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"Strategic Air Command" starring James Stewart


Sabrejet
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I love this 1955 movie on several different levels. Firstly, it is very much "of its time". The Cold War was on and the American public needed to know just what their armed forces were doing to protect them from Communist expansionism (remember..the Korean War had ended in stalemate just a couple of years earlier, so it was still fresh in the mind) So, on the one level, the movie is a "flag-waver" providing an opportunity for Uncle Sam to show off his latest flying hardwear..and what hardwear it is! The awesome B-36 Peacemaker in glorious Technicolor and later, the revolutionary B-47. The air-to-air flying sequences are a definite highlight of the movie!

 

On another level, the movie is a uniform-spotter's dream in that it affords the opportunity to see the USAF's short-lived blue-nylon flight gear and P-2 flying helmets being worn. Also, officers' "Silver-tan" Class A's and blue "Ikes" are very much in evidence, together with the appropriate period insignia.

 

As the leading character, "Col. Dutch Holland", what better choice than the late James Stewart? During WW2 Stewart quit Hollywood and joined the Air Force and flew 20 combat missions as a B-24 squadron commander with the Mighty Eighth At the time of the movie's release he was still a part of the Air Force Reserve..perfect casting, or what?!

 

Overall, it's a good yarn. Holland is making a living as a successful ball player with the St Louis Cardinals when he's recalled to serve with SAC. Reluctant at first having "done his bit" in WW2 he eventually warms to the idea and becomes an active pilot again. However, a injury he suffers during a crash landing ends his flying career prematurely. He doesn't want to fly a desk so elects to quit the USAF and returns to an uncertain future in civilian life (his pitching arm has been injured)

 

I've got a European/Region 2 copy of this movie on DVD so I assume it's available in the US too? If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favour and check it out!

 

Sabrejet :thumbsup:

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Yes this is a great little movie. The B36s really are co-stars of the film with Jimmy Stewart. I don't think we'll ever see a movie again where the leading man is actually piloting the bomber aircraft onscreen like in this movie.

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Charlie Flick

Jimmy Stewart was a great American, and this film is one of my favorite Stewart motion pictures.

 

Here is BG Stewart in an official USAF pic.

 

481px-Brig._Gen._James_M._Stewart.jpg

 

Regards,

Charlie

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Jimmy Stewart was a great American, and this film is one of my favorite Stewart motion pictures.

 

Here is BG Stewart in an official USAF pic.

 

481px-Brig._Gen._James_M._Stewart.jpg

 

Regards,

Charlie

 

I agree. A great man and an awesome photograph. Thanks for sharing!

 

Ian :thumbsup:

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AND the B47!!!! Not many movies I know of out there with those. Strategic Air Command was one of only two movies I know of with the B-36. Can anyone name the other? *grins*

 

Wayne

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Rick the Librarian
AND the B47!!!! Not many movies I know of out there with those. Strategic Air Command was one of only two movies I know of with the B-36. Can anyone name the other? *grins*

 

Wayne

 

Two, actually -- "Invasion USA (1951 and a documentary called "Target Peace" (I think, 1949)

 

"Strategic Air Command" is one of my all-time favorite aviation flicks. Not for the story, but for the gorgeous flying shots of those B-36s - my favorite post-WWII bomber. I grew up a few miles from Fairchild AFB and remember well B-36s flying over my house, shaking it to the house's foundations!

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Turner Classic Movies cable channel runs it occasionally. Have watched it several times.

Great Movie- I enjoyed the flight scenes and flight line scenes. Great photo of Jimmy Stewart. I knew he had been a Colonel but did not know he made BG.

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  • 1 month later...
Two, actually -- "Invasion USA (1951 and a documentary called "Target Peace" (I think, 1949)

 

"Strategic Air Command" is one of my all-time favorite aviation flicks. Not for the story, but for the gorgeous flying shots of those B-36s - my favorite post-WWII bomber. I grew up a few miles from Fairchild AFB and remember well B-36s flying over my house, shaking it to the house's foundations!

 

That makes four then... I hadn't seen the two you referred to.... Jet Pilot was the other I referred to... With John Wayne and Janet Leigh.... A-ROGER!!!!! John Wayne's character Shannon takes Leigh's Russian character Anna up for a night intercept mission in an F-94 Starfire. The target they are intercepting is a B-36.

 

Wayne

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That is one of my all time favorite movies. When I was in SAC in the late 60's all those B-36's were long gone and so were the B-47's. I knew lots of lifers who crewed and maintained both types.

When I was a kid growing up in west Texas, I remember hearing and occasionally seeing a B-36 fly over. They made that sound that no other airplane made and you could hear them for miles and miles. If you ever heard the throbbing sound made by those six big "corncob" recips, you'd never forget it. I've watched this movie just to see the take off sceen of the B-36. :thumbsup:

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That is one of my all time favorite movies. When I was in SAC in the late 60's all those B-36's were long gone and so were the B-47's. I knew lots of lifers who crewed and maintained both types.

