Juste watched Flying Tigers on video. I was striken by the numerous similarities with the 1939 Hawks classic with Cary Grant, Thomas Mitchell, Richard Barthelmess and Jean Arthur. Not only most of the main characters exactly matches each others but even the grand finale/climax is the same. It's quite obvious, the writers of Flying Tigers have been at least unconciously impressed by Hawks' film.
Any idea why it does not appear anywhere here ?
I too feel that this movie seems to be the military version of Only Angels Have Wings. I believe the writers were more than impressed by Hawks' film; I have to believe they ripped it off. Besides both films having John Carroll as a cocky pilot, most, if not all, of the plot elements are identical; the pilot grounded for vision problems flying and dying, the vision test itself, the Hot Shot pilot disliked by the rest of the team, the dropping of nitro from a jury rigged cargo plane, even the married pilot desperately needing the money, the list goes on. There's no way it's just coincidience.
When Flying Tigers was released in 1942, the war was less than a year old. I can just see the people at Republic needing a war movie script right now, dusting off Only Angels Have Wings, and with or without permission, making minimal changes to make it about the Flying Tigers and away they went. Why Hawks, et al don't receive credit I can't figure, unless, somehow, it was all done for the war effort.
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