Air Force (1943)

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writer:

Dudley Nichols (original screenplay)
(more)

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:

Philippines | Japanese | Attack | Pearl Harbor | Hawaii

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 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
Willard Robertson	...	Colonel at Hickam Field
Moroni Olsen	...	Col. Blake
Edward Brophy	...	Marine Sgt. J.J. Callahan (as Edward S. Brophy)
Richard Lane	...	Maj. W.G. Roberts
Bill Crago	...	Lieut. P T. Moran
Faye Emerson	...	Susan McMartin
Addison Richards	...	Maj. Daniels
James Flavin	...	Maj. A.M. Bagley
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Murray Alper	...	Butch - Demolition Squad Corporal (uncredited)
Lynn Baggett	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Leah Baird	...	Nurse #2 (uncredited)
Rand Brooks	...	Co-Pilot (uncredited)
James Bush	...	Clark Field Control Officer (uncredited)
Ann Doran	...	Mrs. Mary Quincannon (uncredited)
Warren Douglas	...	Hickam Field Control Officer (uncredited)
Bill Edwards	...	Soldier (uncredited)
John Estes	...	Orderly (uncredited)
Charles Flynn	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
Ross Ford	...	Second Lieutenant (uncredited)
Ruth Ford	...	Nurse (uncredited)
William Forrest	...	Group Commander Jack Harper (uncredited)
Pat Gleason	...	Marine (uncredited)
Sol Gorss	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
William Hopper	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
David S. Horsley	...	Orderly (uncredited)
Marjorie Hoshelle	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Bill Hunter	...	Marine (uncredited)
Bill Kennedy	...	Marine (uncredited)
Allan Lane	...	Marine (uncredited)
Charles Lang	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Harry Lewis	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Warren Mace	...	Orderly (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
James Millican	...	Marine with Dog on Wake Island (uncredited)
Maurice Murphy	...	Harper's Co-Pilot (uncredited)
Tom Neal	...	Marine (uncredited)
George N. Neise	...	Hickam Field Radio Operator (uncredited)
George Offerman Jr.	...	Ground Crewman (uncredited)
Dorothy Peterson	...	Mrs. Chester (uncredited)
Walter Sande	...	Joe - Mechanic at Clark Field (uncredited)
Edward Soo Hoo	...	Chinese (uncredited)
Walter Soo Hoo	...	Chinese (uncredited)
Edwin Stanley	...	Doctor Attending Quincannon (uncredited)
Freddie Steele	...	Marine (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Theodore von Eltz	...	First Lieutenant (uncredited)
Hal Welling	...	Officer (uncredited)
Pat West	...	Soldier with Demolition Squad (uncredited)
Victor Zimmerman	...	Marine (uncredited)

Directed by
Howard Hawks

Writing credits
Dudley Nichols		(original screenplay)
Leah Baird		uncredited
William Faulkner		contributor to screenplay (uncredited)
Arthur T. Horman		contributor to screenplay (uncredited)

Produced by
Hal B. Wallis	....	producer
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Franz Waxman

Cinematography by
James Wong Howe		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
George Amy

Art Direction by
John Hughes

Set Decoration by
Walter F. Tilford		(set decorations)

Costume Design by
Milo Anderson		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Sullivan	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Oliver S. Garretson	....	sound

Special Effects by
Roy Davidson	....	special effects director
Hans F. Koenekamp	....	special effects (as H.F. Koenekamp)
Rex Wimpy	....	special effects
Nathan Levinson	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Sam Triffy	....	stunt flyer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Elmer Dyer	....	aerial photography
Charles A. Marshall	....	aerial photography (as Charles Marshall)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Paul Mantz	....	chief pilot: Warner Bros.
Theron Coulter	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Sam Triffy	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Frank Weatherwax	....	dog trainer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (presents) (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.) (A Warner Bros.-First National Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1943) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1944) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (????) (USA) (DVD) (as 'Warner WW2 Collection, Vol. 2')

