essence-71588 If you're going to watch this, do so for the technicolor flying action. The plot is terrible. Our star is James Cagney as Brian McLean. He introduces himself as a Canadian bush pilot who is lying about the other local pilots and undercutting their prices to get all of the local jobs. Also the instant he lands and sees Emily (Brenda Marshall) he decides to make up stories about Johnny her lover who she plans to marry, and take her away from him. He gets hit by his own helicopter blade. She nurses him to health. Johnny, in dangerous weather conditions, flies a doctor in and saves him. These two and another guy make a bunch of money. Then Brian marries and immediately leaves Emily. He says he needed to do that to stop Brian from marrying her and prevent him from wasting all of his money on her (really). They end up in the Canadian air force. He is all about being a hotshot with his intuitive skills. He is a trainer. He takes a pilot up to show him how it's done. He crashes, nearly kills the guy and totals the plane. For this he is court martialed and forced to leave the military. So he mopes around town getting drunk and complaining about it. He get's the bright idea of dive bombing a celebration where the air force is giving other pilots their wings with a friend and the friend gets killed. He is rather intuitive and reckless. But in the end he sneaks back into the air force. He flies with a group of unarmed planes to England. A German plane shows up. He flies his plane and himself into the German plane. They both crash. The other planes are saved. He is a hero. The end. Stupid.

cultfilmfreaksdotcom James Cagney's stalwart mug on the poster, and a glorious title like CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS involving Canadian Bush Pilots fighting in World War II, could be misleading for anyone loving the smart-alleck, womanizing Cagney: the persona that built his reputation before venturing into more serious matters – especially after the Big One broke out.But most of this film has the pint-sized icon, a daredevil pilot stealing jobs from his fellow airmen using every trick in the book, is shrewder than ever. He's got his sites on a younger pilot's gorgeous fiancé – she too is a money-grubbing rogue and both make a fiendish pair. Brenda Marshall is the perfect mix of lovely and deceitful, wisping her long black hair while planting a soft spike into kindhearted idealist Dennis Morgan.Scenes involving Cagney teaming up with Morgan and Alan Hale in their own cargo business lead to the group joining the RAF – where Cagney's cocky persona, training young fliers to take risks instead of following orders, gets him in hot water with the hard nosed military elites. But like all Cagney's best characters, the ramifications mean nothing – he's in it for the thrills and blind adventure: and the audience takes part.But the last thirty minutes, as the group fly off into the inevitable battle (framed by Winston Churchill's famous speech), seems a bit rushed and doesn't live up to the energetic first act of double-crossings and Arial scenery over plush Canadian exteriors. Director Michael Curtiz, a few years shy of CASABLANCA, wields each shot with precision so there's never a dull moment. But Cagney being classic Cagney is what really delivers the goods throughout this overlooked gem, far exceeding your typical wartime propaganda.For More Reviews: www.cultfilmfreaks.com

classicsoncall Throughout most of the story, Brian MacLean (James Cagney) flies by the seat of his pants, and at times it seems the movie does too. The film starts out about a handful of Canadian bush pilots attempting to learn the identity of a sneaky, job stealing rival, and ends up with the bunch of them joining the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. In between there's a love triangle between Cagney's character and his main rival Johnny Dutton (Dennis Morgan) over the affections of Emily Foster (Brenda Marshall). Emily turns out to be a self promoting opportunist who shows her true colors by eloping with MacLean since he showed up with a bankroll first. It seems the only thing Emily has going for her is her fiery good looks, as even her father bemoans her integrity when Johnny comes back for her.You're probably best served while watching the film to stop questioning the believability of the events on screen and just kick back to enjoy the natural beauty of the Canadian wilderness and the great display of era war planes. I'm no aviation buff, but the sight of all those colorful planes at the various flight training schools was incredible. Hard to believe though that nations actually carried out a World War in such machines when considering today's science and technology.The rest of the film's cast almost makes it seem like like they might have been going for a comedy, with a lively Alan Hale leading the way, along with George Tobias and Reginald Gardner as fellow bush pilots. Scrounger Harris (Gardner) gets some mileage out of a running gag as a penny pincher; Cagney nails his character with the line "I have no money and he's trying to borrow it". Cagney and Hale ham it up by briefly dancing with each other in another lighter scene before things get somber in the finale.Apparently many of the RCAF fliers in the movie's graduation scene wound up heading for the War in Europe shortly after filming, receiving their wings from real life Canadian war hero, Air Marshal William 'Billy' Bishop. He appeared comfortable in his brief on screen role, perhaps in the knowledge that the film might have inspirational propaganda value.Cagney's character has a lot to redeem himself for, and does so in the film's climactic ending. It just struck me how many times he portrays a character that dies at the end of the story, this time realizing that he has a lot to atone for. True to his character, flier MacLean turns a deaf ear to his former buddy and now commanding officer Dutton - "I'm not disobeying orders, I just can't hear you."

northbaypatsy Having grown up in North Bay Ontario Canada, I would like to point out that the first part of Captains of the Clouds was set on Trout Lake near North Bay . The Actors stayed at The Empire Hotel in North Bay.All of the people of North Bay were excited about this movie and many of us crowded around the entrance to the Hotel and every other place the Stars were sighted. It was certainly a memorable time for the residents of North Bay!! There are more details I would love to add but at this point I would like to ask if there are any reviews that include ALL the areas where Captains of the Clouds was set? Thank you.Patricia Kennedy