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Wings takes flight in Fremont – don’t miss it!
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Clara Bow, one of the stars of "Wings," which screens Saturday
in Fremont.
By Thomas Gladysz
Attention film buffs. Consider yourself a serious fan of the movies? If so, can you name the FIRST film to win the Academy Award for “Best Picture”?
Don’t go rummaging through your DVD collection – because the answer won’t be found there.
Here are a couple of clues. It’s the only silent film to ever win an Academy Award (it actually won two - the other was for Engineering Effects). And, it was directed by William Wellman, the same fellow who directed such acclaimed works as Beggars of Life (1928), The Public Enemy (1931), A Star Is Born (1937), Beau Geste (1939), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), and Battleground (1949).
The answer is none other than Wings (1927, Paramount), the subject of an all-day tribute Saturday at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont. This very special tribute includes two screenings of a recently restored 35 mm print (courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), a symposium which includes the showing of a documentary about the film’s director, author talks and book signings, and a guest appearance by William Wellman, Jr., who will introduce his father’s classic film.
If you have not seen Wings – one of the truly great films of the silent era – then make your way to Fremont and be prepared to be thrilled. This classic film about World War I aviators stars Clara Bow, Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Richard Arlen, Jobyna Ralston, El Brendel and in one of his first screen appearances, a youthful Gary Cooper. Wellman himself has a cameo. Notably, the film was written by, directed by, and acted in by World War I veterans.
Wings is a bold, fast-paced, groundbreaking work. It was costume designer Edith Head's first film. It was one of the first movies to feature a male-on-male kiss – a fraternal one – in a death scene near the end. It is also one of the first widely released films to show nudity. Clara Bow’s breasts can be seen for a second or two in the Paris bedroom scene as military police barge in while the “It Girl” changes clothes. And oh yes, Wings also features some truly remarkable and still thrilling scenes of aerial combat.
Saturday May 16 at 12:00 noon
A special presentation of Wings, with Frederick Hodges on the piano, and Ben Burtt providing sound effects.
The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum will show a restored 35 mm print of Wings, courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Frederick Hodges will perform music based on the original cue sheets and original score, with Ben Burtt creating sound effects. The film will be introduced by William Wellman, Jr., an actor, producer, and son of the great director. Wellman, Jr. is also the author of The Man and His Wings: William A. Wellman and the Making of the First Best Picture (Praeger Publishers). A question and answer period will follow.
Saturday May 16 at 3:30 PM
A Wings symposium.
Shawna Kelly, author of the recently released Aviators in Early Hollywood (Arcadia), will introduce a special screening of the 93 minute film Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick (1995, Will Bill Productions). Produced by Wellman, Jr., this entertaining and informative documentary features Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Gregory Peck, Sidney Poitier, Robert Mitchum and others. The screening will be followed by a talk by Ben Burtt on “Sound Effects and Wings.”
Saturday May 16 at 7:30 PM
A special presentation of Wings, with Jon Mirsalis performing on a Kurzweil synthesizer, and Ben Burtt providing sound effects.
The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum will show a restored 35 mm print of Wings, courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For this screening, well known accompanist Jon Mirsalis will play his original score, with Ben Burtt creating sound effects. Burtt, by the way, is an Academy Award winning sound effects wizard whose work includes the Star Wars and Wall-E films. The film will be introduced by Shawna Kelly and William Wellman, Jr. with a question and answer period to follow.
In 1997, because it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," Wings was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Despite that fact, and despite the fact that Wings was the very first film to win an Academy Award, and despite the fact that after more than three quarters of the century it still “holds up,” and despite the fact that it is a truly memorable film, and despite the fact that it stars Clara Bow (the “It Girl,” a goddess – and a film legend), and despite the fact that it was directed by William Wellman – one of the all-time greats, Wings is still not available on DVD! That’s a travesty – and yet another reason to see it in Fremont.
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