Other Companies

• United States Army Air Corps  grateful acknowledgment is given to, without whose assistance this record could not have been filmed (as the United States Army Air Force)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G (alternate rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #8438) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1989) | UK:PG (tv rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Santa Barbara, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

The only members of "Maryann" killed during the film were both kissed good-bye at the beginning of the movie: John Ridgely ("The Pilot") by his wife and Ray Montgomery ("Assistant Radio Operator) by his mother. Also, these are the only crew members to have someone "see them off" at the beginning of their mission.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The national insignias on the "Mary-Ann's" fuselage and wingtips (a white star in a solid blue disc) are incorrect for the period depicted in the film. At the beginning of World War II, U.S. Army Air Corps aircraft insignia was a white star in a blue disc, with a smaller red disc in the middle of the star. According to "The Official Guide to the Army Air Forces," published in May of 1944, "the red disc was removed to prevent confusion with Japanese marking(s)" effective August 18, 1942, eight months after the events in the film take place.

Quotes:

Radio Operator Peterson:[looking down] That's an awful big town, San Francisco.
Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg:Strictly a one whistle stop. There's only one city in the U.S.A. and that's New York.
Sgt. Robbie White:Oh, you're just a hometown hick, Weinberg. What's wrong with California?
Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg:California? The sun shines and nuthin' ever happens. Before you know it, you're 60 years old.
Sgt. Robbie White:It's no different from New York. My sister's been tryin' to get out of Brooklyn for the last 40 years.
Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg:Brooklyn? That ain't New York, chief. Once you cross that Brooklyn Bridge, you're outta this woild. The only noise you hear is the hardening of your arteries. You know when I used to drive a hack, I had a pal who crossed that bridge in 1929. Ain't ever heard from him since.
Radio Operator Peterson:Me, I'll take Minneapolis.
Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg:Minneapolis? Why, the grass still grows in the streets. Besides, that ain't your hometown, Peterson. The hayseed's still stickin' outta your hair.
Radio Operator Peterson:Yeah, but I can still milk a cow. I bet you can't.
Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg:I'll get mine outta a bottle. That's the closest I ever wanna be to a cow.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Taps

For anyone who loves airplanes, it's a must

I gave this an enthusiastic 6, and that's not said sarcastically. If you accept it for what it is, a WWII propaganda film, it is (except for the last half hour) very well done. It was made within the constraints of being a propaganda film, the necessity to maintain dramatic flow, incomplete knowledge at the time of all the facts, and the availability of aircraft that the Army Air Corps could provide. The aircraft are clearly the best thing about the film, though Harry Carey came close to stealing the movie. The aerial battles were staged by Paul Mantz, who was THE best in the business. There were two major weaknesses. The first was the frequent references to 5th column activity. Except for one minor incident in the Kauai area, the Japanese-Americans in Hawaii were singularly loyal to the U.S. The biggest weakness was the totally fictitious battle in the last 30 minutes of the movie. It never happened. The only sea battle in that area during that time frame was the battle of the Java Sea, which was a disaster for the U.S. and Dutch forces. Rather it seemed to be an enhanced composite of the attacks on Japanese convoys in the New Guinea/Solomon Islands area, and the battles of Coral Sea and Midway. We had nothing like the forces portrayed available at that time. The fighters shown at Clark Field were Bell P-39s. They were very pretty little planes, but were such a disappointment they earned the nickname Iron Dogs (all metal and "dogs"). But they still would have been far superior to what was actually available there. Sharp-eyed viewers would see that they were also used to stand in for radial-engined Zeroes (P-39s had liquid-cooled engines), along with radial-engined American trainers in the battle scenes. Also, I am practically certain B-17s didn't have the range to fly from Hickam to Clark with only one refueling stop, but that is justified by the necessity for dramatic flow. One more note - the dramatic picture of the capsizing battleship near the end of the movie was not a model, but rather a film of the Austro-Hungarian Szent Istvan sunk in 1918 during WWI.