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 | bomber | japanese | hawaii | pearl harbor | 

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Taglines:

GIANTS OF THE SKY...blazing a trail to victory!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

20 March 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

El bombardero heroico

Filming Locations:

Santa Barbara, California, USA

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

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 trees around "Clark Field" have Spanish Moss hanging in them. There was no Spanish Moss in the Philippines.

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Quotes

Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg: [looking at map] Is this here Wake Island?
Navigator Monk Hauser: Yeah.
Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg: How far is it?
Navigator Monk Hauser: Oh, it's about 2300 miles from Honolulu.
Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg: [whistles] And we're gonna land on that dot?
Navigator Monk Hauser: Yeah, it's not very big, is it?
Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg: Like trying to find a buckshot in Central Park. Gee, I wish there were some traffic signs around.
Navigator Monk Hauser: There are, but you can't see them.
Assistant Crew Chief Weinberg: I mean like numbers and streets.
Navigator Monk Hauser: Yeah, but they call them latitudes and longitudes.
[...]

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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

Edited into War and Remembrance: Part IV (1988)

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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 Air power picture that fits the mood of the time it was made..

One of the great things about motion pictures in this country is how they change with the times. Take this picture for example which came out in 1943. The U.S. was in the thick of the war and this was a film like many made during that time to stir patriotic fever and make Americans "hate the evil yellow enemy" (and the Nazis too!). It's full of everything to make the viewer feel good about our boys who are doing the fighting. A B-17 bomber crew where there seems to be no problems, only the desire to "Shoot down Japs" Now go forward about six years to 1949 and "Twelve O'Clock High" and watch that film about B-17 Bomber Crews. Could "Air Force" have cut it with movie goers any time after 1946? Could "Twelve O'Clock High" have made it with a 1943 audience? Probably not. So watch this picture and remember when it came out and what the mood in this country was and you'll truly enjoy it. Also don't forget to see "Twelve O'Clock High" as well, maybe right after seeing this one.