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 & 6 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 | jet pack | based on comic book | superhero | female stockinged legs | 

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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 | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

21 June 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rocketeer

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,600,754, 23 June 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$46,704,056

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 real Dog Café (the café shaped like a Bulldog) was built in 1928 on West Washington Boulevard, but destroyed by weather in the mid 1970s. A replica has been a part of the "Streetscape" in the Petersen Automotive Museum since its opening in 1994.

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Goofs

Neville applies chloroform to Jenny's mouth in the club. The following scene, when she awakes in his home, her lipstick isn't smudged.

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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

Featured in Best of the Worst: Plinketto #5 (2018)

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Soundtracks

ANY OLD TIME
Written by Artie Shaw
Performed by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra
Vocals by Billie Holiday
Courtesy of Bluebird / RCA / BMG record labels

User Reviews

In a nutshell, the most entertaining Disney movie that I've ever seen

Disney hasn't made a whole lot of movies over the last decade that have really been able to capture my interest. One of their better efforts, 1991's "The Rocketeer," is one of the luckier films.

"The Rocketeer" soared high and mighty upon its release in 1991, from the graphic novel by Dave Stevens and onto the big screen, with Cliff Secord (Bill Campbell) dawning an experimental rocket pack that is coveted by gangsters and Nazis during World War II.

The movie does remind some people of the serials of the 1930s and 1940s, some of which helped to spawn the mega-successful "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in 1981 and this year's "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow."

"The Rocketeer" is a great movie, and it should be viewed by everyone.

10/10