blanche-2 Robert Taylor plays a flier assigned to the famous "Hell Cats" in "Flight Command" from 1940. Taylor plays Alan Drake, who excitedly joins the Hell Cats and then realizes he has a lot to learn from his commander, Billy Gary (Walter Pidgeon) - Alan met Billy's wife Lorna when he landed off-course en route to join the Hell Cats. Though he feels left out by the guys, he finds acceptance at a party given at Billy's and Lorna's (Ruth Hussey) house and blends in well. He helps Billy's brother-in-law Jerry (Shepperd Strudwick) with a device he's working on that allows one to fly in the fog; unfortunately, Jerry is killed testing the device, leaving his sister Lorna devastated.While Billy is out of town, Alan does what he can to cheer Lorna up. She starts to fall for him, and in a panic, she leaves Billy. The Hell Cats assume that Alan is having an affair with her and turn on him.Pretty routine with some wonderful flying sequences and some lovely performances, particularly from Pidgeon and Hussey. Strudwick, a young man here, was a Broadway actor who went on to continue on Broadway and also prime time television and soap operas, best remembered as Victor Lord in One Life to Live. He gives an energetic performance.Taylor is handsome and debonair and does a good job as Alan. He was a solid actor, not given to introspection, and capable of better work than he was often given. He loved being at MGM, took the pathetic money the studio gave him (he was supposedly the lowest paid contract player in history), and played whatever parts he was handed. The parts got better after the war. We lost so many of these leading men way too young, thanks to the habit of smoking. Taylor was a three-pack-a-day man who died at the age of 57.Pretty good, nice performances, great effects for 1940.

Robert J. Maxwell I kind of enjoyed most of it. Robert Taylor, freshly out of Navy flight school at Pensicola, is assigned to the famous Hellcat fighting squadron in San Diego. He's an eager young boot. Like most, he tries too hard at first and receives various reprimands. When one of his mates is killed in a flying accident, Taylor tries innocently to comfort his buddy's sister, Hussey -- who happens to be the wife of the Hellcats' commander, Walter Pidgeon.The other Hellcats can't help but notice that Taylor is squiring around the commander's wife. He does things like fly her around upside down. It looks more than ordinarily suspicious because Pidgeon is conveniently off somewhere on duty. The other Hellcats get ideas and give Taylor an even rougher time. In a high dudgeon, Taylor initiates his resignation from the Navy.Well, things look pretty gloomy. Taylor and Hussey are guilty of nothing but Hussey has been made to question the kind of relationship she has with Pidgeon. ("Keep the flag flying," he always tells her.) And Taylor is being what the Old Order Amish call "shunned." This is 1940 and not yet wartime, but the moment has come for Taylor to perform some heroic deed and prove himself -- his flying skills and his moral stature -- in the eyes of his comrades. He does so.The triad of Pidgeon, Hussey, and Taylor is more textured and nuanced than it usually is in these routine stories. Hussey and Taylor, with a little less effort, could have fallen in love. That would require Pidgeon to die a hero's death. But Hussey and Taylor DON'T fall for each other, and the marital relationship is subject to some subtle questioning that almost resembles real life.The flying scenes, and there are three or four big ones, are exciting. They cry out for color. The pre-war paint schemes on these airplanes were really exuberant -- bright yellows, reds, and greens. When war came they got rid of the flamboyance and gave them colors with names like "sea gray" and "dull blue." A terrible loss.And you ought to see these stubby little biplanes. They're Grumman F-3-Fs. They're as unstable as inverted pendulums and they wobble all over the place when they fly in formation off the San Diego coast. The film misrepresents them slightly. They were armed with one .50 caliber and one .30 caliber forward-firing machine guns, whereas the movie gives them two guns of the same size. And when the aviators talk about "cruising at 350 miles an hour" they're dreaming. Two fifty was about it. Ugly suckers, they were quickly replaced by Grumman's single-wing Wildcat, and a good thing too.The performances are about what you'd expect in a more or less routine story about pilots, love, and the challenge of flight. No one stands out, except maybe Walter Pidgeon who, as always, stands out for not standing out. He always reminds me of some iron statue in the park. That's not necessarily bad. We need statues. Red Skelton is in the cast but has little to do. Paul Kelly, as "Dusty" Rhodes, is on hand to provide intensity.

Neil Doyle ROBERT TAYLOR plays a cocky air cadet who must prove to his commander and teammates that he's really a good guy when their perception of him is unclear due to a few plot circumstances.WALTER PIDGEON plays the commander with his usual poise and elegance, smoothly mature as the husband of RUTH HUSSEY. Hussey has never had a better share of close-ups but her role is really peripheral to the main story of camaraderie among the men.Frank Borzage has directed with a good eye for the aerial sequences during the period just before WWII. Carriers with planes landing on them and various formations while on maneuvers are all well photographed and realistically presented.Taylor gives an admirable performance in the kind of role that would have gone to John Payne if the film had been made at Fox. His subtle awareness of how the men perceive him (after a misunderstanding) shows that he was capable of being more than just a pretty face.Although well done and enjoyable to watch, the script prevents it from being anything more than a routine aerial film with some nice touches.

wes-connors For service in World War II, brash Robert Taylor (as Alan "Pensacola" Drake) is assigned a "Flight Command" role, with the squadron of Navy fliers known as the "Hell Cats". At first, Mr. Taylor's confident cockiness rubs everyone the wrong way; but, he earns his comrades' respect, through charm and ability. Taylor also catches the eye of otherwise happily married Ruth Hussey (as Lorna Gary), wife of "Hell Cat" commander Walter Pidgeon (as William "Billy" Gray). Will their "love triangle" be consummated? Ordinary flag-waving film, ostensibly about Taylor fitting in with his squadron; however, the war sacrifices Ms. Hussey makes become the film's main focus. The supporting players outperform the leads; in particular, Shepperd Strudwick (as Jerry Banning) and Paul Kelly (as Dusty Rhodes). Mr. Strudwick's "fog device" provides an interesting sub-plot. The inter-cut "fog device" visual is an example of one of the film's irritants. Frank Borzage (direction) and Harold Rosson (photography) make some scenes look nice. **** Flight Command (12/17/40) Frank Borzage ~ Robert Taylor, Ruth Hussey, Walter Pidgeon, Paul Kelly