Of course, I know about Flying Down to Rio: it was the very first movie that paired Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire (in a rather dumb-looking dance, but never mind). But wait! There's so much more. Between WWI and WWII the U.S. became nervous about the German presence in South America, particularly in aviation. (Gann writes about this in Fate is the Hunter.) People in South America had little reason at that time to be fond of the U.S. given the Monroe Doctrine, Big Stick. Spanish-American War, etc. Juan Trippe had a mail run between Florida and Havana and the crazy idea of a world-spanning airline. The problem was, it was going to be tough for any free-market U.S. carrier to compete against national carriers subsidized by sovereign countries. So, Pan Am became the de facto national carrier of the United States. Rules were changed. lucrative mail contracts were awarded, and Sikorsky's flying boat (Boeing's behemoth came later) made Flying Down to Rio a reality, at least for the wealthy. So, the movie was essentially a PR gift to Pan Am, and also United States propaganda. The Pan Am flying boats attracted enormous public attention during the depression and Trippe (on behalf of the U.S.) sewed up South America. Naturally, he wanted a route to England, but there was one problem, and not technical. England had no way of flying to the U.S. Until they could, they were not interested in the deal. So, Trippe turned his eyes westward, where, it so happened, the U.S. was also concerned about Japan. Before he even had the equipment to run a service to the Philippines (and beyond) he committed to establishing stepping stones across the Pacific: Hawaii, Midway, Guam and the Philippines. But something was missing. The Midway to Guam leg was too long. Discrete inquiries with the Navy disclosed a tiny atoll with a lagoon called Wake Island. A cargo ship sailed, and enormous efforts were made by some hardy men to build a facility there, previously inhabited only by gooney birds. Coral reefs were blasted with dynamite, a navigation radio tower was put up, and Pan Am had their route.  And the U.S. had a presence in the Pacific that would not provoke Japan.

The Juan Trippe portrayed in the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator is pretty close to reality. Most people agree he wasn't a people person. But without the context of a convergence of national interests with Trippe's ambitions, The Aviator makes it look like a ruthless businessman in bed with corrupt politicians. I suppose that is one way of looking at it. Another is that Juan Trippe was in the right place at the right time for both Pan Am and the United States as WWII loomed. And the movie Flying Down to Rio gets a whole lot more interesting than a weird dance between two people who would later become famous for dancing together.

Unfortunately they stationed the wrong guy when they built new wake island radio tower.