I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Better than most people think

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Franchot Tone, Van Johnson, and Gene Kelly star in WW II flick about an American unit, stuck with a dutch commander. This was 1943, so we had already been in the war for a couple years. Down to one plane, they must take it out and do whatever damage they can. Lots of flashbacks, as we hear everyone's story, and how they got to be here. That takes up most of the film. VERY typical WW II film. Everyone doing their part. Some fun supporting roles -- Eddie Acuff, Monte Blue, Peter Lawford. Names that would turn into bigger names a few years later. Story by David Hertz. Directed by George Sidney, who co-founded Hanna Barbera. Also directed Kiss me Kate, Bye Bye Birdie, Three Musketeers, Pal Joey, Annie get your Gun,and SO MANY other biggies. I'm surprised that Sidney never won an Oscar.. probably should have gotten a lifetime achievement award or something. This one is okay. Chugs right along, Kind of two different plots though... there's the WW II story, and the "rich versus the poor" story-line within the flashbacks. Not bad. MGM/Loews. Shows now and then on TCM.

While some aspects of this film seem a tad hokey, overall it's a very good and enjoyable film and I am sure it did a lot to shore up support at home for the war effort.As the film begins, there's a rag-tag group of American, British and Dutch soldiers fighting off the Japanese attack in the Pacific. The new leader of this group asks for a pilot to volunteer for what probably is a suicide mission--there is only one flyable plane left and he's to use it against a major Japanese attack. All the American pilots quickly volunteer but the Captain (Franchot Tone) is chosen because of his bravery and because he has a crazy idea he can rig up a bomb to his Seversky P-35 fighter and attack the nearby Japanese aircraft carrier. Considering that by the time this film was made the P-35 was an obsolete plane, it was indeed a fools errand.After Tone leaves, the five five remaining officers talk about what sort of man Tone was and what may have led to his volunteering for such a mission. So Tone's unusual story is told through a series of rather interesting flashbacks.In the end, Tone attacks the carrier and fights off Japanese planes that in midair mysteriously turn into British Spitfires (due to a poor use of stock footage--a common problem in films of this era). And considering that it's a wartime propaganda film, it's almost a foregone conclusion what happens next--though it is still a very tense and exciting portion of the film.Overall, this is a better than average war film with decent enough action, but more importantly a good story to support it.

I'm usually not that fond of movies that use flashbacks to tell a story, but I would have to make an exception for this one. It reminds me, in some ways, of another movie, High Barbaree, which used the same gimmick. Van Johnson even appeared in both. There are some major differences though. While High Barbaree was a rather sappy movie with a pretty weak story line, this production had a punch.It involves a raggedy group of five American pilots left on an isolated island in the Pacific during the early days of WW II. They are commanded by a Dutch Major and there is only one patched up plane left to attack the Japanese carrier that threatens to destroy them. All five pilots volunteer for what amounts to a suicide mission. Guess which pilot the Major picks.From here on, we move from flashback to flashback, and little by little learn everything there is to know about Pilot #5. It stretches the imagination a little to realize that all the other pilots knew him in some capacity in civvy street. When the Dutch Major asks who this brave volunteer is, they all put the jigsaw puzzle together piece by piece.His life before this heroic mission is the real story. It begins with a naive young man, in love, and with dreams of a successful law career. We find him tempted by greed and power into a life of corruption. He loses the girl, his self respect, and his career. Of course he has to redeem himself or how else could be become the hero of this movie? Unlike High Barbaree, this story is compelling and ends with an action packed bang.About the cast. Franchot Tone plays the hero. No matter how many movies I've seen him in, I always see him as Franchot Tone - not the character he plays. Still, he isn't bad in this one. Marsha Hunt plays the love interest. I always thought she got the shaft during the blacklist. She was talented, beautiful, and could really sing, but her politics got in the way of her career. The only other principal player was Gene Kelly. Nothing like the song and dance man you might remember him as. He plays a straight dramatic role, and does it well. I mentioned Van Johnson. This was early in his career and he has an incidental support role as one of the pilots. The rest of the cast are somewhat familiar contract players.There is a lot of propaganda in this movie. As a matter of fact, there is a rather ridiculous speech at the end of the movie, where the Dutch Major compares corrupt politicians and greedy landowners to Mussolini and declares them all fascists. Maybe Marsha Hunt should have passed on this one.

There was just one american aircraft left on the small South Pacific island. Five remaining pilots stood in formation as the commander asked for a volunteer to fly out to the threatening Japanese fleet. All five volunteered. The commander had to determine which volunteer to choose. He asked each one in turn why he wanted to fly the mission. Answers like "The dirty Japs killed my brother at...", etc. Then, pilot no. 5 was asked why he was volunteering. His answer was "For my country."These words of dedication to country made a lasting impression on an 11 year-old boy.