The Winds of Kitty Hawk (TV Movie 1978)

The Winds of Kitty Hawk (TV Movie 1978). 1h 38m | Not Rated

“The only dramatic film on the Wright Brothers and their pioneering success with the aeroplane. This is a made for television movie shot in color. Production values are very good and the film is historically staged.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enThe first part of the movie, storywise, is well done u0026amp; concerns the brothers early lives in their bicycle shop and their eventual foray into the problem of human flight. Notable scenes are ie: Their first journey to Kitty Hawk in 1900. Their befriending of the Kitty Hawk locals like the little boy Tom Tate who appears with his family in some of the Wrightsu0026#39; real life photographs. Young Tate u0026amp; his father u0026amp; uncles helped Wilbur u0026amp; Orville with the gliders, lugging them over the sand dunes. Also showcased is the Wrightsu0026#39; sister Katharine, who shared their travails through the years. Katharine, the only girl in the Wright family, was also the only Wright sibling to go to college. And we see Bishop Wright, their father, a member of the United Bretheren Church offering advice u0026amp; support to his sons.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut the film concerns itself mostly with Will u0026amp; Orvu0026#39;s aeronautical experiments and ultimately their achievements. Samuel Langley is shown as a competitor of the Wrights in the race to invent the aeroplane.(In reality Orville many years later stated that he u0026amp; Wilbur had nothing against Langley because Langley was trying to reach the same goal as they were and that Langley was more of a colleague than a competitor). The scenes where the brothers are shown flying at Kitty Hawk N.C. are well staged u0026amp; believable but they were shot in southern Calif.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAfter the scenes of the 1903 flight the film starts to get inaccurate. Even before hand, Katharine is shown visiting her brothers at Kitty Hawk. This is incorrect for Katharine never went to KH…she always wrote to her brothers there, and they to her, as well as to their father.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhen the brothers get back to Dayton, after their Dec 17 1903 triumph, they continue to improve the aeroplane in new designs in 1904 u0026amp; 1905. Their flying area is shown to have mountains in the background(southern Cal). Dayton Ohio is quite flat and unobstructed which is why the brothers continued to fly there. Glenn Curtiss, another aviation pioneer, u0026amp; Alexander Graham Bell are show to be almost villainous which is inaccurate. Though Curtiss and many others infringed the Wrightsu0026#39; wing warping patent(todayu0026#39;s aileron control). Orvilleu0026#39;s crash at Fort Myer in 1908 is depicted as well as Wilburu0026#39;s flight up the Hudson River in 1909. Also nicely filmed is how the brothers tried to sell their invention to the U.S. Govu0026#39;t and were rejected by Secretary of War William H Taft u0026amp; staff.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOther u0026#39;accurateu0026#39; u0026amp; well done parts of the film are the many different instances the brothers had to deal with reporters. Such as coming back from Kitty Hawk at Christmas 1903, or when Orville is flying at Ft Myer during the Army demonstrations. Also, very importantly, the lawyer the brothers hire to help them secure, as well as protect, their patents. Over all its a good feel of a film told with many isolated points of the brothersu0026#39; lives. But like I said the first half of the movie is well done u0026amp; accurate particularly the brothers doing wind tunnel experiments, arguing with one another, as well as the beautifully composed scenes of them flying their 1902 glider. But after the brothersu0026#39; make the first aeroplane flight Dec 17 1903 the film starts to veer off into historical inaccuracies. …..8 1/2 out of 10 because production is so well shot.”