| The Wings of Eagles | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Ford |
| Screenplay by | Frank Fenton and William Wister Haines |
| Based on | the life and writings of Commander Frank W. "Spig" Wead |
| Produced by | Charles Schnee |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Paul C. Vogel. A.S.C. |
| Edited by | Gene Ruggiero, A.C.E. |
| Music by | Jeff Alexander |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2,644,000[1] |
| Box office | $3,650,000[1][2] |
The Wings of Eagles is a 1957 American Metrocolor film starring John Wayne, Dan Dailey and Maureen O'Hara, based on the life of Frank "Spig" Wead and the history of U.S. Naval aviation from its inception through World War II.[3] The film is a tribute to Wead (who died 10 years earlier, in 1947 at age of 52) from his friend, director John Ford, and was based on Wead's "We Plaster the Japs", published in a 1944 issue of The American Magazine.[4]
John Wayne plays naval aviator-turned-screenwriter Wead, who wrote the story or screenplay for such films as Hell Divers (1931) with Wallace Beery and Clark Gable, Ceiling Zero (1936) with James Cagney, and the Oscar-nominated World War II drama They Were Expendable (1945) in which Wayne co-starred with Robert Montgomery.[5]
The supporting cast features Ward Bond, Ken Curtis, Edmund Lowe and Kenneth Tobey. This film was the third of five in which Wayne and O'Hara appeared together; others were Rio Grande (1950), The Quiet Man (1952), McLintock! (1963) and Big Jake (1971).
- ^ a b The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
- ^ Domestic take - see "Top Grosses of 1957", Variety, 8 January 1958: 30
- ^ "'Rainmaker' 'Full Of Life', 'Wings Of Eagles' At Theaters" (Deseret News and Telegram, February 21, 1957, page 12A; photograph included)
- ^ Ward, Henry. "Penn Film Stars John Wayne" (The Pittsburgh Press, March 4, 1957, page 6)
- ^ "The Marquee: 'Wings of Eagles' Another Solid John Wayne Picture" (The Florence Times, April 23, 1957, section two, page seven; illustration included)