Chain Lightning (1950)

Director:

Stuart Heisler

Writers (WGA):

Lester Cole (story) (originally as J. Redmond Prior)
Liam O'Brien (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 August 1950 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama | Action

Tagline:

When she's in his arms, it's the grandest thrill the screen can give!

Plot:

Matt Brennan runs into Jo Holloway, the Red Cross girl he romanced in Europe when he was a flyer in World War II...

Plot Keywords:

Airplane | Jet | Test Pilot | WWII

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Lt. Col. Matthew "Matt" Brennan
Eleanor Parker	...	Joan "Jo" Holloway
Raymond Massey	...	Leland Willis
Richard Whorf	...	Carl Troxell
James Brown	...	Maj. Hinkle
Roy Roberts	...	Maj. Gen. Hewitt
Morris Ankrum	...	Ed Bostwick
Fay Baker	...	Mrs. Willis
Fred Sherman	...	Jeb Farley

Runtime:

94 min | Germany:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Quotes:

[Matt Brennan is doing test trials in the air]
Leland Willis: Brennan, do you hear? Bring that plane down or you'll never fly again.
Lt. Col. Matthew "Matt" Brennan: How do you want it Willis, the easy way or the hard way?
Leland Willis: I don't want any more tests. Understand Brennan? No more tests.
Lt. Col. Matthew "Matt" Brennan: OK Willis, the hard way.
[Matt pulls the microphone plug out and puts the jet into a climb]

Soundtrack:

Bless 'Em All

Raymond Massey as Howard Hughes??? Huh?

In the recent film The Aviator, one of the points of Howard Hughes's life that was gone into great detail was his post World War II airplane crash in Beverly Hills while testing a new model.

From what was shown in Leonardo DiCaprio's hauntingly accurate portrayal of Hughes, the casting of Raymond Massey in a paper thin version of the flamboyant aviator/businessman is pretty laughable. I'm sure Howard must have seen Chain Lightning and didn't like it a bit.

Jets were certainly a new phenomenon in those years and had the Germans developed them sooner and additionally had invested in aircraft carriers, the course of history would have been markedly and tragically different.

Humphrey Bogart is not bad as the Chuck Yeager like test pilot, in fact Yeager's historic flight breaking the sound barrier is referenced in the plot. Warner Brothers would have been better served with a straightforward biographical film about that flight.

Richard Whorf is the earnest aircraft engineer who worries that Massey is sacrificing safety for flashy headlines. Sad to say, but Howard Hughes would have been the first to agree with Massey's position. Headlines did and still do sell military hardware, just a fact of life.

Warner Brothers cheated on the aerial footages, you can plainly see the stuff is pretty routine. Now one thing about Howard Hughes, he certainly did know how to make aerial films exciting.

Fairly clichéd subplot about Bogart reuniting with war time love Eleanor Parker who is now Massey's secretary.

I would recommend it for fans of Bogey and that's about it.