Captains of the Clouds (1942)

Approved  |   |  Action, Drama, War  |  21 February 1942 (USA)
6.5
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Ratings: 6.5/10 from 949 users  
Reviews: 25 user | 7 critic

Inspired by Churcill's Dunkirk speech, brash, undisciplined bush pilot Brian MacLean and three friends enlist in the RCAF but are deemed too old to be fliers.

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Writers:

(story), (story), 3 more credits »
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Title: Captains of the Clouds (1942)

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Nominated for 2 Oscars. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Johnny Dutton
...
Emily Foster
...
'Tiny' Murphy
...
Blimp Lebec
...
Scrounger Harris
W.A. Bishop ...
Himself (as Air Marshal W.A. Bishop)
...
Commanding Officer
Russell Arms ...
Louis 'Alabama' Prentiss
...
Group Captain
...
Sam 'Store-Teeth' Morrison
J.M. Kerrigan ...
Foster
J. Farrell MacDonald ...
Dr. Neville (as J. Farrell Macdonald)
Patrick O'Moore ...
Fyffe
Morton Lowry ...
Carmichael
Edit

Storyline

Brian McLean is a ruthless bush-pilot in Canada. He offers some other pilots an opportunity of earning a lot of money, but he marries the girl-friend of one of them. After listening to Churchill's famous "Blood, Sweat and tears" radio address he and some other pilots decide to join the RCAF - and his superior is always the pilot who's girlfriend he has married. Due to this and the fact, that McLean doesn't like to obey he gets troubles. Written by Stephan Eichenberg <eichenbe@fak-cbg.tu-muenchen.de>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Genres:

Action | Drama | War

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

21 February 1942 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Capitanes de las nubes  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

(RCA Sound System)

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The graduation scene was an actual graduation ceremony of the R.C.A.F. with W.A. Bishop in attendance. He also attended the New York opening along with 200 R.C.A.F. cadets and other officials. See more »

Goofs

At the end of one of the early scenes shot at a dock, the blurry image of an insect can be seen walking across the lens right to left. See more »

Quotes

Francis Patrick 'Tiny' Murphy: You know MacLean?
Scrounger Harris: Yeah, I've met him, but I don't like him.
Blimp Lebec: You don't like him? You should know how I don't like him!
Brian MacLean: And why do you say that? You know, I've always been very happy to see you. Look at Tiny. He never used to like me. Now he hates me.
[to Willie]
Brian MacLean: Willie!
Willie: Hello! Happy landings!
Francis Patrick 'Tiny' Murphy: [to Blimp and Scrounger] Oh, come on and sit down. Come on, come on here.
[to Willie]
Francis Patrick 'Tiny' Murphy: Listen, Willie, we want four black coffees and some cake.
[...]
See more »

Crazy Credits

Sincere appreciation is expressed to Major the Honorable C.G. Power P.C., M.C., Minister of National Defence for Air (Canada) and to Air Marshal L.S. Breadner D.S.C., Chief of the Air Staff, Royal Canadian Air Force, without whose authority and generous co-operation this picture would not have been brought to its splendid conclusion. We also wish to express our thanks to Air Marshal Bishop, V.C. and other officers and men of the R.C.A.F. who, in the making of the picture, are portrayed in the actual performance of their regular duties. See more »

Soundtracks

Bless 'em All
(uncredited)
Written by Fred Godfrey (1917)
Revised lyrics by Jimmy Hughes and Frank Lake (1940)
Additional lyrics by Al Stillman (1941)
Played on piano by Harry Seymour and sung by him, James Cagney, Alan Hale and others
Danced by James Cagney and Alan Hale
Reprised a cappella by Alan Hale
See more »

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User Reviews

 
formulaic and, at times dopey, but still a lot of fun
24 May 2006 | by (Bradenton, Florida) – See all my reviews

Okay, I'll admit that this film is NOT Shakespeare! In fact, at times the plot is VERY VERY formulaic and silly but somehow the overall package is still quite entertaining.

Jimmy Cagney is the main lead of the film, though it actually has an ensemble cast consisting of Dennis Morgan and other Warner Brothers regulars. And unfortunately, the worst part of this film is Cagney's character, as he plays essentially the exact same character he played in so many Warner films. You know,...the brash and obnoxious guy who seems greatly in need of a comeuppance (such as in THE FIGHTING 69th and MANY other films). It's too bad, as the rest of the plot is very very good and this is a wonderful propaganda film meant to bolster support for the war. In fact, the more I think about it, Cagney's character and how it was written so derivatively is the only real problem in the film. It's a shame really, as apart from this the acting is excellent and the Technicolor scenes of the Canadian wilderness and flying are beautiful.


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