Wing and a Prayer (1944)

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Wing and a Prayer, The Story of Carrier X is a black-and-white 1944 war film about the crew of an American aircraft carrier in the desperate early days of World War II in the Pacific theater, directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Don Ameche, Dana Andrews and William Eythe. It was nominated for the 1944 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Production

Wing and a Prayer was based on Stanley Johnston’s Queen of the Flat Tops (1942), a book that 20th Century Fox tried to buy but the rights were not obtained. After a legal tangle, the studio dropped its plans to buy rights but Johnson sued and won a settlement in 1946.

Although some scenes were shot in studio back lots, and water tank, the carrier is the USS Yorktown, a typical Essex class, with filming by 20th Century Fox permitted by the US Navy during her shakedown cruise in 1943. The US Navy exacted control over the Wing and a Prayer to the extent that the film was a "semi-official" production.

The aircraft used in the Wing and a Prayer, The Story of Carrier X were mainly Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers, Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive bombers. These were contemporary with US Navy carrier aircraft designs during 1943 and 1944 rather than 1942 when the film is set. In a few scenes, Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters and Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers appear which would have been accurate for 1942.

Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters play the part of Japanese "Zero" fighters in the film. A Curtiss-Wright CW-22 also makes a very brief appearance as a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft. The action on the carrier deck is convincing as well as the character of the pilots. Real footage is mixed with action shot on the carrier. For some scenes, scale models were also used.

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