Flat Top

Excellent combat photography, courtesy of the U.S. Navy

As fiction, this is third rate. Sterling Hayden made his usual fairly flat performance, which suited the part of a Navy fighter squadron commander. His permanent scowl--or perhaps sneer--suited the role of the tough, battle-hardened flying ace trying to whip a new, untested squadron into an effective fighting force with tough love and good tactics. Richard Carlson, as his executive officer, was effective as the second-in-command who was too buddy buddy with the pilots, and thus often lost sight of the real mission: to kill Japs and win the war.

The plot is as old as fiction, and the movie is obviously low budget.

A great deal of the splendid photography came from the excellent World War II documentary film, "The Fighting Lady" (not to be confused with the Van Johnson fiction movie, "Men of the Fighting Lady"), which was filmed during actual combat on the Aircraft Carrier Enterprise--the original "Big E"--whose combat record was very...

very nice tape that depicts WW II on an aircraft carrier.
Sterling Hayden portrays a flight group commander on an aircraft carrier. having been in the U S military, I can truthfully state that much of the film's content was authentically done. Some content was for the average person to lighten the script, but most was factual. I would recommend this film to anyone interested in WW II.

"B" Acting - "A" Footage!
The story line is weak, and the acting is, well, weak. But the plus for this film is the excellant naval footage that is used. The DVD copy needs slight color correction, unless you enjoy green water, sky and navy uniforms. All in all, a good value for war buffs.

Click to Editorial Reviews