Wings (1927) Beat Sheet

Here is my attempt at the Beat Sheet for Wings (1927). Blake Snyder published his version of the 15 Beats that every excellent screenplay must have. Wings does not hit every beat precisely in terms of where they should be located in the screenplay. This is partly because it is silent and partly because screenplays were still in an evolutionary phase. With that said, I've attempted my best shot at filling in the blanks. If you would like more information about beat sheets and the 15 beats every great movies shares, check out this page. However, realize that once you see the man behind the curtain, movie watching changes forever. 

Opening Image – The film starts with title cards about the early years of aviation. The last title card before the action card says, "A small town - 1917 - youth and the dreams of youth." The scene opens with Jack taking a nap on the ground where he was daydreaming about flying. 

Set-up – Jack loves to work on cars. His next door neighbor, Mary, is a tomboy who is in love with Jack. They work on his car together which she names the 'Shooting Star', They laugh and have fun together. But when it comes time for him to court a girl, he turns to Sylvia. David is from a wealthy family and is also in love with Sylvia. 

Theme Stated  – Typically the theme of the movie is stated within the first five or so minutes of a movie. However, this being a silent movie, the silent movie isn't 'stated'. However, almost eight minutes into the movie, a title card is put up that says: "So Youth laughed and wept and lived its heedless hour, while over the world hung a cloud which spread and spread until its shadow fell in some degree on every living person." I believe that this is the theme of the movie: that war is hell and that youthful dreams fly away with the realities of war. 

Catalyst – The two men decide to train as aviators to fight in World War I. 

Debate – Jack and David each have to say goodbye to their family and friends. Both men love Sylvia who truly only loves David. However, she doesn't want to send Jack off to war disappointed, so she gives him her picture. Jack also says goodbye to Mary who is obviously in love with him.

Break Into Two  – Jack and David leave their comfortable lives and the innocence of youth behind as they start training camp to become aviators. 

B Story – This is usually the 'love story'. To me, the true love story of this movie was that between Jack and David. They start out as enemies because both love the same girl, but quickly become fast friends.

Fun and Games – Jack and David learn how to fly and then use their skills to win battle after battle. 

Midpoint – The two men have been decorated as war heroes and are sent to Paris for leave. 

Bad Guys Close In – The fighting is fierce. Before Jack and David go up for the huge battle, they get into a fight over Sylvia. They both like her, but David realizes that she will just break Jack's heart as she does not love him. 

All is Lost – Jack thinks that David is dead, even though he is still alive behind enemy lines. He vows to go out and kill the enemy for David.

Dark Night of the Soul – Jack realizes that he has shot down and killed David who was escaping in a German airplane. 

Break Into Three – Traditionally, the third act lasts for about 20% of film. However, that is not the case in this movie. The break into three happens when the the main character chooses to try again or move forward. After David's death, Jack finds a letter that Sylvia wrote David that states she never really loved Jack even though Jack thinks she does. He realizes that David kept this from him out of friendship. He also finds his friend's good luck charm. While it's not clearly stated, this implies his willingness to move past Sylvia and to return the stuffed animal charm to David's parents.

Finale – Now that Jack realizes the truth about Sylvia and David, he realizes that true love was waiting for him in his own backyard - Mary. He comes home at war's end to a hero's welcome and her. 

Final Image – Jack and Mary are in the car, a shooting star goes by and they kiss. 

1. Wings - 'C'est la guerre!'

Poster Advertising Wings

The winner of the very first Academy Award for Best Picture in 1928 was Wings. Ironically, until 2012 it was the only silent movie to win the award. Wings was an interesting first challenge for me. It was corny, overwrought, frustrating at times, and had really, really long dogfight scenes. However, at the same time, it was quite a moving film. I got choked up twice during the film - something I did not expect to happen.

I found the story to be interesting at its core. Two guys who both like the same girl, another girl who likes one of them, World War I, dogfights, and a tragic case of mistaken identity combine to create a compelling tale. In the course of watching the movie, I realized that to truly understand and enjoy it I had to leave behind the 2013 me and pretend that I was seeing it back in 1929. Once I did that, many things that I would normally find to be silly or uninteresting  proved fascinating and new.

SPOILER ALERT. 

The rest of the post will include details that you might not want to know if you haven't seen the film.

Gary Cooper in Wings

While the movie starts on a happy note, it leaves the 'blush of youth' quickly behind. The two main characters, Jack and David, become aviators to fight in World War I. I was quite moved by the scene where David leaves his Mother and Father, taking a stuffed teddy bear from his youth with him. However, I didn’t realize that we were truly in a tragedy until Gary Cooper bit the bullet soon after we meet him at the front. He’s the ‘elder’ flier who’s been there for quite awhile. Before he leaves on a mission, he forebodingly says, “Lots of fellows carry something for luck. But I never have. Luck or no luck, when your time comes, you’re going to get it!” Sadly, he never returns and the two stars of the show have to pack his belongings to send to his parents. The half-eaten candy bar he had left behind on his bed was, to me, quite poignant.

