Flying Movies
by nagolyar | created - 17 May 2020 | updated - 25 Mar 2021 | PublicMovies with a central theme of flying - (still being built)
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1. Airport (1970)
G | 137 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost closed by snow, and various personal problems of the people involved.
Directors: George Seaton, Henry Hathaway | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, George Kennedy, Jean Seberg
Votes: 21,692 | Gross: $100.49M
Best of the series - slight flaws
2. Airplane! (1980)
PG | 88 min | Comedy
After the crew becomes sick with food poisoning, a neurotic ex-fighter pilot must safely land a commercial airplane full of passengers.
Directors: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker | Stars: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Votes: 261,196 | Gross: $83.40M
Parody of drama Zero Hour. Best parts are veteran actors like Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen, & Robert Stack cutting loose and going over the top. Great part by Sonny Bono.
3. Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
PG | 85 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
A faulty computer causes a passenger space shuttle to head straight for the Sun. Can Ted Striker save the day and get the shuttle back on track - again?
Director: Ken Finkleman | Stars: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Raymond Burr
Votes: 56,806 | Gross: $27.15M
Veteran actors Lloyd Bridges, Chuck Connors, & Bill Shatner cutting loose and going over the top.
4. Airport 1975 (1974)
PG | 107 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A 747 in flight collides with a small plane, and is rendered pilotless. Somehow the control tower must get a pilot aboard so the jet can land.
Director: Jack Smight | Stars: Charlton Heston, Karen Black, George Kennedy, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
Votes: 11,863 | Gross: $47.29M
Silly twist on the Crowded Sky using same plot and many of the same actors. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. & Dana Andrews virtually switch roles from the earlier movie.
5. Airport '77 (1977)
PG | 114 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Art thieves hijack a 747, hit fog and crash into the ocean, trapping them and the passengers under one hundred feet of water.
Director: Jerry Jameson | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Lee Grant, Joseph Cotten, Olivia de Havilland
Votes: 12,321 | Gross: $30.00M
Stupid
6. The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979)
PG | 113 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A supersonic airborne disaster. In order to survive a flight headed for the Moscow Olympics, passengers of the Concorde must endure aerial acrobatics to dodge missiles and survive a device that decompresses the plane.
Director: David Lowell Rich | Stars: Alain Delon, Susan Blakely, Robert Wagner, George Kennedy
Votes: 6,956 | Gross: $13.00M
Ridiculous - Only watch it if you need a laugh over the incredibly stupid plot, if it can be called that. Totally illogical, Makes Airport 1975 and Airport '77 almost look realistic in comparison.
7. Island in the Sky (1953)
Approved | 109 min | Adventure, Drama
A C-47 transport plane, named the Corsair, makes a forced landing in the frozen wastes of Quebec, and the plane's pilot, Captain Dooley, must keep his men alive in deadly conditions while waiting for rescue.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: John Wayne, Lloyd Nolan, Walter Abel, James Arness
Votes: 3,783
John Wayne at his best
8. The High and the Mighty (1954)
Not Rated | 147 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
When a commercial airliner develops engine problems on a trans-Pacific flight and the pilot loses his nerve, it is up to the washed-up co-pilot Dan Roman to bring the plane in safely.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Laraine Day, Robert Stack
Votes: 6,553
Convoluted and contrived
9. The Crowded Sky (1960)
Not Rated | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Disaster movie about a Navy jet and a commercial airliner heading for a mid air collision.
Director: Joseph Pevney | Stars: Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., John Kerr
Votes: 965
Same actors and plot device used in Airport 1975. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. & Dana Andrews virtually switch roles in Airport 1975. This one at least has some realistic aspects to it.
10. Air Force One (1997)
R | 124 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Communist radicals hijack Air Force One with the U.S. President and his family on board. The Vice President negotiates from Washington D.C., while the President, a veteran, fights to rescue the hostages on board.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson
Votes: 210,149 | Gross: $172.96M
11. Wings (1927)
PG-13 | 144 min | Drama, Romance, War
Two young men, one rich, one middle class, who are in love with the same woman, become fighter pilots in World War I.
Directors: William A. Wellman, Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast | Stars: Clara Bow, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Richard Arlen, Jobyna Ralston
Votes: 14,541 | Gross: $6.59M
12. Hell's Angels (1930)
Passed | 127 min | Drama, War
Brothers Monte and Ray leave Oxford to join the Royal Flying Corps. Ray loves Helen; Helen enjoys an affair with Monte; before they leave on their mission over Germany they find her in still another man's arms.
