Lafayette Escadrille (DVD)

The brave Americans who flew for France before the U.S. entered World War I are saluted in Lafayette Escadrille, a rousing and flavorful adventure filled with flyboy camaraderie. '50s screen idol Tab Hunter stars as Thad Walker, a troubled youth who signs up with the elite corps. Love, however, throws a stumbling block in his path. He deserts to be with his sweetheart - but ultimately returns to dogfight glory. Besides a compelling look at the pilots' training, Lafayette Escadrille offers the fun of seeing actors whose careers had yet to soar to their full heights: movie superstar Clint Eastwood, Tom Laughlin (Billy Jack), David Janssen (The Fugitive) and Will Hutchins (Sugarfoot). Real-life Escadrille combat hero William A. Wellman (The Public Enemy, Battleground) provides the film's story and directs. It's a story close to Wellman's heart - and the last of the nearly 80 films in his renowned career.

Starring: William Wellman, Jr., Tab Hunter, Etchika Choureau, Clint Eastwood, Bob Hover, Tom Laughlin, Brett Halsey, Henry Nakamura, Maurice Marsac, Raymond Bailey, Bill Wellman Jr., Jody McCrea, Dennis Devine, Marcel Dalio, David Janssen, Paul Fix, Veola Vonn, Will Hutchins, George Nardelli, Cain Mason, Ralph Guldahl, Sam Boghosian, Rad Fulton, Phil Adams, Robert Berry, Ray Smith, Phil Altman, Ronald Burke, Maurice Elias, Norman Popson, Les Johnson, Warren Coley, Buck Roberts, Tom Watson, Bart Matson, John Macchia, Gus Thaxter, James Garner, Norman Du Pont, Lomax Study, Mme. Wagner-Colombet, Louis Mercier, Edouard Manouk, Marcel De La Brosse, Francis Ravel, Louis Gasnier, Jacques Gallo, Peter Camlin, Christian Essay, Roger Til, John Barton

Director: William Wellman