Clara Bow, one of the biggest silent film stars in the history of cinema, was the main actress in the movie. But even though she is in love with Jack, it is not their love story that takes center stage in the movie. Instead, this honor goes to the bonds of friendship between Jack and David.  

The film's ending was tragic. However, once David stepped into the German plane to try to get back to American lines, I felt the writing was on the wall. I just didn’t expect it to be quite as tragic as it ended up being. (Trying not to give the ENTIRE plot away here).  

                                                                                 

Jack Powell (Charles "Buddy" Rogers), Mary Preston (Clara Bow),
and David Armstrong (Richard Arlen) in Wings

Things that surprised me: 

• How free men were at showing affection with each other. Growing up in a world where men are afraid to do much more than a ‘man hug’, these men walked with their arms around each other and showed true affection towards each other. There was no question about their sexuality – it all felt quite natural and kind.
• The strong portrayal of violence. I grew up watching ‘old’ movies from the forties and fifties where when people got shot they simply held their chest and fell over. Therefore, when I saw a man in a biplane get shot and blood stream out of his mouth, I was shocked. Also, when one of the characters dies, the response of the French officer who witnessed it is to simply shrug his shoulders and say, 'C'est la guerre!' (This is war!)
• The dogfight scenes. While they quite drawn out and in my opinion could have been cut in half, just watching the way that they were shot and considering the real danger those early fliers were in was amazing. I found, however, that keeping the good guys from the bad was difficult in black and white and with no sound.
• The animation and stunts. I’m sure this can just be chalked up to my ignorance, but I was fascinated by the ‘bubbles’ in the scene where Jack gets drunk and by the portrayal of the crashes and deaths. Also, there were some cool sequences, like when David and Sylvia at the very beginning are on a swing while she plays an instrument and sings. I almost felt sick from the movement of the camera.

Things that I found silly:

• The overwrought symbolism. Two examples: when the allies had finally won, the word VICTORY was flashed on the screen over a young German’s dead body lying on a huge iron cross. Then later, Jack stands on top of a cloth iron cross.



Jack sees 'bubbles' when he gets drunk in Wings.

• The need for comic relief. In what was a very tragic drama, they included a stock ‘German’ who wants to fight for the allies. He’s more silly than serious. When he is at the Aviation Examining Station, he’s questioned about why they should let a German in the war. He takes off his shirt like he’s gonna fight, but instead shows a Stars and Stripes Forever Tattoo which he wiggles around. Everyone laughs, and he's accepted.
• The stereotypical portrayal of the Brit. In one scene, Jack is shot down near a trench and is helped to safety by a British soldier who says, “Hello, Yank. Welcome to a very merry little war!” And this is in the middle of heavy artillery fire during trench warfare. He continues, “ – and now how about a wee drop for the King and Uncle Sam?”
• The ‘Bubbles’ scene. Yes, I know. I put this in as something that surprised me. However, the actual premise of the scene was silly. For a man to get so drunk that he sees bubbles everywhere is a little corny.
• A few of the death scenes. While some of them were fine, a few were over the top. Near the end, a man who has just been shot with a machine gun as he is storming the trench sees a plane destroy the machine gun and says, “Attaboy, them buzzards are good after all.” Then he drops his head and dies. Cringeworthy. 

Things that frustrated  me:

• The length of the dogfights. I know that at the time Charles Lindbergh was being hailed as a hero for his solo crossing of the Atlantic and flying was the national craze. However, the dogfights went on for so long and there were so many of them. I think this was compounded by the fact that since the sky was so bright and the planes were hard to make out, it was difficult for me to see who was who.
• Not enough title cards. I got frustrated when the actors would speak for quite a long time without cards telling what was said. While it was sometimes obvious what they were emoting, there were times that I would have loved to gotten a little more of the ‘dialogue’.

Overall, the movie made me think which, to me, is the sign of a good flick. It made me think more deeply about the realities of World War I pilots and trench warfare. Also, the scene where Jack returns home to a hero’s welcome while David’s Mother and Father sit behind the star in their window was quite moving and thought provoking. What must it have been like for parents of the fallen to watch other children return home?

Would I suggest this movie to a friend? Probably. But I would warn them about the length of the dogfights and its corniness. It’s a great movie to watch and compare to modern movies. 

See my next post for my attempt at the Beat Sheet for this movie.