Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

A B-17 bomber flies from San Francisco to Hawaii, arriving on...7 December 1941. They arrive in the middle of the attack on Pearl Harbor. They survive Pearl Harbor and are sent to the Philippines, where things aren't much easier.The year of release (1943) should give it away that this is going to contain a fair amount of WW2 propaganda. And it does. Still, it is pretty entertaining, and the jingoism doesn't get excessive. Goodish plot, solidly directed and acted. Some of the battle scenes and plots are quite unrealistic though. Still, the flying scenes are good fun.

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.I like that rather than being a historical film that looks back, it was actually filmed shortly after Pearl Harbor and while the war against the Japanese was still quite active. In this way it could be considered a propaganda or recruitment film. Had America lost the war (nearly impossible, but still) this would have been an interesting artifact.The story is pretty good, and has a nice mixture of humor and seriousness. Of course, being a war film where people are getting killed, you can only have so much humor, but adding the dog and some clever remarks ("can you keep a secret?") really helped.

The emotional content of the subject matter--WW2 post-bombing of Pearl Harbor seems to be the major reason for high ratings for 'Air Force'. A very slow moving and boring movie with some excellent technical and special effects and photography. The story line is very sparse and the actors seem to be groping around for depth in their rather one-dimensional characters. Oddly, it was nominated for, but didn't get, an Oscar for Best Writing and Original Screenplay. This aberration can be understood as being a tip of the hat to the spirit of the times.Air Force won an Oscar for best editing in 1944 beating other nominees Casablanca, Five Graves to Cairo, For Whom the Bell Tolls and the Song of Bernadette. This was a consolation prize for a movie that could not be ignored but didn't quite make the grade. Excluding Five Graves to Cairo, the 3 other nominees in the best editing category got Oscars in other categories. Other films nominated for Oscars in 1944 are in an entirely different class. Casablanca got the best film Oscar, and others in the running for Best Picture were Heaven Can't Wait, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Ox-Bow Incident, Phantom of the Opera, Madam Curie. These are giants of the screen. No matter how high it flies in the ratings, Air Force doesn't quite measure up either in the company of these other films or on a comparative or stand-alone basis.

On December 6, 1941, a group of nine Air Force men assemble for a what is hinted to be a secret mission; they board a B-17 named "Mary-Ann" in San Francisco, and take off for Honolulu. Pilot John Ridgely (as "Irish"), co-pilot Gig Young (as Bill), bombardier Arthur Kennedy (as Tommy), navigator Charles Drake (as "Monk"), crew chief Harry Carey (as Robbie), assistant crew chief George Tobias (as Weinberg), radio operator Robert Wood (as Peterson), assistant radio operator Ray Montgomery (as Chester), and aerial gunner John Garfield (as Joe Winocki) hear "Japs" on their radio, while flying over the Pacific Ocean. Yes, they are headed to Hawaii as the treacherous Japanese are attacking Pearl Harbor! Upon landing, the crew tour the demolished United States base. After hearing the cries of a blinded child, they visit a wounded woman who is both Mr. Kennedy's sister and Mr. Young's girlfriend. The men listen to president Franklin D. Roosevelt ask Congress to declare WAR as they, joined by James Brown (as Tex Rader), head for action in Manila, Philippines. Howard Hawks' "Air Force" is a mostly exciting, well-produced World War II propaganda film; director Hawks effectively inserts actual wartime footage. The characters do not turn out to be as interesting or diverse as you're led to believe; but, they serve their purpose well. With guys like these, those Japanese invaders never stood a chance!****** Air Force (2/3/43) Howard Hawks ~ John Garfield, Gig Young, Arthur Kennedy