Air Force (1943)

The crew of an Air Force bomber arrives in Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the Japanese attack and is sent on to Manila to help with the defense of the Philippines.

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writer:

Dudley Nichols (original screenplay)

Stars:

John Garfield, John Ridgely, Gig Young

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Ridgely	...	Pilot
Gig Young	...	Co-Pilot
Arthur Kennedy	...	Bombardier
Charles Drake	...	Navigator
Harry Carey	...	Crew Chief Sgt. White
George Tobias	...	Asst. Crew Chief
Ward Wood	...	Radio Operator
Ray Montgomery	...	Asst. Radio Operator
John Garfield	...	Aerial Gunner Joe Winocki
James Brown	...	Pursuit Pilot - Passenger
Stanley Ridges	...	Major Mallory
Willard Robertson	...	Colonel at Hickam Field
Moroni Olsen	...	Col. Blake
Edward Brophy	...	Marine Sgt. J.J. Callahan (as Edward S. Brophy)
Richard Lane	...	Maj. W.G. Roberts

Storyline

On December 6, 1941 nine B-17 bomber set off on a flight from San Francisco to Hawaii. One of the bombers, the Mary Ann, is commanded by 'Irish' Quincannon. The bombardier, Tommy McMartin, has a sister living in Hawaii and the co-pilot, Bill Williams, is sweet on her. The men are all highly professional with the exception of aerial gunner Joe Winocki, a bitter man who has every intention of leaving the army air corps. They arrive at Hickam Field on the morning of December 7, just as the Japanese are attacking Pearl Harbor and other military facilities. All of the men prepare to face the enemy, including Winocki whose attitude changes quickly. The bomber and its crew will participate in many missions but not all will survive.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to franklin d. roosevelt | hickam field | reference to orson welles | reference to brooklyn | decoder | 

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Taglines:

The name of their love was Mary Ann.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

As the plane approaches Hawaii the radio man tunes in to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Winocki jokingly asks if the radio man was tuned in to Orson Welles. This was a reference to the infamous radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, a fictional story that was made by Welles to sound like a real broadcast of an invasion from Mars.

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Goofs

The destruction of any Japanese fleet by horizontal bombing B-17s never occurred in 1941 or in any of the ensuing years. The Japanese skillfully maneuvered their ships to avoid the bombers. Destruction of Japanese ships to the extent depicted in the movie did not occur until the Battle of Midway in June 1942, and that was primarily done by dive bombers.

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Quotes

Colonel Blake - Commanding Officer at Manila: Say, what kind of lunatics have we got in this Air Corps anyhow? Don't you know what's impossible?
Pursuit Pilot Tex Rader: Thank you, sir!
Marine Sergeant J.J. Callahan: Hey, excuse me, colonel...
Colonel Blake - Commanding Officer at Manila: What?
Marine Sergeant J.J. Callahan: Can't I lend a hand too?
Colonel Blake - Commanding Officer at Manila: [Walking away] You can go straight to...
Marine Sergeant J.J. Callahan: Help, sir? Thank you, sir!

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: FOREWARD "It is for us the living .... to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced ..... It is ......for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us ..... that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Abraham Lincoln

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Connections

Featured in What's Up, Doc? (1972)

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Soundtracks

I Get a Kick Out of You
(1934) (uncredited)
Written by Cole Porter
Background music before the briefing in Australia

User Reviews

An irony years later

I was stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base from November of 1966 till March of 1970. The movie starts off with a teletype message coming through ordering the B-17 group to proceed from Hamilton Field California to Hickam Field Hawaii for two weeks of annual training . I was stationed at the same base years later when it was a fighter plane base. I saw lots of old photos from the days when Flying Fortress B-17's flew off the same runway. Even though the special effects are not up to todays standards, I still enjoy watching this movie every time it is on TV . As a military photographer, I can only imagine what it must have been like to capture the chaos going on that Sunday morning in 1941. My first two years , I used a Speed Graphic just like those used back then so I have insight into how they worked .

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

20 March 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Air Force

Filming Locations:

Santa Barbara, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,646,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1