Silent film 'speaks' to moviegoers

Presented by Lucien Hubbard and directed by Hollywood titan William Wellman, the latest silent film to hit the theatres in the closing days of 1927 was "Wings" a story of two men who love the same woman. But these two lovers soon have their lives derailed by oncoming shadows of Mr. Wilson's war. \nWritten by Hope Loring and Louis Lighton, "Wings" tells the story of two dare devil youths. These two dare devils have no intention of being part of the stalemated trench life, they want to be aviators. And the greatest aviator of them all, Charles "Lucky" Lindberg. He is quoted in titles as the film opens and sings the praises of all our brave airmen who fought and had their "wings" wrapped around them as they battled the airborne hun.\nCharles "Buddy" Rogers plays the young and middle class man named John "Jack" Powell who lives for fast cars and who day dreams of soaring with eagles. Rogers plays the part marvelously capturing the carefree spirit of the United States. Richard Arlen is the silver spoon fed David Armstrong who plays the part with more wood than a Sequoia.\nThe girl next door that the boys look at as a mere friend is Mary who is played by Clara Bow, a lady seen more often next to Harold Lloyd than anyone else. Mary loves Jack, but Jack doesn't pay any attention to Mary and her desires for a relationship. Why would he? He's too busy trying to start one up with Sylvia, played by the rather unimpressive Jobyna Ralston.\nAs the two fellows get ready to leave for ground training, there is an incident used involving the exchange of a locket between Sylvia and Jack. The scene not only makes reference to a love triangle between the two male leads, but also serves to establish a stronger narrative with the locket. The locket is seen in the film's early scenes, as well as in the closing scenes of the film. A similar technique occurs when a shooting star is seen during the swing-set scene showing David and Sylvia gliding slightly off the ground. She does. At the end of the film, we see Mary and Jack sitting outside staring off into a dark sky and seeing another shooting start. This technique adds symmetry to the film, as well as telling the audience that Mary's wish probably came true. The swing-set scene, by the way, is also an excellent example of the photographer's skill in seemless back projection.\nTechnologically the film made strides for its time. Photographer Harry Perry integrates not only footage of his own -- usually outdoor studio stuff -- but also stock footage from actual dogfights being waged between the aircraft of both the Allied and Central Powers.\nThis combination of film adds a nice touch because at the time the film was made, newsreels would have shown what it was like slogging around with trench foot at Verdun. Or crawl as close to the dirt as possible dodging Maxim gun fire like US Marines in Bello Wood. But no one to date would have had the opportunity to witness actual combat footage taken from the skies over Europe. It is easy to tell the difference between the actual combat footage and Perry's stuff because the shots have that dirty, cheap film and unsteady hand look. Similar to the combat footage taken by Combat Cameramen that you see on the History Channel.\nNot only did director Wellman oversee strides in the filming side of a motion picture, he also was a bit of a directorial daredevil. He showed blood, something that probably wasn't seen or liked by audiences at the time. He also showed a rather risqué seen of Mary undressing in a Parisian hotel with on of the boys on the bed out cold. \n"Wings" serves as one of the last great films of the silent era. This was an era whose death knell was sounded by the eventual proliferation of sound technology. Typical of all silent films, important points were relayed to the audience in the form of text title cards. The title cards in this case did an excellent job in conveying not only a message, but also an emotional context to go along with the message. This was done by toying around with the text of the cards. In other words, the text would sometimes be larger or smaller, italicized or bolded. Always the messages were easy to understand, succinct, and the typeface manipulation served to provide the inflection and tone missed out on the verbiage of silent films.\nIn an aesthetic observation, the title cards were set up against a backdrop of wind-blown clouds to add the feeling of flight.\n"Wings," the first and only silent film to win an Oscar, is a war film that compares to war films of today. While the comparison is not technological, it is certainly similar in narration and plot devices. In fact, the similarities between the 1927 film "Wings" and the 2001 historical hack-job of "Pearl Harbor" are so obvious, it would be in bad form to not make mention of them.\n"Wings" and "Pearl Harbor" are films about love between to men and one woman. The films are also set against the backdrop of world war, and the spirit of combat aviators. In both films, conflict arises between the two male leads because of the love triangle they are in. Perhaps, a deviation from the comparison is in that Sylvia loves only one of the men. The female lead in "Pearl Harbor" loves both men, but at different times. In "Wings," one of the male leads is shot down and killed. In "Pearl Harbor," one of the male leads is shot down and killed -- but in this instance while saving the life of his boyhood friend. \nSo in style of story writing and narration, the comparisons are fairly strong. There is usually only one or two good ways to tell a story set in a war and about love. I suppose the biggest difference is modern combat films show blood and gore that would have given people coronaries back during the time when Hollywood and sound were just merging. I guess when Hollywood finds one that works, it's better to stick to the tried and tested.\nBut while "Wings" and "Pearl Harbor," an excellent exhibit of a modern day combat film, are similar in the plot movement sense. The styles of acting between the days of the "Wings" era and the current era in Hollywood will also show some similarity. Around the days of 1915 until the early to mid-'20s, acting reflects the likes of Sarah Bernhardt on the stage with brow clutching and villains stroking their handlebar moustaches. But by the time "Wings" was made, the style of acting had evolved into something much more realistic. The main characters all played their parts with subtlety and were like real life people.\nAll in all, "Wings" would be an excellent way to spend part of your hard earned paycheck at a rental place or on Amazon.com. The film will definitely continue to sell well in movie houses throughout the big cities. There is humor to lighten darkness. There is humanity to balance inhumanity. There is action. There is romance. \nThis silent great film will make you silent too.