Truly Dreadful Film

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Unsurprisingly, this film barely ever crops up in discussions of Josef von Sternberg's work (in retrospect, it comes across as his most impersonal effort): this is perhaps because the subject matter was more suited to someone like Howard Hawks! When it is mentioned, it is as yet another Howard Hughes folly (for what it is worth, Hawks' own collaboration with the notoriously volatile producer on THE OUTLAW {1943} had proved equally disastrous if somewhat more rewarding as a film) or as one of 4 cinematic embarrassments that clouded the career of its legendary star, John Wayne – the others being the Commie-baiting BIG JIM McLAIN (1952), THE CONQUEROR (1956; with "The Duke" a most unlikely Genghis Khan!) and the flag-waving Vietnam War epic THE GREEN BERETS (1968).Though he respected Hughes and looked forward to working with scriptwriter Furthman again, Sternberg was humiliated into being asked to make a directing test before the start of shooting – having been away from film-making for almost a decade, with only a documentary short to his name in the interim and uncredited work on another troubled "Sex Western" as THE OUTLAW was i.e. the David O. Selznick production of DUEL IN THE SUN (1946)! Being also his only official film in color, the director says in his autobiography that he had revolutionary ideas about how this should be approached but, needless to say, he was not allowed to experiment on Hughes' time (and money)! Small wonder, then, that – eerily presaging their subsequent collaboration on MACAO (1952) – he walked away or was replaced (of all people, by Furthman himself…though there is also mention of Nicholas Ray being involved, yet again, in the re-takes!). Incidentally, while shooting was completed in 1950, mysteriously the film took 7 years to finally emerge – the last film to be officially released under Hughes' aegis – by which time, the airline novelties he had hoped to showcase had become obsolete and the studio he owned, RKO, had folded (so that the picture ultimately got released under the Universal banner)! The plot is the typical 'relinquishing of Communist ideals in favor of the Western world's way of life' which not only dated as far back as Ernst Lubitsch's Greta Garbo vehicle NINOTCHKA (1939) but, in the days of the Cold War, invariably produced a host of other comedies on the theme, namely NEVER LET ME GO (1953), THE IRON PETTICOAT (1956), SILK STOCKINGS (1957; actually a musical remake of NINOTCHKA itself) and Billy Wilder's ONE, TWO, THREE (1961; the director having earlier co-scripted that same Lubitsch film). To get back to JET PILOT, the person to go through this cultural switch is young Russian aviatrix Janet Leigh: in true Hughes fashion, she was chosen for her natural attributes more than anything else but, in hindsight, she proves delightfully perky – even involving the usually stoic "Duke" into situations of sexual innuendo that, again, were a Hawksian prerogative and, where Wayne is concerned, would be featured most prominently in his relationship with Angie Dickinson in RIO BRAVO (1959). The hero, of course, is the titular air ace who, in spite of the Commies' flying prowess, is shown to know a trick or two that can still surprise them and incur their envy! Familiar character actor Paul Fix, who is said to have taught Wayne the works of the acting profession and would thus be prominently featured in any number of the star's vehicle, appears here as his sidekick/Second-In-Command (who first attempts to communicate with Leigh in Yiddish!).Well, the narrative takes the formulaic route in that initial antagonism gives way to romance, which then is jeopardized by the discovery that Leigh is really a spy; prior to this, having learned of her imminent deportation, Wayne marries her but, of course, subsequently gives her the cold shoulder. That is, until his C.O. (Jay C. Flippen) is persuaded to have the hero ostensibly defect to Russia in order to provide the Commies with wrong information about American aviation techniques while getting a low-down of where they were themselves at! While Leigh believes Wayne had really turned traitor for her sake, she then discovers his ruse and is about to give him away to her own stern superiors! However, when the latter (an understanding Roland Winters and, for what it is worth, a former Charlie Chan!) is transferred and replaced with the smarmy Hans Conried (a brief but very nice turn), the heroine realizes that the Russians really intend doing away with Wayne, she is all-too-happy to return with her husband to his home country…because, after all, you don't get juicy steaks in the Soviet Union and certainly not like they do them in New York! All in all, JET PILOT (which I had first watched not too long ago on late-night Italian TV as a double-bill with the afore-mentioned THE CONQUEROR{!} – both would ultimately be released on DVD as part of Universal's 5-movie set JOHN WAYNE: AN American ICON) is reasonably enjoyable in a 'classic Hollywood' sort of way, despite being itself no such thing; making the viewing that more palatable are the notable contributions of cinematographer Winton C. Hoch (like Wayne himself, a John Ford regular) and composer Bronislau Kaper.

