Dragonfly Squadron with Tri-Opticon - 3D Blu-ray

If there’s one thing true about Hollywood, they like to exploit a real-life situation. “Exploit” might not be the most generous term, but it’s fitting when they’re trying to make a feature inspired by true stories surrounding real international events as they’re unfolding and sell that to movie-going audiences. Case in point, the Korean War. The conflict lasted from 1950 to 1953. In that time, Hollywood produced some two dozen A pictures and B films directly about the conflict or, at the very least, clearly inspired by it. One, 1954’s Cease Fire, was daring enough to shoot on location in the last days of the war at real (albeit not active) battlefields - and in 3D. But it wasn’t the only 3D feature about the conflict. 

Produced in 1953 but not released until 1954, was Lesley Selander’s Dragonfly Squadron, a loose retelling of Colonel Dean Hess (who consulted on the film) and his training of South Korean pilots ahead of the war. Also shot in 3D, the film was made at the waning edge of Hollywood’s 1950s three-dimensional cinematic love affair and was sadly only released flat. Low-budget, shot for around $300,000, it made its money back but was hardly a hit and faded into nondescript war-film obscurity. That is, until the good folks at 3-D Film Archive partnered with Olive Films in 2014 to give the feature its first true stereographic presentation. 

Dollars to donuts, Dragonfly Squadron isn’t a great film, but it's well meaning and keeps your attention. All credit to the cast, they do their best to carry the show. As our leading man, we have John Hodiak as Major Mathew Brody, tasked with training South Korean fighter pilots ahead of the inevitable conflict. There are some side plots about Jess Baker playing the conniving two-faced reporter, Dixon, who knows Brody’s decidedly undramatic history and why he’s grounded from flying (weird to assign a guy who can’t fly to teach guys to fly, but whatever, I digress). There’s an odd love triangle plot with Barbara Britton as the doctor’s wife, Donna Cottrell, and Bruce Bennett as her well-meaning but obvious future canon-fodder husband. There’s a side plot about sabotage and distrust among the rank and file, but that's all dramatically inert by the second act. The third act exodus is where the film finally kicks into gear. 

In simple terms, it’s a war film in search of a battle. It’s a human drama in search of genuine struggle. In other words, it’s just not a very good film, but it’s at least diverting enough to hold your attention. And truth be told, I think if I were only seeing this film flat, it’d be a much harder watch. If you look through the script and story deficiencies, you find pieces of a tantalizing story about American involvement in foreign conflict. During this time period, we weren’t interventionists; we were merely training and equipping an ally to defend themselves. And in 3D, we, the audience, are put into the mess of it, and it’s some impressive photography, giving some of the limp dramatics a little more heft. When the invasion begins, the film finally finds a pulse and thrust to move with. I just wish there was more of this material in the film rather than left as a late-game third-act tool. 

What I had more fun with in this film was spotting some of the background players. Our star John Hodiak, who had popped up in the likes of Lifeboat, Battleground, The Harvey Girls, Desert Fury, and a slew of war pictures and westerns, stands as a solid leading man. Sadly, he died of a heart attack while shaving at 41. Actors who were on the rise to fame and stars who had already slipped back into bit roles, I already mentioned Treasure of Sierra Madre’s Bruce Bennett and Scarlet Street’s Jess Baker get some welcome screentime. The film also features 3-D veteran Barbara Britton from Bwana Devil and a slew of familiar faces, including Gerald Mohr, Roger Corman's leading lady Pamela Duncan, Adam Williams from North by Northwest, and the gravely voiced Frank Ferguson. Best of all, you get to see the likes of Fess Parker (without his coonskin cap, but that’d been funny as hell if he kept it on) and living legend James Hong in a small uncredited role as one of the pilots (not sure which one he is, but I think I spotted him during the opening briefing). It’s a fun who’s who of a cast of character actors. But then, there’s nothing quite like seeing the toothy mug of a young Chuck Connors as a marine popping out at you in 3D!

