A Wing and a Prayer

( 1 )

Overview

Former president Ronald Reagan may have genuinely believed that he was referring to a real-life act of selfless wartime bravery whenever repeating his "We'll bring this one down together" anecdote. In fact, he was merely quoting a scene from the above-average World War 2 drama A Wing and a Prayer. The setting is an American aircraft carrier, overseen by tough, unserving flight officer Don Ameche. When casualties begin piling up, the pilots blame Ameche, accusing him of being an indiscriminate butcher. Only when ...
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DVD (Black & White / Dolby 5.1 / Mono / Stereo)
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Overview

Former president Ronald Reagan may have genuinely believed that he was referring to a real-life act of selfless wartime bravery whenever repeating his "We'll bring this one down together" anecdote. In fact, he was merely quoting a scene from the above-average World War 2 drama A Wing and a Prayer. The setting is an American aircraft carrier, overseen by tough, unserving flight officer Don Ameche. When casualties begin piling up, the pilots blame Ameche, accusing him of being an indiscriminate butcher. Only when the tide of battle turns in favor of the Allies do the pilots realize that Ameche has been right all along. Director Henry Hathaway spent several weeks aboard an actual aircraft carrier, filming genuine combat scenes. Many of these authentic sequences appear as background footage in A Wing and a Prayer; sometimes the process work is convincing, sometimes it isn't, but please remember that this film was made long, long before the advent of computer technology. Dana Andrews, William Eythe, Richard Jaeckel, Harry Morgan billed as 'Henry Morgan' here, Richard Crane, Glenn Langan, Reed Hadley and Bob Bailey are among the ready, willing and able Fox contractees appearing in A Wing and a Prayer.
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler
A Wing and a Prayer is a good, solid World War II drama that benefits from its rather off-beat focus on the men who had to play "decoys" in the strategy leading up to the Battle of Midway. Soon after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. realized that Japan would likely try to capture Hawaii, and that to do so they would need to first gain hold of Midway Island. The U.S. command launched an elaborate plan to lull the Japanese military into thinking that U.S. forces were spread out across the globe, leading Midway unprotected; in fact, the U.S. forces were in position at Midway, and thus assembled were able to surprise the Japanese forces and keep the island out of Axis hands. Wing is all about an aircraft carrier that has to be one of the decoys, making the enemy think that many, many ships and planes were far away from Midway; part of this called upon the pilots to act like cowards, running away from the enemy rather than engaging them. Wing examines this situation and the manner in which is affects the men involved. While the characters are your typical string of "types" that you find in many films of this sort, they're played very well by the cast. As their leader, Don Ameche is quite good, demonstrating a flair for drama that his many lightweight roles never exploited. Director Henry Hathaway filmed a great deal of actual battle footage which is incorporated into the film; it's not always as smooth as modern day audiences might wish, but it's effective nonetheless. And Hathaway keeps the film moving at a brisk clip, punching the highlights with considerable power.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 5/21/2002
  • UPC: 024543025368
  • Original Release: 1944

    • Rating:

  • Source: 20th Century Fox
  • Region Code: 1
  • Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
  • Presentation: Black & White / Dolby 5.1 / Mono / Stereo
  • Sound: Dolby Digital, stereo, monaural
  • Language: English
  • Time: 1:38:00
  • Format: DVD
  • Sales rank: 40,682

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Don Ameche Flight Cmdr. Bingo Harper
Dana Andrews Sqdn. Cmdr. Edward Moulton
William Eythe Hallam 'Oscar' Scott
Charles Bickford Capt. Waddell
Cedric Hardwicke Admiral
Kevin O'Shea Cookie Cunningham
Richard Jaeckel Beezy Bessemer
Harry Morgan Malcolm Brainard
Henry Morgan Malcolm Brainard
Richard Crane Ensign Gus Chisholm
Glenn Langan Executive Officer
Reed Hadley Cmdr. O'Donnell
Eddie Acuff
Murray Alper Benny O'Neill
Stanley Andrews Marine General
Irving Bacon Sailor
Robert Bailey Ens. Paducah Holloway
Chet Brandenburg
George Chandler
Jimmie Dodd
Blake Edwards
Joe Haworth Murphy
Selmar Jackson
John Kellogg Assistant Air Officer
John Kelly Lew
Mike Kilian Pilot
Carl Knowles Marine Orderly
Charles Lang Ens. Chuck White
Billy Lechner Anti-Aircraft Gunner
William Manning
Frank Marlowe
George Mathews Dooley
Renny McEvoy Ensign Cliff Hale
Matt McHugh
Frank McLure Admiral
John Miles Ens. "Lovebug" Markham
Jack Mower
B.S. Pully Flat Top
Terrance Ray
Raymond Roe Gunner
Mel Schubert
Jerry Shane Foley
Robin Short
Charles B. Smith Alfalfa
Ray Teal Exec. Officer
Larry Thompson Sam Cooper
Charles Trowbridge Medical Officer
Edward Van Sloan
Jay Ward Orderly
Pierre Watkin
Crane Whitley
Dave Willock Ens. Hans Jacobson
Frederic Worlock
Technical Credits
Henry Hathaway Director
William A. Bacher Producer
Alfred Bruzlin Sound/Sound Designer
Jerry Cady Screenwriter
Lewis H. Creber Art Director
Hugo W. Friedhofer Score Composer
Roger Heman Sound/Sound Designer
Thomas K. Little Set Decoration/Design
Glen MacWilliams Cinematographer
Walter Morosco Producer
Emil Newman Musical Direction/Supervision
Guy Pearce Makeup
Fred Sersen Special Effects
J. Watson Webb Jr. Editor
Lyle Wheeler Art Director
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Customer Reviews

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Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review

  • Posted October 1, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    Midway

    The hidden mission of Carrier X-FOOL THE ENEMY!!

    The first movie to have the battle of Midway as their focal point,Wings and a Prayer delivers action and alot of it.I thought it was foolish that the navy sent out 1 carrier to make the Japanese fleet think we were scattered all over the Pacific and not to engage her if we met the japanese on the seas or in the air.The final battle at the end was excellent,especially the dive bombers rolling in on their targets and hitting on of the flat -tops.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review