Directors: Howard Hughes, Edmund Goulding, James Whale | Stars: Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow, John Darrow
Votes: 5,971 | Gross: $5.45M
Hammy acting but EXCELLANT Air Sequences!!!
13. Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Not Rated | 132 min | Drama, War
A tough-as-nails general (Gregory Peck as General Savage) takes over a B-17 bomber unit suffering from low morale and whips them into fighting shape.
Director: Henry King | Stars: Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Millard Mitchell
Votes: 15,804
Strong Gregory Peck vehicle. Shows the toll taken on commanders sending men to their deaths.
14. Command Decision (1948)
Passed | 112 min | Action, Drama, War
Army generals struggle with the decision to prioritize bombing the German factories producing new jet fighters over the extremely high casualties the mission will cost.
Director: Sam Wood | Stars: Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon, Van Johnson, Brian Donlevy
Votes: 2,168
More High Level orders than flying but nice companion piece to Twelve O'clock High.
15. The Blue Max (1966)
Approved | 156 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A young pilot in the German air force of 1918, disliked as lower-class and unchivalrous, tries ambitiously to earn the medal offered for 20 kills.
Director: John Guillermin | Stars: George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Jeremy Kemp
Votes: 7,626
Great flying sequences.
16. Flyboys (2006)
PG-13 | 140 min | Action, Drama, History
The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.
Director: Tony Bill | Stars: James Franco, Jean Reno, Jennifer Decker, Scott Hazell
Votes: 44,497 | Gross: $13.08M
Even though CGI work, flying sequences pretty good.
17. Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965)
G | 138 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
Hoping to push Britain to the forefront of aviation, a London publisher organizes an international air race across the English Channel, but must contend with two entrants vying for his daughter, as well as national rivalries and cheating.
Director: Ken Annakin | Stars: Stuart Whitman, Sarah Miles, James Fox, Alberto Sordi
Votes: 9,233 | Gross: $31.11M
Great Pioneer Aircraft Display!!!
18. The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
Approved | 142 min | Adventure, Drama
After an oil company plane crashes in the Sahara, the survivors are buoyed with hope by one of the passengers, an airplane designer who plans for them to build a flyable plane from the wreckage.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger
Votes: 22,418
The classic version - NOT the remake!
19. The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)
Approved | 135 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
Charles 'Slim' Lindbergh struggles to finance and design an airplane that will make his New York to Paris flight the first solo transatlantic crossing.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: James Stewart, Murray Hamilton, Patricia Smith, Bartlett Robinson
Votes: 8,611
Pilot and Combat Flyer Jimmy Stewart really shines in these Aviation films.
20. The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944)
Not Rated | 45 min | Documentary, History, War
A documentary on the 25th bombing mission of the Memphis Belle, a B-17 in the US 8th Air Force.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Stanley Wray, Robert Morgan, James A. Verinis, Robert J. Hanson
Votes: 1,848
Documentary about actual plane and crew, Wartime propaganda but that is NOT a derogatory thing. Was a morale booster needed during the war.
21. Memphis Belle (1990)
PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Drama, War
In 1943, the crew of a B-17 based in the UK prepares for its 25th and final bombing mission over Germany before returning home to the USA.
Director: Michael Caton-Jones | Stars: Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney
Votes: 30,536 | Gross: $27.44M
Fictional account of Memphis Belle
22. A Guy Named Joe (1943)
Passed | 120 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A dead World War II bomber pilot, Pete Sandidge becomes the guardian angel of another pilot, Ted Randall. He guides Ted through battle and helping him to romance his old girlfriend, despite her excessive devotion to Sandidge's memory.
Director: Victor Fleming | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, Ward Bond
Votes: 2,914
Spencer Tracey, Van Johnson, Irene Dunn, Ward Bond in supernatural WWII tale.
23. Always (1989)
PG | 122 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
The spirit of a recently deceased expert pilot mentors a newer pilot while watching him fall in love with the girlfriend that he left behind.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Brad Johnson, John Goodman
Votes: 32,802 | Gross: $43.86M
Remake of A Guy Named Joe - redone as fire/water bombers but still with a supernatural theme. Nicely done. I especially liked Holly Hunter & John Goodman.
