Strategic Air Command (1955)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Valentine Davies (screenplay)
Beirne Lay Jr. (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 July 1955 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

Lt. Col. Robert (Dutch) Holland was a third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, not a pitcher. While...

Plot Keywords:

Airforce | U.S. Air Force | Bomber | Military | Military Wife

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

James Stewart	...	Lt. Col. Robert 'Dutch' Holland
June Allyson	...	Sally Holland
Frank Lovejoy	...	Gen. Ennis C. Hawkes
Barry Sullivan	...	Lt. Col. Rocky Samford
Alex Nicol	...	Ike Knowland
Bruce Bennett	...	Gen. Espy
Jay C. Flippen	...	Tom Doyle
James Millican	...	Major General 'Rusty' Castle
James Bell	...	Rev. Dr. Thorne
Rosemary DeCamp	...	Mrs. Thorne (as Rosemary De Camp)
Richard Shannon	...	Flight Instructor Pilot
John McKee	...	Capt. Symington (as John R. McKee)
Harry Morgan	...	Sgt. Bible (flight engineer) (as Henry Morgan)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | Australia:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #17126) | West Germany:12 (nf) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Al Lang Field - 180 2nd Avenue SE, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The character of General Ennis C. Hawkes was based on General Curtis C. LeMay, the real-life commander of the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command from 1949 to 1957.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Holland (James Stewart) is sent to Greenland, his wife, Sally (June Allyson) asks him to bring her back a penguin. Penguins only exist in the southern hemisphere, Greenland is in the northern hemisphere.

Quotes:

Gen. Ennis C. Hawkes: Don't tell me about your little problems! I'm only interested in results!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Smother (2008/II)

fantastic but not everyone's "cup of tea"

I'll be very quick to admit that this is NOT a film that would appeal to everyone. In fact, those who love the film are probably in the minority. So why did I like the film so much and consider it among Jimmy Stewart's best films? Well, I love airplanes as well as history and this film is a great lesson about the beginnings of the Strategic Air Command that was created after WWII in response to Soviet expansion. From the historical standpoint and combined with some of the very best aviation footage ever created, it's a fantastic film. Just watching the B-36 and B-47s flying in very vivid color (VISTAVISION) on a large screen is very inspiring and breathtaking to air aficionados. About the only downside, and this is only a minor gripe, is that occasionally the story itself involving Stewart and his wife, June Allyson, seems a tiny bit hokey. However, overall, this is a wonderful film.

UPDATE--After doing this review, I later read some of the other reviews and was very surprised with one that said how unbelievable the older Jimmy Stewart was in the film! This was pretty funny, since Stewart was in the air force reserves and did fly these planes for real--even eventually retiring as a brigadier general well after this movie was made. So apparently, at least according to some, Stewart wasn't believable even though he DID fly SAC bombers in real life!