Command Decision (1948)

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

William R. Laidlaw (screenplay) and
George Froeschel (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

February 1949 (USA)

Genre:

War | Drama

Tagline:

Heroes, cowards, fighters, braggarts, liars...and what goes on in their hearts!

Plot:

Army generals struggle with the decision to prioritize bombing the German factories producing new jet fighters over the extremely high casualties the mission will cost.

Plot Keywords:

Jet | Germany | Factory | Secrecy | Bomber

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Clark Gable	...	Brigadier General K.C. 'Casey' Dennis
Walter Pidgeon	...	Major General Roland Goodlow Kane
Van Johnson	...	Technical Sergeant Immanuel T. Evans
Brian Donlevy	...	Brigadier General Clifton I. Garnet
Charles Bickford	...	Elmer Brockhurst
John Hodiak	...	Colonel Edward Rayton Martin
Edward Arnold	...	Congressman Arthur Malcolm
Marshall Thompson	...	Captain George Washington Bellpepper Lee
Richard Quine	...	Major George Rockton
Cameron Mitchell	...	Lieutenant Ansel Goldberg
Clinton Sundberg	...	Major Homer V. Prescott
Ray Collins	...	Major Desmond Lansing
Warner Anderson	...	Colonel Earnest Haley
John McIntire	...	Major Belding Davis
Moroni Olsen	...	Congressman Stone

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #13274) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

March Air Force Base, Riverside, California, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

In April 1948, M-G-M News announced that actor Tom Drake would be cast in this movie playing the part of Captain Tom Jenks. Drake in the end did not appear in this film. A May 1948 M-G-M News press release reported that actor Michael Steele would be cast to play the role of the pilot Captain Lucius Malcolm Jenks and Steele does appear in this film in this part.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Casey is wondering about the weather for the third straight day of maximum effort, he tells his staff to keep him informed with weather updates. But when he does so, his lips don't move.

Quotes:

James Carwood: What's the answer, Brockie, all guts and no brain?
Elmer Brockhurst: No. That's putting it too simply. Dennis is one of those boys whose brain is fascinated by guts. He loves this lousy war.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Clark Gable: Tall, Dark and Handsome (1996)

An actor's movie...

"Command Decision" is a wonderful film filled with several great performances. It's Gable's movie, but he's very capably supported by Walter Pigeon, Brian Donlevy and John Hodiak, who nearly equals his "Lifeboat" performance.

Pigeon is especially good in the roll of a senior commander who is more concerned with the political considerations of the war effort than the tactical and strategic goals. (Not without reason - The film correctly details the perilous and tenuous position that the 8th Air Force found itself in during the worst combat period of 1943.)

One of the best scenes in the film is a very long speech given by Pigeon, wherein he explains his reasons for fighting the good fight to keep American air power strong. The scene is a good 6 or 7 minutes long, one camera shot, entirely done without cuts. It must have been rehearsed extensively as it requires about 10 actors to interact with Pigeon at several times, all the while he is moving about the room. Seamless, and very well done! This remarkable scene is followed up with one almost as long, given by Gable.

The drama is occasionally broken up with comic moments provided by Van Johnson, as a savvy sergeant, and Clinton Sunberg as a fastidious aide to Pigeon's General Kane.

If you like to watch actors banging away with words instead of guns, this is the war movie for you.