24. The Dawn Patrol (1930)
Passed | 108 min | Action, Drama, War
World War I ace Dick Courtney derides the leadership of his superior officer, but Courtney is soon promoted to squadron commander and learns harsh lessons about sending subordinates to their deaths.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Richard Barthelmess, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Neil Hamilton, Frank McHugh
Votes: 2,034
Douglass Fairbanks Jr
25. The Dawn Patrol (1938)
Not Rated | 103 min | Drama, War
British flying aces in World War I contend with the harsh realities of war.
Director: Edmund Goulding | Stars: Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, David Niven, Donald Crisp
Votes: 3,420
Errol Flynn remake of 1930 movie. WWI Combat veteran Basil Rathbone's relief at being replaced as the Squadron Leader and not having to decide who may die or not is a nice turn.
26. Battle of Britain (1969)
G | 132 min | Action, Drama, History
In 1940, the British Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle to prevent the Luftwaffe from gaining air superiority over the English Channel as a prelude to a possible Axis invasion of the U.K.
Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Harry Andrews, Curd Jürgens
Votes: 24,521 | Gross: $4.36M
One of the great War Epics and a tribute to the participants of that crucial battle.
27. Zero Hour! (1957)
Passed | 81 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In 1950s Canada, during a commercial flight, the pilots and some passengers suffer food poisoning, thus forcing an ex-WWII fighter pilot (Dana Andrews) to try to land the airliner in heavy fog.
Director: Hall Bartlett | Stars: Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, Sterling Hayden, Elroy 'Crazylegs' Hirsch
Votes: 2,297
Airplane is a direct spoof of this drama
28. The Doomsday Flight (1966 TV Movie)
Approved | 93 min | Crime, Thriller
A bomb on board an airliner has an altitude-sensitive trigger. Unless a ransom is paid, it will explode when the plane descends to land.
Director: William A. Graham | Stars: Jack Lord, Edmond O'Brien, Katherine Crawford, John Saxon
Votes: 397
Actually had the FAA calling for it to be suppressed.
29. Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962)
PG | 101 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
In 1862, the British commission inventor Fergusson to claim uncharted land in West Africa for Britain by flying his giant hot air balloon there.
Director: Irwin Allen | Stars: Red Buttons, Fabian, Barbara Eden, Cedric Hardwicke
Votes: 1,393
30. Ace of Aces (1933)
Passed | 76 min | Drama, War
A sculptor who doesn't want to have any part of World War I is shamed by his girlfriend into joining the army. He becomes a fighter pilot, and undergoes a complete personality change.
Director: J. Walter Ruben | Stars: Richard Dix, Elizabeth Allan, Ralph Bellamy, Theodore Newton
Votes: 472
Richard Dix
31. The Eagle and the Hawk (1933)
TV-PG | 73 min | Action, Drama, War
The pilots of a Royal Air Force squadron in World War I face not only physical but mental dangers in their struggle to survive while fighting the enemy.
Directors: Stuart Walker, Mitchell Leisen | Stars: Fredric March, Cary Grant, Jack Oakie, Carole Lombard
Votes: 1,352
Fredric March & Cary Grant - NOT to be confused with 1950 Western of same name.
32. The Night My Number Came Up (1955)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
On a routine flight from Hong Kong to Japan, a British military transport aircraft's fate may or may not depend on a prophetic nightmare.
Director: Leslie Norman | Stars: Michael Redgrave, Sheila Sim, Alexander Knox, Denholm Elliott
Votes: 1,581
Nice British Flying movie with a Clairvoyance twist
33. Reach for the Sky (1956)
Approved | 123 min | Biography, Drama, War
Biopic of RAF Group Captain Douglas Bader who, after having lost both legs, flew a British fighter plane during WWII.
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Stars: Kenneth More, Muriel Pavlow, Lyndon Brook, Lee Patterson
Votes: 2,993
Biography of the Incredible Douglas Bader - Double Amputee Fighter Ace! Gave it a 10 because of the subject matter!!!
34. Air America (1990)
R | 113 min | Action, Comedy, War
A young pilot finds himself recruited unwittingly into a covert and corrupt CIA airlift operation in Laos during the Vietnam conflict.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Mel Gibson, Robert Downey Jr., Nancy Travis, Ken Jenkins
Votes: 30,550 | Gross: $31.05M
Great Flying sequences! Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. do a fine buddy film
35. The Hunters (1958)
Approved | 108 min | Action, Drama, Romance
In 1952, during the Korean War, two American pilots become bitter enemies over the same woman but must shelf their personal feud when confronted by deadly Chinese MIG fighter jets in battle.