Unless you're willing to concede that the the movie was made as a farce, which I don't happen to believe, then the plot and acting are one cringeworthy moment after another, starting with Janet Leigh's improbably striptease after landing her Soviet fighter at a US airbase, not that there's anything wrong with her stripping, of course. The improbabilities pile on higher and deeper to the point that being probable is no longer even the point and you just don't care anymore.That said, the true star of this movie is the period hardware, some of it seldom seen anywhere else. The scene of the night interception of the Convair B-36 showed an early model in flight in such detail that if you look closely you can see that the retractable weapons, usually seen retracted on this rather rare machine, are extended. Also other fighters of the era are portrayed including the Bell X-1 that fills in for the Soviet parasite fighter that is actually the rocket plane that Chuck Yeager flew on the world's first supersonic flight. If you are an aviation enthusiast I highly recommend this movie. If you are fan of The Duke or are looking for action adventure or suspense entertainment, pass this one by, it's not for you.

JET PILOT (1957) is one of the most idiosyncratic and surprising films that I have seen recently. That Janet Leigh, complete with jet-age bra support, has no pretensions to a Russian accent is in itself strangely disarming, setting the tone of a complex artifice that caricatures and manipulates the images and mannerisms of Cold War America. The dialog and the aerial acrobatics are a feast of double entendre. The scene in the restaurant with platters of sizzling Technicolor steaks ("That's all they have here.") is a worthy precursor of Warhol's multiples. Viewers with a taste for the more eccentric films of Vincent Minelli and, more recently, Todd Haynes will find this film a rare delicacy.

Like one of the others who have commented here, I just saw this film for the first time, despite the many years since its release.My all-time favorite of a flick which rates a solid 10-stars for its awful, bizarre weirdness, is the Bruce Jenner/Village People picture, "Can't Stop the Music" - however, this one is a VERY close contender.There are several comments which depict the "plot" at length, so I'll simply outline the ending. To conform to the site's caveat regarding spoilers, I've indicated same - but there is little here actually to "spoil," since suspense and plot revelation are hardly among its components.Janet Leigh is about as believable as a Russian air officer and pilot as, say, Yakov Smirnoff attempting to play Jed or Jethro in a "Beverly Hillbillies" remake.Big John, hardly a Gielgud or Olivier at his most serious, has his tongue so far in his cheek here, that he is in danger of severe jaw damage. But this is all accomplished in a surprisingly effective, amusing manner, as the title figure "ace," and Leigh's American love interest.The climax of the film pretty well sums things up. In separate jets, Leigh and Wayne have landed at a Russian base. John runs from his plane to Janet's, hops in and she takes off. All of this is accomplished amidst a hail of bullets from the Russian soldiers on the base. Naturally, they don't hit anything.Janet takes-off, and they are pursued by a horde of Russian jets (they are fleeing to Vienna!). She actually asks Big John what she should do. Honestly, again...honestly!!! ------------HE TELLS HER TO "TURN RIGHT!!!"Well, this apparently works, because in the next scene they are at dinner, presumably in Vienna, and Janet is enjoying immensely her steak, the size of one Hoss might enjoy on "Bonanza."She then says something about how she'd like for the folks in her country (remember, she's a 1950's, Cold War-period Russkie) to become more interested in these (i.e. steaks) than guns.Immediately after this sage comment, Big John leans toward her and plants a kiss as the film ends.Movies can't be much more fun than this.