The Best Picture of 1927-1928 is…..”Wings.” This is the story of two World War I combat pilots both in love with the same woman, featuring competition in the air and on the ground. Director William Wellman put together a film that has marvelous special effects, stunning cinematography, dramatic aerial and battle scenes, and good acting, from a good screenplay by Hope Loring and Louis D. Lighton.
It was the first film to receive the Best Picture Oscar, with a second Academy Award for Best Engineering Effects, now called Special Effects or FX, for Roy Pomeroy. It remains the only silent picture to win the Best Picture award. (“The Artist” won the Best Picture of 2011, which was mostly silent with a single scene of dialogue and a scene with sound effects.)
The stars of the show are Charles “Buddy” Rogers and Richard Arlen as the two pilots. They actually did some scenes in the cockpit of airplanes while in flight, with cameras placed on their dashboards. This was revolutionary filmmaking at the time. While the two delivered good performances, it is Clara Bow who received top billing, as she was simply the biggest movie star of the era.
A newcomer named Gary Cooper had ninety seconds on screen as Cadet White, his first major role, the start of a film career that would last for decades, until his final film “The Naked Edge” in 1961. Bow, Rogers, and Arlen did get acting jobs in talkies, but their careers did not thrive. Director Wellman continued directing movies until 1958.
“Wings” was popular at the box office for producers Jesse L. Lasky and Adolph Zukor and Paramount Pictures. One reason for the film’s popularity was the public’s fascination with Charles Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight on May 20-21, 1927, the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris.
Wings (1927)
cinema
My Review
The Best Picture of 1927-1928 is…..”Wings.” This is the story of two World War I combat pilots both in love with the same woman, featuring competition in the air and on the ground. Director William Wellman put together a film that has marvelous special effects, stunning cinematography, dramatic aerial and battle scenes, and good acting, from a good screenplay by Hope Loring and Louis D. Lighton.
It was the first film to receive the Best Picture Oscar, with a second Academy Award for Best Engineering Effects, now called Special Effects or FX, for Roy Pomeroy. It remains the only silent picture to win the Best Picture award. (“The Artist” won the Best Picture of 2011, which was mostly silent with a single scene of dialogue and a scene with sound effects.)
The stars of the show are Charles “Buddy” Rogers and Richard Arlen as the two pilots. They actually did some scenes in the cockpit of airplanes while in flight, with cameras placed on their dashboards. This was revolutionary filmmaking at the time. While the two delivered good performances, it is Clara Bow who received top billing, as she was simply the biggest movie star of the era.
A newcomer named Gary Cooper had ninety seconds on screen as Cadet White, his first major role, the start of a film career that would last for decades, until his final film “The Naked Edge” in 1961. Bow, Rogers, and Arlen did get acting jobs in talkies, but their careers did not thrive. Director Wellman continued directing movies until 1958.
“Wings” was popular at the box office for producers Jesse L. Lasky and Adolph Zukor and Paramount Pictures. One reason for the film’s popularity was the public’s fascination with Charles Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight on May 20-21, 1927, the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris.