The War Lover (1962)

Director: Philip Leacock

Starring: Steve McQueen, Robert Wagner, Shirley Anne Field


Few icons have come along in film history that completely embody the idea of the anti-hero, and Steve McQueen is one of the greatest, although in The War Lover, one of his earlier leading roles, he gives a somewhat subdued performance.

Set in England during the Second World War, Steve McQueen plays Captain Buzz Rickson, an arrogant, devil-may-care Army Air Corps bomber pilot. While leading a squadron on a bombing raid, Rickson ignores orders to avoid an enemy squadron, and in pursuing the enemy, loses a bomber and its entire crew. When he is reprimanded and reassigned to dropping propaganda leaflets, he becomes rebellious and even more arrogant. When his co-pilot, Lieutenant Ed Bolland (Robert Wagner) meets an English girl named Daphne Caldwell (Shirley Ann Field), Rickson becomes infatuated with her and opens a love triangle while spiraling out of control.

One thing that struck me from the beginning of the film is how technical the film is when it comes to piloting these bombers. The pre-flight inspection at the beginning of the film is chock-full of technical jargon, and we see the entire take-off from the perspectives of both the crew and the mechanics. We see it from almost every point of view, making the audience feel like they are a part of the film, whether standing on the airfield or sitting in the cockpit. They do a great job of showing all the names of the planes, including such gems as "House of Usher" and "Expendable IV", and the scenes of B-17 bombers flying in formation can only be described as majestic.

Unfortunately, this is where the best parts of the film ends, as the acting and story is lacking in quality. It seems like such a missed opportunity to have a real showdown between the film's two male leads as Lieutenant Bolland goes from idolizing Rickson to despising him. There is one scene after Rickson transfers his navigator to another plane, and the navigator is killed while flying with the other bomber. Bolland blames Rickson for the man's death and goes into the barracks to find Rickson with the man's dog and feeling absolutely no remorse over his death. Bolland becomes angry and chastises Rickson, but Wagner's performance is brief and lackluster.

McQueen does a decent job of being arrogant and gung-ho, but turns in a very subdued performance that could otherwise have been one of the most memorable of his career. There is a scene after which he is reassigned to dropping leaflets, and in defiance flies dangerously low over the base, and even in this scene, he looks almost as bored as he would driving along an empty highway.

The War Lover had potential to be a great film in the same category as Twelve o' Clock High or Wings, but fails at being the gripping drama it should have been.

Great Lines:

"The only trouble with this crummy war is that it begins too early in the morning."