Unsurprisingly, this film barely ever crops up in discussions of Josef von Sternberg's work (in retrospect, it comes across as his most impersonal effort): this is perhaps because the subject matter was more suited to someone like Howard Hawks! When it is mentioned, it is as yet another Howard Hughes folly (for what it is worth, Hawks' own collaboration with the notoriously volatile producer on THE OUTLAW {1943} had proved equally disastrous if somewhat more rewarding as a film) or as one of 4 cinematic embarrassments that clouded the career of its legendary star, John Wayne – the others being the Commie-baiting BIG JIM McLAIN (1952), THE CONQUEROR (1956; with "The Duke" a most unlikely Genghis Khan!) and the flag-waving Vietnam War epic THE GREEN BERETS (1968).Though he respected Hughes and looked forward to working with scriptwriter Furthman again, Sternberg was humiliated into being asked to make a directing test before the start of shooting – having been away from film-making for almost a decade, with only a documentary short to his name in the interim and uncredited work on another troubled "Sex Western" as THE OUTLAW was i.e. the David O. Selznick production of DUEL IN THE SUN (1946)! Being also his only official film in color, the director says in his autobiography that he had revolutionary ideas about how this should be approached but, needless to say, he was not allowed to experiment on Hughes' time (and money)! Small wonder, then, that – eerily presaging their subsequent collaboration on MACAO (1952) – he walked away or was replaced (of all people, by Furthman himself…though there is also mention of Nicholas Ray being involved, yet again, in the re-takes!). Incidentally, while shooting was completed in 1950, mysteriously the film took 7 years to finally emerge – the last film to be officially released under Hughes' aegis – by which time, the airline novelties he had hoped to showcase had become obsolete and the studio he owned, RKO, had folded (so that the picture ultimately got released under the Universal banner)! The plot is the typical 'relinquishing of Communist ideals in favor of the Western world's way of life' which not only dated as far back as Ernst Lubitsch's Greta Garbo vehicle NINOTCHKA (1939) but, in the days of the Cold War, invariably produced a host of other comedies on the theme, namely NEVER LET ME GO (1953), THE IRON PETTICOAT (1956), SILK STOCKINGS (1957; actually a musical remake of NINOTCHKA itself) and Billy Wilder's ONE, TWO, THREE (1961; the director having earlier co-scripted that same Lubitsch film). To get back to JET PILOT, the person to go through this cultural switch is young Russian aviatrix Janet Leigh: in true Hughes fashion, she was chosen for her natural attributes more than anything else but, in hindsight, she proves delightfully perky – even involving the usually stoic "Duke" into situations of sexual innuendo that, again, were a Hawksian prerogative and, where Wayne is concerned, would be featured most prominently in his relationship with Angie Dickinson in RIO BRAVO (1959). The hero, of course, is the titular air ace who, in spite of the Commies' flying prowess, is shown to know a trick or two that can still surprise them and incur their envy! Familiar character actor Paul Fix, who is said to have taught Wayne the works of the acting profession and would thus be prominently featured in any number of the star's vehicle, appears here as his sidekick/Second-In-Command (who first attempts to communicate with Leigh in Yiddish!).Well, the narrative takes the formulaic route in that initial antagonism gives way to romance, which then is jeopardized by the discovery that Leigh is really a spy; prior to this, having learned of her imminent deportation, Wayne marries her but, of course, subsequently gives her the cold shoulder. That is, until his C.O. (Jay C. Flippen) is persuaded to have the hero ostensibly defect to Russia in order to provide the Commies with wrong information about American aviation techniques while getting a low-down of where they were themselves at! While Leigh believes Wayne had really turned traitor for her sake, she then discovers his ruse and is about to give him away to her own stern superiors! However, when the latter (an understanding Roland Winters and, for what it is worth, a former Charlie Chan!) is transferred and replaced with the smarmy Hans Conried (a brief but very nice turn), the heroine realizes that the Russians really intend doing away with Wayne, she is all-too-happy to return with her husband to his home country…because, after all, you don't get juicy steaks in the Soviet Union and certainly not like they do them in New York! All in all, JET PILOT (which I had first watched not too long ago on late-night Italian TV as a double-bill with the afore-mentioned THE CONQUEROR{!} – both would ultimately be released on DVD as part of Universal's 5-movie set JOHN WAYNE: AN American ICON) is reasonably enjoyable in a 'classic Hollywood' sort of way, despite being itself no such thing; making the viewing that more palatable are the notable contributions of cinematographer Winton C. Hoch (like Wayne himself, a John Ford regular) and composer Bronislau Kaper.

In the first half of the movie Ivan Triesault's character of a Russian General was pronounced Landgraf (or Landgraff or Landgrav) with the "f" sound at the end. For some reason, Hans Conreid didn't think that sounded Russian enough and changed it to Landgrad (with a "d" on the end.I resent that. My name is Landgraff and my grandfather was a Don Cossack. Though it is a German name, his Ellis Island entry says he (and my grandmother) were from Russia. So it was a perfectly acceptable name to use and the pronounciation change was too noticeable. Well, at least to us Landgraff's.

JET PILOT (1957) is one of the most idiosyncratic and surprising films that I have seen recently. That Janet Leigh, complete with jet-age bra support, has no pretensions to a Russian accent is in itself strangely disarming, setting the tone of a complex artifice that caricatures and manipulates the images and mannerisms of Cold War America. The dialog and the aerial acrobatics are a feast of double entendre. The scene in the restaurant with platters of sizzling Technicolor steaks ("That's all they have here.") is a worthy precursor of Warhol's multiples. Viewers with a taste for the more eccentric films of Vincent Minelli and, more recently, Todd Haynes will find this film a rare delicacy.

Not much to say here, and that's about exactly what this flic deserves. But I wonder what it would've been considered if released back when it was written; Just as poor or rather interesting?Well I'm a movie lover, not a movie reviewer, but I can easily say this was a dog.I bet even John & Janet were rather embarrassed by this one.Still, I watched it and found myself quite taken by Janet Leigh's beauty and enchanting eyes, along with Johnny's youthful amorousity.The plot(?) is a sham, the "Commies" are treated as the usual moron's we were taught to believe them to be in every other propaganda flic, but it still serves to remind us of a time when even seduction was innocently provocative.Return to an earlier time while viewing this comedy-that-never-was, and please don't expect to walk away with a moral, or inspired.It's just a 'cute' way to blow an hour or two, and to remember what Studs Janet and John were in their day....get the popcorn popping' and leave the Kleenex on the shelf, you won't need it for this one.