TARPSBIRD - saw this in the related postings, since we are discussing movies re: WWII.
This was filmed at the Salton Sea in Southern California just a few weeks after Pearl Harbor and, so I've been told, is the first major Hollywood effort following the country's entry into WWII. Not too bad for a rush job with little planning time available. It is amusing watching Robert Preston when he was this young - who could know "The Music Man" and "How the West Was Won" were coming down the pike. William Bendix was an established pro by this time, as was Brian Donlevy.
The Ryan plant was in San Diego and not that far from the shooting location. I've seen nothing indicating these aircraft were used as trainers or liaison aircraft, so they may have been available and not too far away, making useful and convenient props (no pun intended) in the film. I too have this bird in my aviary, it's a pleasant flyer and fun. When watching the film I was noting the slow-speed behavior of this aircraft around the Marine who had bailed out of his F4F-3. They are practically hanging on their propellers and making very tight turns at low speed around him - a remarkable demonstration of this aircraft's agility. Did you see the Curtiss F11C2s being chased by the Nates in the film? The Nationalist Chinese bought a number of these Curtiss fighters during the fighting in China, they were assembled on site by Curtiss technicians. I don't doubt that footage is authentic.
Here are some screenshots from the flick, along with a couple of NCGent's plane.
