Toward the Unknown (1956)

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writer:

Beirne Lay Jr. (written by)

Release Date:

October 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

So you're going to show the world...by flying right out of it!

Plot Keywords:

Torture Aftermath | Test Pilot | Experimental Aircraft | Edwards Air Force Base

Cast

William Holden	...	Maj. Lincoln Bond
Lloyd Nolan	...	Brig. Gen. Bill Banner
Virginia Leith	...	Connie Mitchell
Charles McGraw	...	Col. 'Mickey' McKee
Murray Hamilton	...	Maj. Bromo Lee
Paul Fix	...	Lt. Gen. Bryan Shelby
James Garner	...	Lt. Col. Joe Craven
L.Q. Jones	...	2nd Lt. Sweeney
Karen Steele	...	Polly Craven
Bartlett Robinson	...	Senator Black
Malcolm Atterbury	...	Hank - Bell Technical Rep.
Ralph Moody	...	Harvey Gilbert
Maura Murphy	...	Sarah McKee
Carol Kelly	...	Debbie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard H. Cutting	...	Doc Bailey - Flight Surgeon (uncredited)
John Daheim	...	Stranger in Nightclub Fight (uncredited)
Cathy Ferrara	...	Lucy Craven (uncredited)
Don C. Harvey	...	Jerry the Bartender (uncredited)
William Henry	...	AP Captain (uncredited)
Robert Hover	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Les Johnson	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Nelson Leigh	...	Chaplain (uncredited)
Jon Provost	...	Joe Craven Jr. (uncredited)
Autumn Russell	...	Harriet (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Mickey Simpson	...	Gate Guard - Edwards A.F.B. (uncredited)
Bob Stratton	...	Jimmy (uncredited)
James Westmoreland	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Will J. White	...	AP Sergeant (uncredited)
Jean Willes	...	Carmen (uncredited)
James S. Wilson	...	Chase Pilot (uncredited)

Directed by
Mervyn LeRoy

Writing credits
Beirne Lay Jr.		(written by)

Produced by
Beirne Lay Jr.	....	associate producer
Mervyn LeRoy	....	producer

Original Music by
Paul Baron

Cinematography by
Harold Rosson		(director of photography) (as Hal Rosson)

Film Editing by
William H. Ziegler		(as William Ziegler)

Art Direction by
John Beckman

Set Decoration by
Ralph S. Hurst		(as Ralph Hurst)

Costume Design by
Moss Mabry

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
Mel Dellar	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Al Alleborn	....	assistant director: second unit
Russell Llewellyn	....	assistant director
Russell Saunders	....	second unit director (as Russ Saunders)

Sound Department
Stanley Jones	....	sound

Special Effects by
Hans F. Koenekamp	....	special effects (as H.F. Koenekamp)
Leo K. Kuter	....	special effects art director (as Leo E. Kuter)

Camera and Electrical Department
Harold E. Wellman	....	photography: second unit
Paul Mantz	....	aerial director of photography (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Thomas Reilly	....	film editor: second unit

Other crew
Frank Everest	....	technical advisor (as Lt. Col. Frank Everest Jr. ARDC)
Price Henry	....	technical advisor (as Maj. Price Henry ARDC)
Ralph Martin	....	technical advisor (as Lt. Col. Ralph Martin ARDC)

Production Companies

• Toluca Productions

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Warner Home Video (2011) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• USAF Thunderbirds  special ariobatics by
• United States Air Force, The  our sincere thanks to: for their help in the making of this motion picture

Also Known As:

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (WarnerColor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #17997)

Filming Locations:

Edwards Air Force Base, California, USA

Company:

Toluca Productions

Trivia:

The farewell fly-by honoring actor Lloyd Nolan's character was led by "Pete" Everest (Frank Everest) accompanied by Iven Kincheloe, Lou Schalk, Stu Childs and Robert M. White. All were famous Edwards A.F.B. test pilots.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Early in the film when Bond observes General Banner crash his aircraft, it's referred to as an "F-102". In reality the hulk that Banner is pulled from is a Convair XF-92, the experimental predecessor to the F-102 Delta Dart.

Quotes:

Brig. Gen. Bill Banner:[to Maj. Lincoln Bond] Even with torture, you're not the kind to crack.

Soundtrack:

The U.S. Air Force

Pretty good with a grain of truth-

The basis of this film is the true story of Walker "Bud" Mahurin, an Air Force double ace (WW II and Korea) who was shot down in Korea and while in a POW camp, was tortured into signing bogus confessions of war crimes. When he was released, he was instrumental in changing content of AF survival courses to reflect this mistreatment.

This movie has some beautiful flying scenes, but it is more than just another flying movie. William Holden is excellent as the emotionally shattered pilot attempting a comeback from disgrace. The supporting cast is pretty fair, with the exception of L.Q. Jones in a thankless comic relief part (not to cast aspersions on him as an actor, the part really bites). The aviation content is generally accurate, with some rare footage of the Bell X-2 and a failed bomber, the Martin B-51, marked in the movie as the Gilbert XF-120. If this came out on DVD, I'd sure buy it in a hot second!

Regarding Txgmajor's comment below on the XB-51- one of the main reasons this plane wasn't built was the fact that Glenn Martin, owner of Martin Aircraft and maker of the B-51, sided with the Navy regarding the political dogfight over control of Naval aviation and the merits of the Air Force's pet bomber project at the time, the B-36, featured in Jimmy Stewart's "Strategic Air Command". Martin did build the Canberra bomber for the USAF under license, but never again was able to sell an original design to the Air Force. Old grudges die hard.