"Flying Tigers"

Flight Journal, Feb 2001 by Farmer, James H

"Flying Tigers"

Republic Pictures Home Video. Video may be ordered in original black and white (AC52), or colorized (AC52C), from The Armchair Dogfighter: (800) 365-2104; $19.98.

For the original source of much misinformation about the AVG, viewers need look no further than the spirited (but bogus) 1942 John Wayne feature, "Flying Tigers." I was amazed to discover that as late as November 1980, when I interviewed the film's aging director, David Miller, he still believed-mistakenly, as did millions of others-that the Tigers were engaged in combat before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Unfortunately, the marginally more credible 1945 Bob Scott/ AVG/23rd Fighter Group biography from Warner Bros., "God Is My Co-Pilot," has never been released on video. Nonetheless, Hollywood has long nurtured the idea of another Tigers feature, even though the most recent production was shut down three years ago. Take heart, however; word is that film star/private flier Tom Cruise currently has a Flying Tigers script in development!

James H. Farmer