Director: Dick Powell | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Robert Wagner, Richard Egan, May Britt
Votes: 1,655
USAF Pilots in Korea - Robert Mitchum (41), Richard Egan (37), and Stacy Harris (40) look a bit old to be playing fighter pilots in Korea in 1952. "Pappy" Boyington was 32 when WW II ended. Fighter pilots back then tended to be on the young side, including their commanders.
36. The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)
Approved | 102 min | Drama, Romance, War
Set during the Korean War, a Navy fighter pilot must come to terms with with his own ambivalence towards the war and the fear of having to bomb a set of highly defended bridges. The ending of this grim war drama is all tension.
Director: Mark Robson | Stars: William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney
Votes: 6,333
USN Pilots in Korea. Retread Pilot William Holden would be around 36 years old in 1954.
37. Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
Passed | 138 min | Drama, History, War
In the wake of Pearl Harbor, a young lieutenant leaves his expectant wife to volunteer for a secret bombing mission which will take the war to the Japanese homeland.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Robert Walker, Tim Murdock
Votes: 6,461
One pilot's autobiography of Doolittle Raid and aftermath. Doesn't really mention the hundreds of thousands of Chinese butchered by the Japanese for being suspected of hiding the American flyers.
38. Men of the Fighting Lady (1954)
Approved | 79 min | Drama, War
A famous writer visits an aircraft carrier during the Korean war to learn more about it and the way it's run. He also gets to find out more about the Navy and Marine aviators themselves, their internal and external conflicts and dangers of their job.
Director: Andrew Marton | Stars: Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon, Louis Calhern, Dewey Martin
Votes: 629 | Gross: $1.50M
AKA Panther Squadron - USN Pilots in Korea
39. Battle Hymn (1957)
Passed | 108 min | Biography, Drama, History
A remorseful bomber pilot-turned-minister rejoins for the Korean War.
Director: Douglas Sirk | Stars: Rock Hudson, Martha Hyer, Dan Duryea, Don DeFore
Votes: 1,307
Based on True Story of USAF Pilot in Korea. Good flying sequences. Don DeFore (Hazel's 1st Mr. Baxter) has a key role as a fighter pilot (also played fighter pilot in "A Guy Named Joe"). Look for Black actor and WW II Veteran Officer James Edwards as another fighter pilot.
40. Bailout at 43,000 (1957)
Not Rated | 78 min | Drama, Romance
An Air Force major feels a volatile mixture of relief and anger when he is excused from performing a dangerous test in a new aircraft.
Director: Francis D. Lyon | Stars: John Payne, Karen Steele, Paul Kelly, Richard Eyer
Votes: 170
41. Strategic Air Command (1955)
Approved | 112 min | Action, Drama, War
An ex-pilot and current baseballer is recalled into the U.S. Air Force and assumes an increasingly important role in Cold War deterrence.
Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: James Stewart, June Allyson, Frank Lovejoy, Barry Sullivan
Votes: 4,082
Jimmy Stewart - WWII Combat flyer and USAF Reservist shows his pride in his service.
42. Bombers B-52 (1957)
Passed | 106 min | Drama, Romance, War
Sgt. Chuck Brennan always disliked playboy and hotshot, Col. Jim Herlihy. Now Chuck has even more reason to, Jim is dating his daughter, Lois.
Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Marsha Hunt, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
Votes: 919
Efrem Zimbalist Jr/Natalie Wood/Karl Malden
43. Captains of the Clouds (1942)
Approved | 114 min | Action, Drama, War
Inspired by Churchill's Dunkirk speech, brash, undisciplined bush pilot Brian MacLean and three friends enlist in the RCAF but are deemed too old to be fliers.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: James Cagney, Dennis Morgan, Brenda Marshall, Alan Hale
Votes: 1,768
Jimmy Cagney
44. Eagle Squadron (1942)
Approved | 109 min | Drama, War
An American joins the British Royal Air Force just before Pearl Harbor is attacked, and falls in love with a beautiful English girl.
Director: Arthur Lubin | Stars: Robert Stack, Diana Barrymore, Jon Hall, Eddie Albert
Votes: 146
45. Fate Is the Hunter (1964)
Approved | 106 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
An airline executive refuses to believe that pilot error, by his friend, caused a fatal crash and persists in looking for another reason.
Director: Ralph Nelson | Stars: Glenn Ford, Nancy Kwan, Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshette
Votes: 1,898
Glenn Ford/Suzanne Pleshette
46. The Flight That Fought Back (2005 TV Movie)
90 min | Documentary, Drama
A docudrama about the efforts of the passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 to derail the 9/11 terrorists' plan for the hijacked airliner.
