The Flying Missile (1950)

Fictional account of the role played by a somewhat impetuous US Naval commander in developing the first means of launching missiles from submarines.

Director:

Henry Levin

Writers:

Richard English, James Gunn,

Stars:

Glenn Ford, Viveca Lindfors, Henry O'Neill

Cast

Cast overview:
Glenn Ford	...	Cmdr. William A. Talbot
Viveca Lindfors	...	Karin Hansen
Henry O'Neill	...	RAdm. Thomas A. Scott
Carl Benton Reid	...	Dr. Gates, USN
Joe Sawyer	...	Quartermaster 'Fuss' Payne
John Qualen	...	Lars Hansen
Anthony Ross	...	Adm. Bradley
Harry Shannon	...	Vice-Adm. Williams
Ross Ford	...	Crewman Chuck Davis
Zachary Charles	...	Crewman Mack (as Zachary A. Charles)
Jerry Paris	...	Crewman Andy Mason
Kenneth Tobey	...	Crewman Pete McEvoy
Paul Harvey	...	Gen. Benton, USA

Storyline

Fictional account of the role played by a somewhat impetuous US Naval commander in developing the first means of launching missiles from submarines.

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Plot Keywords:

missile

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 December 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Flying Fish

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

A moralistic McHale's Navy

Of course McHale's Navy didn't appear until over a decade after this movie was made, but there are elements of this movie that remind me of McHale's Navy...stealing supplies, crewmen horsing around. The attempts at comedy were largely unsuccessful however.

This movie involves the implementation of Commander Talbot's (Glenn Ford) vision of missiles being launched from submarines. And he, and his crew, go through major contortions (a la McHale's Navy style) to get this accomplished. Of course, while so occupied, romance intervenes. And the girl's (Viveca Lindfors) father is a major stumbling block. He is a pacifist who is strongly against the commander's efforts.

Although slow moving, this film is still quite watchable. The acting is fair and the story is reasonable. It is obviously pro-military and I'm sure heartily embraced by the Dept. of Defense. For the amount of money which appears to have been spent on this production...very little...it turned out fairly well.

Although this is not a war movie per se, fans of WW2 era material will probably enjoy this one. My vote: 6 out of 10.

This film is in my 16mm collection and is quite old with various splices which makes it difficult to do a decent technical analysis. Additionally 16mm films are generally limited to mono sound tracks and substandard sound fidelity. If this film is available on video or DVD, I am unaware of it.