The Rocketeer (1991)

A young pilot stumbles onto a prototype jetpack that allows him to become a high flying masked hero.

Director:

Joe Johnston

Writers:

Dave Stevens (graphic novel "The Rocketeer"), Danny Bilson (story)

Stars:

Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Campbell	...	Cliff (as Bill Campbell)
Jennifer Connelly	...	Jenny
Alan Arkin	...	Peevy
Timothy Dalton	...	Neville Sinclair
Paul Sorvino	...	Eddie Valentine
Terry O'Quinn	...	Howard Hughes
Ed Lauter	...	Fitch
James Handy	...	Wooly
Robert Miranda	...	Spanish Johnny (as Robert Guy Miranda)
John Lavachielli	...	Rusty
Jon Polito	...	Bigelow
Eddie Jones	...	Malcolm
William Sanderson	...	Skeets
Don Pugsley	...	Goose
Nada Despotovich	...	Irma

Storyline

Straight from the pages of a pulp comic from a past era, the Rocketeer recreates 1930's Hollywood, complete with gangsters, Nazi spies, and the growth of the Age of Aviation. Young pilot Cliff Secord stumbles on a top secret rocket-pack and with the help of his mechanic/mentor, Peevy, he attempts to save his girl and stop the Nazis as The Rocketeer.

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Plot Keywords:

dieselpunk | based on comic book | superhero | jet pack | gangster | 

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Taglines:

Three years before the United States declares war, Cliff Secord leads America's first battle against the Nazis.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

21 June 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les aventures de Rocketeer

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$46,704,056 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The plane flown by Cliff in the opening is the Gee Bee racer, specifically Model "Z" from 1931. It was built by the Granville Brothers Aircraft Company (brothers Zantford, Thomas, Robert, Mark, and Edward), hence the plane's initials "G.B." The R-1 was for a time the fastest land-plane in the world, essentially a cockpit, wings, and tail built around an 800 hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine. James Doolittle (who would lead the bombing raid over Tokyo in 1942) won the 1932 Thompson Trophy race flying a Gee Bee R-1 at a speed of 252.686 miles per hour.

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Goofs

Set in 1938 but mentions Deutschemarks, which weren't introduced until 1948. The German currency at the time was the Reichmark. The term "Deutschemark" was used for double-D alliteration because Campbell's line was "He pay you in dollars or Deutschemarks?"

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Quotes

[first lines]
Peevy: [as they bring the Gee Bee out for its maiden flight] Keep her straight, keep her level. It's your first time up, so don't do anything interesting.
Cliff Secord: Who, me?
Peevy: And remember, she stalls out at about a hundred. So keep the air speed up. Otherwise, you're gonna be drifting around all over the sky. And if the ailerons start to shimmy...
Cliff Secord: Peevy, I have flown a plane or two in my life.
Peevy: Not like this one, you haven't. This one's... This one's a handful. You sneeze in this thing and you're ...
[...]

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Connections

Spoofed in Kalabog en Bosyo (1997)

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Soundtracks

WHEN YOUR LOVER HAS GONE
Written by E.A. Swan
Performed by Melora Hardin

User Reviews

Up, up and away!

I love this film. Absolutely love it. Can't help it. I'm a child of the 40s and this movie is about when I was a kid. The sets are great, the story is 40s, the cars, the cafe with the bizarre little gingerbread giving an impression of a gnome's hangout, the costumes, the hero with his wiffle hair style, the airplanes and even Howard Hughes. What more could you want? No, this isn't The Matrix with a lot of slick computer effects with mind twisting is it or isn't it real. It's clear who the bad guys are-- and they're bad, except when, of course, the mob types are swept away by patriotic feelings and fight the Nazis. It's got it all. A wonderful trip back into the 40s with near superhuman villans, beyond the pale heros and lovable sidekicks.