I Wanted Wings

I Wanted Wings (1941)

Meet the BLONDE BOMBER who's raiding the hearts of America!

Told in flashback, this drama follows the training and personal lives of three recruits in the Army Air Corps: a wealthy playboy, a college jock, and an auto mechanic. Love interest is supplied by a female photographer and a sultry blonde.

Date of release
1941-03-26
TMDB
5.6 / 10 (9)
Runtime
2h 15m
Genres
Drama
Director
Mitchell Leisen

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 1 · Nominations: 1. Including: Academy Award for Best Special Effects

I Wanted Wings is a 1941 American drama film directed by Mitchell Leisen and based on the 1937 memoir of the same name by Lt. Beirne Lay Jr. The film stars Ray Milland and William Holden. The supporting cast includes Wayne Morris, Brian Donlevy, Constance Moore and Veronica Lake. I Wanted Wings features Lake's first major film role. Her career took off shortly thereafter; the same year, she starred in Sullivan's Travels. Lake would become one of the most popular and successful actresses of the early 1940s.

Production

Bernie Lay Jr.'s book was published in 1937.

Filming began on August 26. In early August William Holden let Paramount know he was refusing to turn up as he wanted a raise from his salary of $500 a week. Production on I Wanted Wings began in the summer of 1940 at Randolph Field near San Antonio, Texas. Principal photography took place from August 26 to December 19, 1940.

During rehearsal, Veronica Lake's hair fell over her eye, leading to the famous hairstyle that helped make her a star.

Paramount's production company relied heavily on location shooting, bringing 130 actors and technicians to Texas. The cast and crew blended in with over 200 student pilots in primary training. Aerial coordinator Paul Mantz was able to use massed formations of North American BT-9 and BT-14 trainers.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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