The Great Waldo Pepper
After WW1, an ex-pilot takes up barn-storming and chance-meets a former German ace fighter pilot with whom he co-stars in Hollywood war movies depicting aerial dog-fights. A biplane pilot who had miss…
The Great Waldo Pepper
After WW1, an ex-pilot takes up barn-storming and chance-meets a former German ace fighter pilot with whom he co-stars in Hollywood war movies depicting aerial dog-fights. A biplane pilot who had missed flying in WWI takes up barnstorming and later a movie career in his quest for the glory he had missed, eventually getting a chance to prove himself in a film depicting the dogfights in the Great War. —Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca> Waldo Pepper was a World War I flight trainer. Waldo believes the honor of the best WWI fighter pilot goes to German Ernst Kessler, although Waldo's flight commander Newt believes that if Waldo had entered the war earlier and had got the flight time, he would have proved himself to be the best. In the post-war era, Waldo, self-coined as the "Great Waldo Pepper", has like many war pilots resorted to barnstorming to make a living. Instead of the penny-ante flights he provides to adoring fans, Waldo wants to join Dillhoefer's flying circus. Dillhoefer will only let him join if he can prove he can perform a death defying feat that his audiences crave to see. He decides to join forces with sometimes rival pilot, Axel Olsson, to come up with such a stunt. Another possibility, with the help of plane designer Ezra Stiles, his girlfriend Maude's brother, is to complete the first ever outside loop. But when the defying part of death defying comes close to not happening, Waldo's livelihood is jeopardized. He may have to reinvent himself if that livelihood is no longer a possibility. An unexpected source may allow Waldo to show if he really was and is the greatest. —Huggo 1926. Aircraft, in the form of joyrides for cash, air shows, stunt flying and movies on the air battles of WW1, have taken off as a form of entertainment. One pilot cashing in on the trend is Waldo Pepper, a WW1 fighter pilot who now travels around, taking up people for short flights for cash. He regards himself as the second greatest pilot alive. The best? German WW1 ace Ernst Kessler. Pepper and Kessler's paths will cross in the death-defying, high-risk hurly burly that is flying in the 1920s. —grantss
The Great Waldo Pepper
Adventure,Drama
Film Details
After WW1, an ex-pilot takes up barn-storming and chance-meets a former German ace fighter pilot with whom he co-stars in Hollywood war movies depicting aerial dog-fights. A biplane pilot who had missed flying in WWI takes up barnstorming and later a movie career in his quest for the glory he had missed, eventually getting a chance to prove himself in a film depicting the dogfights in the Great War. —Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca> Waldo Pepper was a World War I flight trainer.
Waldo believes the honor of the best WWI fighter pilot goes to German Ernst Kessler, although Waldo's flight commander Newt believes that if Waldo had entered the war earlier and had got the flight time, he would have proved himself to be the best. In the post-war era, Waldo, self-coined as the "Great Waldo Pepper", has like many war pilots resorted to barnstorming to make a living. Instead of the penny-ante flights he provides to adoring fans, Waldo wants to join Dillhoefer's flying circus.
Dillhoefer will only let him join if he can prove he can perform a death defying feat that his audiences crave to see. He decides to join forces with sometimes rival pilot, Axel Olsson, to come up with such a stunt. Another possibility, with the help of plane designer Ezra Stiles, his girlfriend Maude's brother, is to complete the first ever outside loop.
But when the defying part of death defying comes close to not happening, Waldo's livelihood is jeopardized. He may have to reinvent himself if that livelihood is no longer a possibility. An unexpected source may allow Waldo to show if he really was and is the greatest.
—Huggo 1926. Aircraft, in the form of joyrides for cash, air shows, stunt flying and movies on the air battles of WW1, have taken off as a form of entertainment. One pilot cashing in on the trend is Waldo Pepper, a WW1 fighter pilot who now travels around, taking up people for short flights for cash.
He regards himself as the second greatest pilot alive. The best? German WW1 ace Ernst Kessler. Pepper and Kessler's paths will cross in the death-defying, high-risk hurly burly that is flying in the 1920s.
—grantss.