Air Force (1943)

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:

An uncredited 'William Faulkner' wrote the emotional death bed scene for the Mary Ann's pilot.

Goofs:

Continuity: Throughout the movie, stock film of several different versions of the B-17 is used, often depicting the same aircraft. For example, Mary Ann is a B-17A, the earliest version of the aircraft, but the beach crash scene at the end of the movie uses film of a later B-17, probably a B-17F.

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 Warner at War (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Army Air Corps Song

Standard WWII Morale Booster

Howard Hawk's "Air Force" is another in a long list of patriotic films about America's fighting men during World War II that were made to raise the spirits of audiences back home. Stereotypes abound, clichés come hard and fast, and the hokum flies faster than the planes as a flying fortress on a routine reconnaissance flight from California in early December 1941 is enmeshed in the Japanese attacks on U.S. Pacific bases. However, despite the requisite sentiment that includes cloying death bed scenes, teary-eyed mothers, and even a stowaway dog, "Air Force" stays on course under Hawk's steady direction and is fairly entertaining fare. The strong cast, which includes John Garfield, Gig Young, and Arthur Kennedy, is excellent and delivers the uninspired dialog with credibility. Although the considerable talents of these actors are not taxed, Garfield plays to type as the cynic who rises to handle the unfolding events, and a mustached Young provides solid support as the co-pilot. In addition to the cast, James Wong Howe's dramatic black and white cinematography is another major asset, and viewers have much time to admire his work with light and shadow during the talky episodes that take place within the claustrophobic plane. While there are too many stretches of dialog during the early part of the movie, a climactic air/sea battle brings the film to an exciting conclusion. A fine cast, outstanding photography, and a few good action sequences outweigh the overused plot devices and deliver an entertaining film that will quickly become blurred in memory with dozens of other similar war films made during the mid-1940's.