Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

The first World War had just ended in total victory for the United States and its Allies. Now war was a thing of the past, America disbanded its army and stabled its navy, its air force was still an unwanted child. In 1921 off the coast of Virginia, the high command of the army and navy gathered to consider a revolutionary experiment.William Mitchell was a controversial and famous character in American aviation history, his beliefs and future ideas as regards the importance and advancement of aviation in war got him into so much trouble it culminated in the Court Martial of the title. Though this Otto Preminger directed telling is not completely accurate in its history lesson, it is however (thanks to Gary Cooper's excellent portrayal) an excellent depiction of the man and his staunch nature. Naturally the picture is reliant on long pieces of dialogue, so really if anyone is after a blitzkrieg type war film then they should steer well clear, for this is a lesson in letting talking lead the way, and thus opening the door for the actors to do their respective stuff. Rod Steiger (solid if dangerously close to mugging too much), Ralph Bellamy, Charles Bickford and Elizabeth Montgomery round out the cast with varying degrees of success, but really it's with Gary Cooper that the films borders on success or failure, thankfully he comes thru with a fine line of sympathetic emotion that lifts the piece just above being middle of the road. 6/10

This movie portrays a riveting historical account that tells the story of a visionary of his era who was wrongfully convicted of speaking his mind and not obeying military policy and procedure of the time. After the movie ended, I was immediately compelled to "google" Colonel Billy Mitchell and learn more about his court-martial. Movies like this are intriguing due to the fact that most people of the modern day do not remember, nor have ever been schooled in military history. Billy Mitchell's accounts and rationale for putting himself in the "hot seat" for the good of out country, despite having the knowledge that in doing so he'd undergo a court-martial, are commendable and honorable. Historically, time has told the truth and validated and, in my mind, vindicated Colonel Mitchell. His vision has led to the creation of the greatest Air Force the world will ever know.

This is a very technically good film, with interesting casting and scripting, but it is far from the truth historically. Being from the Milwaukee Wisconsin area, I did some research into the history of this man, and found it very different from the Hollywood depiction.The Generals insubordination was more about his arrogance and ego than any caring about the future. He was a spoiled rich brat who always had things his way. The changes that came in aviation would have came without his infamous courtroom case. He was the exact opposite of the Gary Cooper portrayal, being short and angry in nature.He sacrificed his military career because he cared so much about the fliers? Questionable at best. This rich kid was tired of playing soldier, so went on a public opinion campaign, that was somewhat successful in giving him a role in the history of aviation.He was very effective at alienating everyone around him. There are numerous histories of this man, polarized either in the he was a visionary versus a pompous self righteous jerk, all making good reading.

Otto Preminger was perhaps honing his skills as a director, because this film seems to be a dress rehearsal for his greatest achievement, "Anatomy of a Murder", which is a classic of the courtroom drama genre. The movie is interesting in that it presents a man of honor, Billy Mitchell, who not only was an aviation pioneer, but a visionary that pointed out to the future in uncanny ways. He realized that wars were going to be fought in the air, and that soon the world would shrink thanks to faster planes than the primitive two engine jobs he was flying during WWI.Billy Mitchell was an outcast, rejected by the same people that were too obtuse to realize the upcoming revolution in aeronautics. In trying to prove a point, Billy is found guilty and tried for disobeying orders. It's a sad story in which a highly developed mind, like Billy's has to contend with the ignorance of his peers. Testimony from other leading figures of the time, such as Eddie Rickenbacker, and others speak volumes about Mitchell's incredible insight on the new technology and how vulnerable America was from air raids by enemies.Gary Cooper's approach to the role doesn't clarify much about the real life Mitchell. He is not quite as effective as in many of his most outstanding films. Somehow we don't get any passion out of his character, where perhaps another actor would have run away with the role. Mr. Cooper's take on Mitchell, or perhaps Otto Preminger's direction, doesn't shed much insight in the character. The best thing in the movie is Rod Steiger as Allan Gullion, who is brought to the trial to help the main prosecution officer. He steals the picture in his short time in front of the camera. Mr Steiger brings a different concept to this officer; he stands out against all the other people around him. What a presence he had! In contrast with Mr. Cooper's stoic presence, Mr. Steiger was ready to smolder the screen if given the chance. The rest of the cast is outstanding. Charles Bickford, Ralph Bellamy, Elizabeth Montgomery, Jack Lord, James Daly, Fred Clark, among others, enhance this movie. The only problem with the copy I saw, is the horrible coloring that tends to give a fading images. This is a film in need of restoration.