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Lafayette Escadrille ()


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American youth and flying ace flies for France in World War I, meets and loves a French girl and a prostitute.

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Cast

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Thad Walker
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Renée Beaulieu
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Drill Sergeant
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Duke Sinclair
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U.S. General
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The Madam
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Dave Putnam
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George Moseley
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Dave Judd (as Bob Hover)
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Arthur Blumenthal
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Frank Baylies
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Jimmy
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Sgt. Parris
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Amos J. Walker
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Bill Wellman Sr.
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Tom Hitchcock
Denny Devine ...
Lawrence 'Red' Scanlon (as Dennis Devine)
Ralph Guldahl ...
Dudley Tucker
Sam Boghosian ...
Booth
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Landram Ovington (uncredited)
John Barton ...
Peg Leg (uncredited)
Robert Berry ...
Alan Winslow (uncredited)
Ron Burke ...
Herman Whitmore (uncredited)
Peter Camlin ...
Jailer (uncredited)
Jack Chefe ...
French Officer / Baseball Spectator (uncredited)
Warren Coley ...
Rankin Drew (uncredited)
Marcel De la Brosse ...
Interpreter (uncredited)
Norman Dupont ...
Guynemer (uncredited)
Andre K. Duval ...
French Officer (uncredited)
Maurice Elias ...
Alan Nichols (uncredited)
Christian Essay ...
Frenchman (uncredited)
Sterling Franck ...
Charlie (uncredited)
Jacques Gallo ...
Gendarme (uncredited)
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Bartender (uncredited)
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Lufbery (uncredited)
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Undetermined Role (uncredited)
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Jim Connelly (uncredited)
John Macchia ...
Kinsolving (uncredited)
Edward Manouk ...
French Drill Sergeant (uncredited)
Bart Mattson ...
George Dock (uncredited)
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Captain Honore (uncredited)
Maurice Millard ...
Undetermined Role (uncredited)
George Nardelli ...
Concierge (uncredited)
Norman Papson ...
Thomas Buffum (uncredited)
Francis Ravel ...
French Gate Guard (uncredited)
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Policeman (uncredited)
Buck Roberts ...
Stewart Edgar (uncredited)
Ray Smith ...
Cy Chamberlain (uncredited)
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Alan Nichols (uncredited)
Lomax Study ...
French Recruiting Officer (uncredited)
Gus Thaxter ...
Crehore (uncredited)
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Capitaine (uncredited)
Mme. Wagner-Colombet ...
Old Hag (uncredited)
Tom Watson ...
Chuck Kerwood (uncredited)
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Narrator (uncredited) (voice)
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Wally Winter (uncredited)

Directed by

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William A. Wellman

Written by

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Albert Sidney Fleischman ... (screen play)
 
William A. Wellman ... (from a story by)

Produced by

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William A. Wellman ... producer

Music by

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Leonard Rosenman

Cinematography by

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William H. Clothier ... director of photography (as William Clothier)

Editing by

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Owen Marks

Production Design by

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Donald A. Peters

Art Direction by

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John Beckman

Set Decoration by

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Ralph S. Hurst ... (as Ralph Hurst)

Costume Design by

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Marjorie Best

Makeup Department

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Gordon Bau ... makeup artist
Jean Burt Reilly ... hairdresser (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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George Vieira ... second unit director
William Kissell ... assistant director (uncredited)
Gil Mandelik ... assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department

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Robey Cooper ... assistant props (uncredited)
Matthew McCullen ... assistant props (uncredited)
Scotty Moore ... prop master (uncredited)

Sound Department

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John K. Kean ... sound (as John Kean)
Russell Ashley ... sound recordist (uncredited)
Samuel F. Goode ... boom operator (uncredited)
William Griffith ... radio man (uncredited)
Barry Thomas ... cable person (uncredited)

Special Effects by

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Sass Bedig ... special effects (uncredited)
Ralph Webb ... special effects (uncredited)

Stunts

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Fred Stromsoe ... stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Eddie Leon Albert ... assistant camera: aerial unit (uncredited)
Wesley Anderson ... camera operator (uncredited)
William T. Cline ... second camera operator: aerial unit (uncredited)
Richard Doran ... assistant camera (uncredited)
Robert R. Farmer ... best boy (uncredited)
Elmer Faubion ... first assistant camera (uncredited)
Ray Fernstrom ... first camera operator: aerial unit (uncredited)
George Gordon Nogle ... camera operator (uncredited)
Ralph Owen ... gaffer (uncredited)
Jack Woods ... still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Henry Fields ... wardrobe (uncredited)
James Gilmore ... wardrobe (uncredited)
Ann Landers ... wardrobe (uncredited)
Leon Roberts ... wardrobe (uncredited)

