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I’ve just watched an epic movie! Wings, one of the last silent epics before the advent of sound. The movie, which focuses on two fighter pilots in World War I, is a great technical achievement: the director was a pilot himself, and most of the aerial combat scenes were actually shot in the sky. One of the stunt pilots died.
But even more than it is a technical achievement, Wings is a monument to the glorious melodrama that was the 1920s.
The girl next door Mary is in love with Jack, who is in love with city girl Sylvia, who loves David, who loves her back, except when Sylvia is putting her picture (with the words “To David, with all my love” written on the back) in a locket, Jack walks in and is all “Sylvia! You put together a locket for me? You don’t know how much this means to me when I’m going off to almost certain death as part of an air combat unit in France!”
Sylvia can’t bring herself to enlighten him as to the true object of her affections. Therefore Jack goes to training convinced that Sylvia loves him, which totally annoys David, and they pretty much hate each other at the beginning of training. But then they have a huge boxing match, and somehow that makes them best buddies! Punching people in the nose, always a good way to make friends.
Then they go to France and fly a bunch of bombing raids and shoot down Germans. They get medals for valor.
MEANWHILE. Mary the girl next door has joined the Women’s Motorized Vehicles Auxiliary Unit (or something like that). She goes to France! She is tasked with bringing back a bunch of pilots who are on leave in Paris, because the big offense is going to start the next day! And by “a bunch of pilots” I mean “Jack,” and by “Paris” I mean “the Folies Bergere.”
Jack is in the Folies Bergere, completely soused on champagne and seeing bubbles everywhere! Mary puts on a glittery dress to convince him that she is covered in bubbles to get him away from the young lady who has gotten him into this shameful state. She takes him back to a hotel room and has just started changing back into her military uniform when the military police barge in, and she gets sent home in disgrace. :(
Meanwhile, David gets a letter from Sylvia, wherein she is all “Jack still thinks I love him and it is very sad because I love you!” At which unfortunate moment Jack decides that he should tell David that actually, Sylvia loves Jack and only Jack, because she totally gave Jack a locket before they went away to war.
But he drops the locket and the picture falls out. David picks it up and sees what is written on the back! Clearly it is his duty as a friend to make sure Jack never reads this fatal words! “Let me put the picture back in the locket,” David says.
“NEVER,” says Jack.
David rips the picture into pieces so Jack can’t read the note Sylvia wrote on the back and realize Sylvia really loves David. Jack is furious! But they do not have time to resolve their differences by beating each other up, because they’re sent out on a raid.
David is SHOT DOWN! Certain that his friend is dead, Jack immediately joins the next squadron out and flies deep into enemy territory to shoot as many Germans as he can.
MEANWHILE, on the ground, David is still alive! He steals a German plane and flies back toward Allied territory!
Jack sees a lone German plane heading straight for the American lines!!!
Jack: BWAHAHAHA another Heinie to shoot!!!!
David: It’s me, Jack! Can’t you see?
Jack: BLINDED BY BLOODLUST HAHAHAHA!!!!
He shoots down David’s plane. Then Jack lands to cut the insignia off the plane as a trophy. Only then he sees the pilot of the plane he shot down, and realizes…he’s shot his best friend David!!!!
OH THE ANGST. OH THE WOE. “I was only trying to avenge you,” sobs Jack, cradling David’s head to his breast as David dramatically expires.
And of course when Jack goes through David’s things to send them home to his parents, Jack reads Sylvia’s letter and realizes Sylvia never loves him at all, and he is VERY SAD.
But then he realizes that actually he’s been in love with Mary this whole time anyway, so HOORAY! Happy end.
But even more than it is a technical achievement, Wings is a monument to the glorious melodrama that was the 1920s.
The girl next door Mary is in love with Jack, who is in love with city girl Sylvia, who loves David, who loves her back, except when Sylvia is putting her picture (with the words “To David, with all my love” written on the back) in a locket, Jack walks in and is all “Sylvia! You put together a locket for me? You don’t know how much this means to me when I’m going off to almost certain death as part of an air combat unit in France!”
Sylvia can’t bring herself to enlighten him as to the true object of her affections. Therefore Jack goes to training convinced that Sylvia loves him, which totally annoys David, and they pretty much hate each other at the beginning of training. But then they have a huge boxing match, and somehow that makes them best buddies! Punching people in the nose, always a good way to make friends.
Then they go to France and fly a bunch of bombing raids and shoot down Germans. They get medals for valor.
MEANWHILE. Mary the girl next door has joined the Women’s Motorized Vehicles Auxiliary Unit (or something like that). She goes to France! She is tasked with bringing back a bunch of pilots who are on leave in Paris, because the big offense is going to start the next day! And by “a bunch of pilots” I mean “Jack,” and by “Paris” I mean “the Folies Bergere.”
Jack is in the Folies Bergere, completely soused on champagne and seeing bubbles everywhere! Mary puts on a glittery dress to convince him that she is covered in bubbles to get him away from the young lady who has gotten him into this shameful state. She takes him back to a hotel room and has just started changing back into her military uniform when the military police barge in, and she gets sent home in disgrace. :(
Meanwhile, David gets a letter from Sylvia, wherein she is all “Jack still thinks I love him and it is very sad because I love you!” At which unfortunate moment Jack decides that he should tell David that actually, Sylvia loves Jack and only Jack, because she totally gave Jack a locket before they went away to war.
But he drops the locket and the picture falls out. David picks it up and sees what is written on the back! Clearly it is his duty as a friend to make sure Jack never reads this fatal words! “Let me put the picture back in the locket,” David says.
“NEVER,” says Jack.
David rips the picture into pieces so Jack can’t read the note Sylvia wrote on the back and realize Sylvia really loves David. Jack is furious! But they do not have time to resolve their differences by beating each other up, because they’re sent out on a raid.
David is SHOT DOWN! Certain that his friend is dead, Jack immediately joins the next squadron out and flies deep into enemy territory to shoot as many Germans as he can.
MEANWHILE, on the ground, David is still alive! He steals a German plane and flies back toward Allied territory!
Jack sees a lone German plane heading straight for the American lines!!!
Jack: BWAHAHAHA another Heinie to shoot!!!!
David: It’s me, Jack! Can’t you see?
Jack: BLINDED BY BLOODLUST HAHAHAHA!!!!
He shoots down David’s plane. Then Jack lands to cut the insignia off the plane as a trophy. Only then he sees the pilot of the plane he shot down, and realizes…he’s shot his best friend David!!!!
OH THE ANGST. OH THE WOE. “I was only trying to avenge you,” sobs Jack, cradling David’s head to his breast as David dramatically expires.
And of course when Jack goes through David’s things to send them home to his parents, Jack reads Sylvia’s letter and realizes Sylvia never loves him at all, and he is VERY SAD.
But then he realizes that actually he’s been in love with Mary this whole time anyway, so HOORAY! Happy end.
