LAFAYETTE ESCADRILLE (1958)

Rich boy Thad Walker keeps getting in trouble through his reckless ways, and when his car hits a child on a bike, his father has had enough. Dad slaps him around and Thad takes off for Europe. He and some buddies wind up in the Lafayette Escadrille, a brigade of American fliers fighting for France in the early days of World War I before the U.S. was officially involved. On his last night in Paris before taking off for flight training, Thad meets a fairly wholesome prostitute named Renée and falls head over heels for her, promising to come back for her when he can. During training, the hot-headed Thad punches a drill sergeant in the face and is thrown in the brig. With a penalty of several years in jail hanging over him, Thad's friends start a brawl that draws attention away from the brig, helping Thad to escape. On his way to Paris, he gets in a fight with a soldier and winds up with a big, vivid scar across one eye. However, Renee still loves him and they have a symbolic marriage ceremony in her room. Though she has given up her previous profession, she gets him work for a pimp as a shill, bringing soldiers in for the whores. By this time, the U.S. has entered the war, and when Thad takes an American officer to the brothel, he tells his sad story so well that the general agrees to let him fly with the Americans. In a rushed ending, we are told (not shown) that Thad wins his wings, has a great career as a pilot, and eventually invites his old buddies to Paris to witness his church wedding to Renée.

Director William Wellman based this movie on his WWI experiences; his son William Wellman Jr. plays the older Wellman in the movie (though the reference to his name is a 'blink and you’ll miss it' moment). Apparently, this was not a pleasant experience for Wellman, and ultimately, the studio took the movie away from him and did some re-cutting and re-shoots; in the original version, Thad dies in battle and Renée kills herself, but the released version has a much happier ending. Tab Hunter acquits himself nicely as Thad, and his band of buddies (Wellman Jr., Clint Eastwood, David Janssen, Will Hutchins and Jody McCrea--son of Joel McCrea) are all fine. I was a little surprised that, despite some ominous narration at the beginning about how many members of the Escadrille died in action, most of the main characters here make it to the end. The focus overall is more on character and romance rather than war, with only one battle sequence included near the end, so war film buffs may not find this to their liking. Marcel Dalio plays the drill sergeant in scenes of weak and fairly excruciating comedy, as Dalio only speaks French and the boys only speak English. I found all of these scenes unbearable. Otherwise, passable melodrama with some good-looking young actors. Pictured from left are McCrea, Janssen, Wellman and Hunter. [TCM]