So yeah, in the long and short of things, Dragonfly Squadron isn’t a great film, but it’s at least divertingly entertaining. It may not have had the budget to fully capitalize on its premise, but in 3D, it gives the film a visual edge that holds your attention. It’s certainly a handsome-looking feature and makes great use of the format. It just needed to be more than what it ultimately was. As I said, I can’t imagine watching it flat in 2D, and between two disc releases, I’m glad I never had to! 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray 3D
Thanks to the folks at 3-D Film Archive, perfecting and refining their restoration processes, we get a second flight with Dragonfly Squadron on Blu-ray 3D disc. Released through Bayview Entertainment, the film and its extra features are pressed on a BD50 disc and housed in a standard Blu-ray case. The disc loads to a viewing option menu - if you have a 3D-capable TV or Projector, or if you don’t, you can switch over to the Analog (Red/Blue glasses) version and view the film that way. A single pair of Anaglyph glasses is included. You can view the film in 2D too, but lordy, why would you want to do that?

Ever the three-dimensional junkie that I am, I picked up a copy of 3-D Film Archive’s initial release of Dragonfly Squadron via Olive Films way back in 2014 or 2015. And it was pretty good for what it was, but not anything too great. It wasn’t great because, against the likes of modern mega-blockbuster 3D releases, older films just weren’t an attraction and were usually in pretty rough shape. They were a niche within a very small niche of physical media releases. In those last ten years, I may have pulled that disc off my shelf three times, if that. 3-D Film Archive very quickly had other better go-to discs for three-dimensional viewing pleasure come out in that time. To that end, it’s not difficult to say that their new restoration leaves that old disc far behind in the clouds. Immediately, the image is vastly cleaner and clearer, more stable, and free of the constant speckling that would have distracted in the previous iteration. The image also looks notably more stable with far stronger Right/Left eye alignment, with what looks to be a healthier grayscale, sharper details, and film grain is better resolved; all leading to a much more enjoyable and impactful 3D viewing experience.

For folks without a 3D-capable TV or projector, 3-D Film Archive’s Anaglyph transfer is yet another great example of their work. I’ve mentioned this in past reviews, but with my migraine and visual sensitivity, most Anaglyph 3D presentations are unwatchable for me. But whatever they do for their releases, I have a much easier time with them with greater eye comfort. And because it’s a black-and-white feature, you don’t lose out on color accuracy. Both are great options for viewing the film in 3D, regardless of how your home theater is rigged.

Flying into this release, we have a strong DTS-HD MA 2.0 mix. Doing some disc flippies, I felt like this was the same track as the 2014 disc - which wasn’t a problem at all. While not always the most exciting track, several stretches of pensive dialogue exchanges, the mix does pick up when and where needed. An early test flight sequence and a big explosion get the sonic blood pumping, and the film’s action-focused third act picks up the pace nicely. Dialog overall is strong and clear. There might be some hard "S" sibilance here and there, but nothing distracting. No other age-related issues to distract. 

On the audio side, we get a pair of interesting extras. First is Tri-Opticon, which is billed on this release as a sort of second feature to Dragonfly Squadron. It offers three 3D shorts - A Solid Explanation, The Black Swan, and Royal River. Also on this disc is the Ed Wood-written short American Beauties. Dragonfly Squadron also enjoys a new and very informative audio commentary with Toby Roan and Mike Ballew, while Will Sloan offers some thoughts on that American Beauties short that's worth a listen.

• Audio Commentary featuring Toby Roan and ike Ballew
• Tri-Opticon (HD 30:42)
• American Beauties w/ optional Will Sloan Commentary (HD 8:48)
• Trailers

If there’s a way to look at Dragonfly Squadron strictly as a film, it’s a great story that missed out on its full potential. Without a budget big enough to pull off its lofty ambitions, it had to make do with what it could, and that was largely hang on some limp personal dramatics during a time of rising conflict. At 87 minutes, it moves briskly, and the final act finds a pace and some action to get excited about. Getting there is the only chore. But that chore is made much easier by some often striking three-dimensional visuals. The good folks at 3-D Film Archive with Bayview Entertainment wisely gave this film another run through their restoration process, and 10 years with new technology have shown a full range of improvements. Cleaner, clearer, more stable, it’s a terrific fully dimensional easy-on-the-eyes 3D experience in true digital 3D and Anaglyph 3D. Regardless of how you’re outfitted at home, you’ll have a great time in three dimensions. Good, clean audio is matched with a nice, robust assortment of extra features, including something of an oddball 3D short with narration written by the iconic Ed Wood. If you love 3D movies at home, this disc is well worth the upgrade. Recommended 

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