Location Management

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Joe Barry ... location manager (uncredited)

Music Department

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Maurice De Packh ... orchestrator (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

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Howard Hohler ... script supervisor (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Joe DeAngelo ... stand-in (uncredited)
Paul Franklin ... pilot (uncredited)
Harry B. Friedman ... publicist (uncredited)
John Indrisano ... trainer: fight sequence (uncredited)
Mike Morelli ... stand-in (uncredited)
Fred Stromsoe ... stand-in: Tab Hunter (uncredited)
Frank Tallman ... aviation technical director (uncredited)
Bob Taylor ... stand-in (uncredited)
James D. White ... pilot (uncredited)

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Thad Walker (Tab Hunter) is a young man from a good Boston family, but he's spoiled, rebellious, and always at odds with his strict father. When Thad gets into trouble with the law one time too many, his father strikes him. Thad leaves his home and joins up with other American volunteers heading for the front lines of World War I. Since the U.S. is not at war yet, Thad joins the French Legion. The American volunteers in the French Legion are trained as fighter pilots for the Lafayette Escadrille. During his training, Thad proves he's a skilled flyer, but his temperament prevents him from taking orders and being obedient. When he strikes a French drill officer, Thad faces the prospect of a court-martial and a minimum sentence of ten years in prison. Discouraged, he deserts and runs away to Paris, where he first fell in love with a pretty French girl named Renée Beaulieu (Etchika Choureau). They live together in her small hotel room and eventually get unofficially married. But the French Police are looking for deserters and Thad feels like a prisoner inside the hotel, afraid to go out in public where he could be seen by policemen. Meantime, his American pals from Lafayette Escadrille finish their pilot training and get their wings. Thad tries to get a job in Paris, working as a bodyguard and driver for the girls of a local Madam. When America finally enters the war, many American officers arrive in Paris. This is how Thad meets a U.S. General (Paul Fix) in a Paris cab. He decides to plead with the American General to allow Thad to serve in the newly formed United States Army Air Service, despite the fact that Thad is technically a deserter from the French Legion. Moved by Thad's plea, the General pulls strings to have Thad recruited into the Air Service. Thad finishes his fighter pilot training, gets his wings, and is sent to fierce frontline combat against German fighters. In Paris, his French wife wonders if she'll ever see him alive again. Written by nufs68

Plot Keywords
Taglines The young rebel who didn't fit and didn't try...a kid who couldn't wait for his war! See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • C'est la guerre (United States)
  • With You in My Arms (United States)
  • William Wellman's Lafayette Escadrille (United States)
  • Hell Bent for Glory (South Africa, English title)
  • Hell Bent for Glory (United Kingdom)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 93 min
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Did You Know?

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Trivia According to Tab Hunter in his memoirs, "Tab Hunter Confidential", William A. Wellman was furious because, on the set, Warner Brothers replaced a coffee man, who gave coffee to the crew, with an automatic machine where everyone had to pay, so Wellman grabbed the machine, threw it on the floor and brought it brutally to the street. The coffee man came back. See more »
Goofs Aviators in World War I generally didn't wear the high-collar tunics like the one worn by Thad. This is because they needed to be able to turn their heads while flying. Rather, they wore a uniform coat that required a shirt and tie. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in Tab Hunter Confidential (2015). See more »
Crazy Credits And Introducing Bill Wellman, Jr. Jody McCrea Dennis Devine See more »
Quotes [first lines]
Narrator: A half-forgotten corner of France in a wholly-forgotten war. In memory of the heroes of the Lafayette Escadrille, who died in defense of life and of liberty. This monument, this patch of foreign sky, belongs to a handful of Americans who flew for France and died for France in the First World War. They came with an air of adventure or a sense of impatience in the days before America entered the war. The wore French uniforms, they fought in French planes, and they fell in love with French women. These weren't just names in 1917; they were headlines. But this story is about a man whose name isn't carved in stone with the other young men of that old war. He ran away to war for reasons of his own. His name is Thad Walker.
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