Flying Leathernecks
“From Guadalcanal to Okinawa...the Marine air-devils blazed a trail of glory...while the women they left behind fought battles of their own!”
Major Daniel Kirby takes command of a squadron of Marine fliers just before they are about to go into combat. While the men are well meaning, he finds them undisciplined and prone to always finding excuses to do what is easy rather than what is necessary. The root of the problem is the second in command, Capt. Carl 'Griff' Griffin. Griff is the best flier in the group but Kirby finds him a poor commander who is not prepared to make the difficult decision that all commanders have to make - to put men in harm's way knowing that they may be killed.
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Cast
43 people
John Wayne
Maj. Daniel Xavier Kirby
Known for
The Searchers
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Robert Ryan
Capt. Carl 'Griff' Griffin
Known for
The Wild Bunch
Bad Day at Black Rock
Don Taylor
Lt. Vern 'Cowboy' Blithe
Known for
Stalag 17
The Naked City
Janis Carter
Joan Kirby
Also in
Framed
Santa Fe
Jay C. Flippen
MSgt. Clancy, Line Chief
Known for
The Killing
The Wild One
William Harrigan
Dr. Lt.Cdr. Joe Curran
Known for
The Invisible Man
'G' Men
James Bell
Colonel
Known for
I Walked with a Zombie
The Leopard Man
Barry Kelley
Brigadier General
Known for
The Asphalt Jungle
The Manchurian Candidate
Maurice Jara
Shorty Vegay
Also in
Giant
The Lawless
Adam Williams
Lt. Bert Malotke
Known for
North by Northwest
The Big Heat
James Dobson
Lt. Pudge McCabe
Also in
Mutiny in Outer Space
Impulse
Carleton Young
Col. Riley
Known for
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Nicholas Ray Director · Edmund Grainger Screenplay James Edward Grant Screenplay
Worldwide gross $2.6M · United States release August 28, 1951 · Produced in United States
Box office
Worldwide gross
$2,600,000
Production
RKO Radio Pictures
Production
RKO
Studio · Production
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English
Release dates
United States · August 28, 1951
Theatrical
Germany
June 3, 2022 · Physical
Japan
July 5, 1955 · Theatrical
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Some details come from TheTVDB.