Film Forum

(1927, William Wellman) “It Girl” Clara Bow loves Buddy Rogers, but Buddy – and buddy Richard Arlen – loves planes; all get their fill when the US of A enters WWI. The first Best Picture winner is a super-spectacle, with hair-raising aerial footage matched with massive battle recreations (not to mention a star-making cameo by Gary Cooper), their authenticity guaranteed by real-life flyboy vets Wellman, Arlen, and screenwriter John Mark Saunders. 35mm. Approx. 114 min.

Reviews

“Bow is authentic sweetheart material, captivated by the fun and silliness in romance… It’s the top notch air film, better than Hell’s Angels (and probably gentler on the staff).”
– David Thomson

“Contains some of the most thrilling aerial footage ever filmed. [Wellman] depicted the planes as characters, giving them the sort of precise, detailed introductions other directors would give to their actors.”
– Daniel Eagan, America’s Film Legacy