MovieChat Forums > Flyboys (2006) Discussion > Why no character based on Charles Nunges...

Why no character based on Charles Nungesser?

posted 15 years ago by mjkbncb
1 reply | jump to latest

I realize the characters in this film, while based on real-life men, were fictional (except for the commanding officer, Capt. Georges Thennault). But why no character based on one of the Lafayette Escadrille's most celebrated flying aces (and one of the few actual Frenchmen in the unit), Charles Nungesser? I mean, they had a character based on Raoul Lufbery (Cassidy), so why not one based on Nungesser? Considering Nungesser's flamboyant, daredevil style and his unfortunate disappearance after the war while attempting to fly aross the Atlantic (merely days before Charles Lindberg accomplished his transatlantic crossing), I would have thought he'd have made a terrific character in this film.

[–] jkholman 15 years ago

mjkbncb, the only way to include Charles Nungessor in any story is to make the story about him. Nungessor is one of those bigger-than-life characters that fills a room simply by stepping into it. I for one was hoping for a cameo by the great French flyer, but knew that was not going to happen. He would steal the show. Even by French stardards, Nungessor was a flamboyant character. Probably the only American airman who could keep up with Nungessor would be Frank Luke, Jr. Now there was alot of ego (before gaining renown late in the War with the US Air Service, his squadron nickname was the Arizona Boaster).

- JKHolman