Motion Picture Purgatory: War Eagles
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When Trembles sent over this week’s MPP entry, War Eagles, we were a bit stymied as to what it was all about, but a little research revealed it to be one of the most famous unproduced motion pictures of all time. In fact, there’s a recent book by David Conover and Philip J. Riley that looks to be required reading for anyone interested in learning more about the film’s history.
Per Amazon’s description of the Conover/Riley book: Planned as a full Technicolor production at MGM in the late 1930s, WAR EAGLES would have eclipsed Merian C. Cooper and long-time SFX partner Willis O’Brien’s King Kong as the greatest fantasy epic of the period had it not fallen victim to pre-war studio politics and the rise of Hitler’s Third Reich on the eve of World War II. Detailed models and sets were built and Technicolor test footage featuring stop-motion animation by Willis O’Brien and his crew (including Kong/Mighty Joe Young creators Marcel Delgado and George Lofgren) was shot, and the exciting tale of a lost race of Viking warriors astride giant prehistoric eagles doing battle with Nazis over the skies of modern day Manhattan almost reached the screen until the reality of impending war halted production in 1940.
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