Air Force (1943)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writer:

Dudley Nichols (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 March 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

GIANTS OF THE SKY...blazing a trail to victory!

Plot:

The crew of an Air Force bomber arrives in Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the Japanese attack and is sent on to Manila to help with the defense of the Philippines.

Plot Keywords:

Attack | Pearl Harbor | Philippines | Japanese | Wake Island

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 nominations

Cast

John Ridgely	...	Pilot
Gig Young	...	Co-Pilot
Arthur Kennedy	...	Bombardier
Charles Drake	...	Navigator
Harry Carey	...	Crew Chief
George Tobias	...	Asst. Crew Chief
Ward Wood	...	Radio Operator
Ray Montgomery	...	Asst. Radio Operator
John Garfield	...	Aerial Gunner
James Brown	...	Pursuit Pilot - Passenger
Stanley Ridges	...	Major Mallory - Clark Field
Willard Robertson	...	Colonel at Hickam Field
Moroni Olsen	...	Colonel Blake - Commanding Officer at Manila
Edward Brophy	...	Marine Sergeant J.J. Callahan (as Edward S. Brophy)
Richard Lane	...	Major W.G. Roberts

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #8438) | Australia:G (alternate rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Drew Army Air Field, Tampa, Florida, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Actual newsreel footage was expertly inserted into the film, including scenes from the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the Wake Island scene, the dog's trainer can be heard giving the animal commands to kiss George Tobias.

Quotes:

Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg: [looking at map] Is this here Wake Island?
Navigator Monk Hauser: Yeah.
Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg: How far is it?
Navigator Monk Hauser: Oh, it's about 2300 miles from Honolulu.
Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg: [whistles] And we're gonna land on that dot?
Navigator Monk Hauser: Yeah, it's not very big, is it?
Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg: Like trying to find a buckshot in Central Park. Gee, I wish there were some traffic signs around.
Navigator Monk Hauser: There are, but you can't see them.
Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg: I mean like numbers and streets.
Navigator Monk Hauser: Yeah, but they call them latitudes and longitudes.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Empire of Dreams: The Story of the 'Star Wars' Trilogy (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

A Great Movie

Great is over used a lot of times to describe something pretty good or even mediocre, but I think this movie, taken in context, IS great. I didn't see the racism that [e-mail] saw, but after all the movie was made in 1943, we were at war with Japan and since they started it, it is understandable that our attitude toward them was pretty edgy.

I always look at characters and the kinds of feelings they create and whether a movie can develop a mood. I think the characters and the mood in "Air Force" do that very well. It shows what a downer war really is (it doesn't make any difference if you are right or wrong)and how much people lose during war. It also emphasizes the futility of it all sometimes when you know you're going to die, but you are willing to do your job anyway. Have to hand it to those guys at Wake Island.

I saw this movie for the first time way back in the 50's and had the pleasure of seeing it again recently. It's STILL a great movie. James Brown who was Tex Raider the pursuit pilot (played Lt. Rip Masters on the TV show Rin Tin Tin) and John Garfield who was Joe Winocki are my favorite characters but like Sargebri it was a hoot to see George Tobias as a young man.