Director: Bruce Goodison | Stars: Greg Benson, Toni Youngblood, Jason LeGrande, Bryce Wagoner
Votes: 655
47. United 93 (2006)
R | 111 min | Action, Drama, History
A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on September 11th, 2001 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: David Alan Basche, Olivia Thirlby, Liza Colón-Zayas, J.J. Johnson
Votes: 110,953 | Gross: $31.57M
48. Hot Shots! (1991)
PG-13 | 85 min | Action, Comedy
A parody of Top Gun (1986) in which a talented but unstable fighter pilot must overcome the ghosts of his father and save a mission sabotaged by greedy weapons manufacturers.
Director: Jim Abrahams | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Cary Elwes, Valeria Golino, Lloyd Bridges
Votes: 116,665 | Gross: $69.47M
Parody Of Top Gun - silly as Airplane but that is exactly why it is loved.
49. Top Gun (1986)
PG | 109 min | Action, Drama
As students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer
Votes: 502,816 | Gross: $179.80M
50. The Horror at 37,000 Feet (1973 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 73 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
An invisible demon in the cargo hold of a jet airliner terrorizes the passengers.
Director: David Lowell Rich | Stars: Chuck Connors, Buddy Ebsen, Tammy Grimes, Lynn Loring
Votes: 1,263
Supernatural Nonsense w/ Shatner & Chuck Connors
51. The Lady Takes a Flyer (1958)
Approved | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
Husband and wife pilots Mike Dandridge and Maggie Colby try to balance their time and priorities between work and family life.
Director: Jack Arnold | Stars: Lana Turner, Jeff Chandler, Richard Denning, Andra Martin
Votes: 224
Jeff Chandler/Lana Turner - Good Scene with Reta Shaw as no-nonsense Nurse/Nanny facing off with Chandler.
52. Mission Over Korea (1953)
Approved | 85 min | Drama, War
In the early days of the Korean War, a commanding officer tries to rein in a headstrong rookie pilot determined to avenge his brother's death.
Director: Fred F. Sears | Stars: John Hodiak, John Derek, Audrey Totter, Maureen O'Sullivan
Votes: 136
Good film about observer pilots in Korea. Often overlooked recon and observer crews have been vital in since military fling began.
53. Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966)
Approved | 119 min | Comedy, Romance
During the Korean War, Italian nurse Virna Lisi falls in love with two American fliers, Tony Curtis and George C. Scott. Lisi marries Curtis after he convinces her that Scott has been ... See full summary »
Director: Norman Panama | Stars: Tony Curtis, Virna Lisi, George C. Scott, Carroll O'Connor
Votes: 988
Good comedy with the beautiful Virna Lisi
54. Chain Lightning (1950)
Approved | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Former World War II flying ace Matt Brennan takes a position as a test pilot for a commercial aircraft corporation and bumps into his old girlfriend, Jo Holloway, who now works as a receptionist for the company.
Director: Stuart Heisler | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Eleanor Parker, Raymond Massey, Richard Whorf
Votes: 1,681
Hey! It's Bogie!! What else need be said?
55. 20, 000 Men a Year (1939)
Passed | 84 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Pilot disobeys unsafe orders and loses his job. He then starts a flying school which receives a boost when the government launches a program which it hopes will produce 20,000 pilots a year.
Director: Alfred E. Green | Stars: Randolph Scott, Preston Foster, Margaret Lindsay, Mary Healy
Votes: 100
56. Angels One Five (1952)
TV-G | 98 min | Drama, War
The story of an RAF fighter squadron at the height of the Battle of Britain.
Director: George More O'Ferrall | Stars: Jack Hawkins, Michael Denison, Andrew Osborn, Cyril Raymond
Votes: 1,276
57. The Dam Busters (1955)
Approved | 105 min | Drama, History, War
Drama based on the attempt by the RAF to destroy six dams in Germany during World War II.
Director: Michael Anderson | Stars: Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, Ursula Jeans, Basil Sydney
Votes: 11,370
58. The War Lover (1962)
Approved | 105 min | Adventure, Drama, War
In 1943, while stationed in Britain, arrogant Captain Buzz Rickson is in command of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, but his recklessness is endangering everyone around him.
Director: Philip Leacock | Stars: Steve McQueen, Robert Wagner, Shirley Anne Field, Gary Cockrell
Votes: 2,120
Great aircraft scenes! The taxing of the planes before takeoff is the only time I recall seeing that view from a bomber's cockpit in a movie.
