John Wayne received an opportunity few actors have enjoyed when he played one of his own real-life friends in The Wings of Eagles. Released in 1957, the John Ford-directed movie is a lesser-known collaboration between John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, as well as the third of five movies the two stars made together.

After starring in two John Ford movies (The Quiet Man and Rio Grande), Wayne and O’Hara rejoined the director for The Wings of Eagles, a military biopic that saw the pair step into the roles of Frank “Spig” Wead and his wife, Min. Based on a true story, the movie dove into the life story of Frank Wead, a U.S. Navy pilot noted for the part he played in getting the military branch to develop its strength in the air.

Although it’s not made obvious in the film itself, John Wayne actually knew the real-life Frank Wead before his death in 1947. In fact, their relationship stemmed from a period of the aviator’s life that was explored in the movie, which was his time in Hollywood.

How John Wayne Knew The Real-Life Version Of His Character In The Wings Of Eagles

Not only did Wead boast an impressive military career, but he was also a well-respected screenwriter. Between his first and second stints with the Navy, Wead worked in Hollywood, where he wrote scripts for several late 1930s and early 1940s movies. One such film was They Were Expendable, a naval war movie that starred John Wayne.

According to Historycollection.com, John Wayne came to know Frank Wead during the making of They Were Expendable. Having met and spoken with Wead directly influenced John Wayne’s portrayal of him in The Wings of Eagles, as it allowed him to copy the mannerisms he had witnessed personally.

Knowing Frank Wead Made Playing Him A Bigger Challenge For John Wayne

Made 10 years after Wead’s death, The Wings of Eagles was crafted intentionally as a tribute to the aviator. Those involved with the project, including John Wayne and particularly John Ford, wanted The Wings of Eagles to be an accurate adaptation of his life story. Apparently, Ford and Wead had been close friends.

Michael Mann’s John Wayne biography, John Wayne: The Man Behind The Myth, recounted a remark from one of the movie’s cast members, Ken Curtis, who said that it was a film Ford “really wanted to make.”

In fact, John Wayne’s fondness for Wead is why he was cast in the first place. In the book, it’s stated that it was a priority to John Ford that the actor who played Wead be someone who loved him as much as the director did. And it was that reasoning that led him to cast Wayne in the role.

As the book explains, getting Wead right was as important to Wayne as it was to Ford. The book quotes Wayne as saying that Frank Wead was someone he “thought the world of.” Ultimately, The Wings of Eagles was his and Ford’s way of telling his story to the public.

Dan Dailey, another actor in The Wings Of Eagles’ cast, told Munn that Wayne believed that “he had an obligation to play Frank Wead with honesty and dignity.” As Dailey pointed out, this atтιтude was the very reason Wayne did something he had never done before: for years, Wayne wore a toupee to hide his thinning hair, but kept it off during the scenes where he played an aging Frank Wead.

The Wings Of Eagles Is An Underrated John Wayne Classic

It’s easier to appreciate The Wings of Eagles when knowing the backstory behind it. The Wings of Eagles was criticized heavily at the time of its release, with critics hammering it for its use of comedy, which was considered out-of-place in a tragic, wartime biopic. But that notion misunderstands the real-life inspiration that went into John Ford’s movie and Wayne’s portrayal of his friend.

Dan Dailey defended the tonal inconsistencies in The Wings of Eagles, arguing that the comedic scenes that preceded the film’s tragic turn when Wead becomes paralyzed fit with the real events in his life. Its transitions from comedy to heartbreak were in line with reality, even if they weren’t exactly what critics and audiences may have wanted.

There’s also the matter of what people expected from the movie. Michael Munn’s book mentioned that John Wayne himself made the case that the movie was marketed as a “back-to-war picture” for the actor, which was a disenguous interpretation of the point behind the movie. This likely hindered its potential.

The Wings of Eagles was never a true John Wayne war movie, but a moving, heartfelt biopic about someone he and John Ford deeply cared about. Unfortunately, the movie wasn’t recognized as such, which helps account for its disappointing 40% Rotten Tomatoes score.