It zips along enjoyably at a riotous pace.