Sick Product of a Sick System

Absolutely Fantastic

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

A pleasant enough Air Force propaganda piece, with appropriate thanks to this branch of our country's military service in the closing credits; it also includes all the requisite elements for a CinemaScope production – impressive widescreen shots of the titled aircraft taking off, landing and an in-flight refueling, and even some impressive aerial shots of North Africa (including the Pyramids). Its story and the dramatic elements that hold it together are fairly rote and not particularly compelling.It begins with a 19 year-old Natalie Wood, playing the daughter of Karl Malden and Marsha Hunt, and being courted by 40 year-old Efrem Zimbalist Jr.. Of course, Malden's character isn't too keen about it while, surprisingly, Hunt's doesn't seem to care. The fact that Malden plays a career master sergeant mechanic that doesn't trust nor respect flyboy Zimbalist Jr. (per their history during the Korean War six years earlier), who's now his commanding officer, is a regularly recycled plot point as well.Then again, the film's message is meant to convey the value of the B-52 to our nation's security to the audience of its time (during the Cold War) whereas other superior dramas (Strategic Air Command (1955) and, later, A Gathering of Eagles (1963)) were focused on the U.S.A.F.'s leadership challenges.Directed by Gordon Douglas, its screenplay was written by Irving Wallace from the novel by Sam Rolfe. Movie fans will recognize Dick Elliott, Juanita Moore (don't blink or you'll miss her), and Stuart Whitman among the uncredited actors in the cast.

Karl Malden plays a 20-year veteran of the Air Force who wants to retire in order to make more money for himself and his family as a civilian (there's an interesting story angle!). His timing isn't good, however, as the new nine million dollar B-52 is introduced to Malden's California air base, and the cocky Colonel he's disliked since Korea wants him to stay and supervise the flight line. Glossy CinemaScope melodrama divides its time between the Sergeant's digs and the noisy air strip. Watchable, but still not enough material here to justify nearly two hours of screen time. Natalie Wood, as Malden's daughter, has a curious scene crying in her room (just after receiving a brand new convertible as a present); she's embarrassed her dad isn't held in higher esteem by his superiors, but from what we can see this isn't entirely true. "Romeo" fly-boy Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. practically begs the more-experienced Malden not to retire, yet the movie's narrative is so gummy we aren't sure of his motives. Shot in gorgeous color, the film looks extremely handsome, but Irving Wallace's script needed more of the funny digs we get near the beginning. The final act is so routine as to be almost unintentionally amusing. ** from ****

Gives great Airplane, and great Natalie Wood. Plot? Historical accuracy (in the "how the USAF worked" sense)? Naaaa. But: So what? Is it less accurate than Alfie, Goldfinger, Hamlet, Spider Man, Fahrenheit 9/11? Certainly not. Fact is, you can watch it with the sound off and lose very little. A lot of it looks like my childhood on USAF AFBs here and there. But just for the record, it takes a professional screenwriter to create and amplify the significance of the hypothetical "enlisted vs. officer" conflict. Only a Martinet(who rarely makes it past 1Lt)or a damn fool idiot (~academy puke...many of whom learn better) fails to understand that all airplanes fly not on Bernoulli's equation or jet fuel, but on sweat. Guess who's? Ask any combat pilot.Eagerly awaiting a DVD release...my off-HBO VHS is about worn-out (same for Strategic Air Command...just bought two copies of The Hunters DVD just to emphasize flyover country interest).

This was a popular and often-run feature in the late 50s which had the advantage of a good cast in Karl Malden, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., and Natalie Wood. "Flight" was very popular science in the 50s and the subject matter produced many films with big stars (Jimmy Stewart played in more than one of these, "Strategic Air Command" and "Spirit of St. Louis" to name a couple). "Bombers B-52" and "X-15" (with Charles Bronson) shared double bills in my neighborhood on more than one occasion, as these films were likely to draw in a good crowd of young and enthusiastic boys who were probably building the plastic model kits at home as well.