59. No Highway in the Sky (1951)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, Thriller
An aeronautical engineer predicts that a new model of plane will fail catastrophically and in a novel manner after a specific number flying hours.
Director: Henry Koster | Stars: James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Glynis Johns, Jack Hawkins
Votes: 4,459
A bit flawed but plot actually is very eerily fore-shadowing of actual crashes of British de Havilland Comet Jetliners a few years later.
60. Mosquito Squadron (1969)
G | 90 min | Drama, War
In World War II, an RAF squadron leader mourns the death of a comrade and receives a bombing mission against a secret German V-2 rocket testing facility in France.
Director: Boris Sagal | Stars: David McCallum, Suzanne Neve, Charles Gray, David Buck
Votes: 1,685
61. High Flight (1957)
Approved | 89 min | Drama, War
The Commanding Officer of an RAF Training School must deal with a difficult cadet, but the cadet reminds the C.O. of himself when young.
Director: John Gilling | Stars: Ray Milland, Bernard Lee, Kenneth Haigh, Anthony Newley
Votes: 289
62. The McConnell Story (1955)
Approved | 106 min | Drama, Romance, War
A Korean War fighter pilot hero returns home to test fly the new Sabre jets despite his wife's uneasiness regarding his job.
Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: Alan Ladd, June Allyson, James Whitmore, Frank Faylen
Votes: 628
True story of Korean War triple jet ace (16 kills) Joseph C. McConnell.
63. The Sound Barrier (1952)
Approved | 109 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
Fictionalized story of British aerospace engineers solving the problem of supersonic flight.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Ralph Richardson, Ann Todd, Nigel Patrick, John Justin
Votes: 2,326
AKA Breaking Through the Sound Barrier and Breaking the Sound Barrier. British fictional movie about breaking the sound barrier. In reality, American Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in 1947.
64. Target for Tonight (1941)
Approved | 48 min | Documentary, Drama, War
The planning and implementation of an RAF night raid on Germany in World War II, concentrating on a low level mission by a Wellington bomber on an oil storage facility by the Rhine.
Director: Harry Watt | Stars: John Cobb, Richard Peirse, Percy Charles Pickard, Robert Saundby
Votes: 406
British WWII Documentary
65. Target for Today (1944)
Not Rated | 91 min | Documentary, History, War
Documentary about one bombing mission over Germany by the American Eighth Air Force, from the initial planning of the mission thru its final completion, with all of its intricacies from beginning to end.
Director: William Keighley
Votes: 84
American WWII Documentary
66. Flight from Ashiya (1964)
Not Rated | 100 min | Adventure, Romance, Drama
A flight crew tries to save the survivors of a shipwreck off the coast of Japan during a raging typhoon.
Director: Michael Anderson | Stars: Yul Brynner, Richard Widmark, George Chakiris, Suzy Parker
Votes: 716
A lot of flashbacks but a good overall presentation of the USAF's Air Rescue Service.
67. Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962)
PG | 101 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
In 1862, the British commission inventor Fergusson to claim uncharted land in West Africa for Britain by flying his giant hot air balloon there.
Director: Irwin Allen | Stars: Red Buttons, Fabian, Barbara Eden, Cedric Hardwicke
Votes: 1,393
Cute twist on "Around the world in 80 days"
68. Mission Over Korea (1953)
Approved | 85 min | Drama, War
In the early days of the Korean War, a commanding officer tries to rein in a headstrong rookie pilot determined to avenge his brother's death.
Director: Fred F. Sears | Stars: John Hodiak, John Derek, Audrey Totter, Maureen O'Sullivan
Votes: 136
Good film about observer pilots in Korea. Often overlooked recon and observer crews have been vital since military flying began.
69. Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
Passed | 121 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
At a remote South American trading port, the manager of an air-freight company is forced to risk his pilots' lives in order to win an important contract as a traveling American showgirl stops in town.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, Richard Barthelmess
Votes: 15,663
Good film about era when pilots flew 'by the seat of their pants'.
70. Wings of Fire (1967 TV Movie)
99 min | Drama
A young pilot, a Vietnam veteran, with a new wife and an ex-girlfriend, has more than enough to contend with, but his memories of the war present the greatest hazard.
Director: David Lowell Rich | Stars: Suzanne Pleshette, James Farentino, Lloyd Nolan, Juliet Mills
Votes: 31
Soap Opera with aircraft BUT some great flying sequences and aircraft
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