Plot

Two men from the same hometown and in love with the same girl go off to war and become fighter pilots.

What I Liked

This movie was the first movie to win an Oscar for Best Picture — in 1929! — and so I wanted to see how it held up. Surprisingly well for a silent picture. I was totally blown away by how good the aerial combat shots were. I was expecting some hokey special effects, but for filming in the 1920s, they did a great job. The two men are Buddy Rogers and Richard Arlen, and while they are okay, it is a secondary girl from back home (not a Juliet to two Romeos but a second Juliet in love with the main hero who doesn’t really notice her) who steals the picture. Clara Bow plays the rough-and-tumble second Juliet who goes to France, drives for the motor pool, and does a lot of support work. She’s brash, happy go lucky most of the time, and great at mooning towards the unsuspecting lovestruck hero.

What I Didn’t Like

There’s a twist in the tale that is a bit hard to believe that pits the two fighters against each other, and some of the ending is a bit sentimental, but for a first Oscar winner, it holds up.

The Bottom Line

Still holds up after all these years.