When I was a kid growing up in west Texas, I remember hearing and occasionally seeing a B-36 fly over. They made that sound that no other airplane made and you could hear them for miles and miles. If you ever heard the throbbing sound made by those six big "corncob" recips, you'd never forget it. I've watched this movie just to see the take off sceen of the B-36. :thumbsup:

 

 

Hi Lee. I know what you mean. Puts me in mind of that scene early on in the movie when "Dutch" is on the ball-park and the sky suddenly fills with a deep, throaty roar and a "Peacemaker" flies over at low altitude. An amazing sound! I can only imagine how it must've been to be there when a squadron took to the air!

 

Ian :thumbsup:

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Steindaddie

One of my favorites of ALL time! Jimmy Stewart was good in any movie he ever appeared, but this was one where he was a perfect natural: he was an Air Force pilot, he believed in airpower, and supported the mission of SAC. Not only that, he was an all around good guy.

I was stationed at Gowen Field, Boise Idaho, where Stewart had his bomber training in WW2. A local man who had been a teenage movie projectionist in 1942 remembered how Stewart loved the movies, but when he went to the theater his appearance made a ruckus among the crowd and no one could enjoy the show. The projectionist saw that Stewart, a modest man, didn't want to ruin everyone's evening, so he invited Stewart up to his booth. From then on, whenever Stewart wanted to see a movie, he came in the side door and munched popcorn in the projectionist's booth. He took a great interest in the workings of the projector and would help change reels, etc.

After the show, when the crowd was gone, Stewart would play the organ left over from the silent movie days and entertain the movie employees as they cleaned up for the night. (The projectionist recalled that Stewart's favorite tune was "Ragtime Cowboy Joe") That theater & organ are still in business today.

 

Here's a photo of his WW2 jacket on display at the USAF museum. That institution, being a stickler for history and all, does not have the display labeled "Donated by Jimmy Stewart". Rather, it is marked "Donated by BGen James M. Stewart, USAFR"

post-1949-1272385239.jpg

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BILL THE PATCH
I love this 1955 movie on several different levels. Firstly, it is very much "of its time". The Cold War was on and the American public needed to know just what their armed forces were doing to protect them from Communist expansionism (remember..the Korean War had ended in stalemate just a couple of years earlier, so it was still fresh in the mind) So, on the one level, the movie is a "flag-waver" providing an opportunity for Uncle Sam to show off his latest flying hardwear..and what hardwear it is! The awesome B-36 Peacemaker in glorious Technicolor and later, the revolutionary B-47. The air-to-air flying sequences are a definite highlight of the movie!

 

On another level, the movie is a uniform-spotter's dream in that it affords the opportunity to see the USAF's short-lived blue-nylon flight gear and P-2 flying helmets being worn. Also, officers' "Silver-tan" Class A's and blue "Ikes" are very much in evidence, together with the appropriate period insignia.

 

As the leading character, "Col. Dutch Holland", what better choice than the late James Stewart? During WW2 Stewart quit Hollywood and joined the Air Force and flew 20 combat missions as a B-24 squadron commander with the Mighty Eighth At the time of the movie's release he was still a part of the Air Force Reserve..perfect casting, or what?!

 

Overall, it's a good yarn. Holland is making a living as a successful ball player with the St Louis Cardinals when he's recalled to serve with SAC. Reluctant at first having "done his bit" in WW2 he eventually warms to the idea and becomes an active pilot again. However, a injury he suffers during a crash landing ends his flying career prematurely. He doesn't want to fly a desk so elects to quit the USAF and returns to an uncertain future in civilian life (his pitching arm has been injured)

 

I've got a European/Region 2 copy of this movie on DVD so I assume it's available in the US too? If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favour and check it out!

 

Sabrejet :thumbsup:

 

ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES, Jimmy Stewart was a great american hero, i wish those creeps in hollywood would act like the movie stars of yesteryear. todays stars all seem to be commie's ( just one man's opinion) great subject, bill

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Great story ..thanks for sharing Steindaddie :thumbsup:

 

Hello Bill Glad to hear it's one of your faves too. Mr Stewart was a real American hero...and a gentleman to boot! One of a dying breed and a member of "the greatest generation"!

 

Ian :thumbsup:

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SAC always brings back good memorys for me. I remember when i was young me and my father would watch it every time it came on. Watching when Jimmy Stewart is playing ball and a B-36 flys overhead to this day just floors me. You just do not get movies like that anymore, now they are too graphic and foul language.

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Rick the Librarian

I haven't seen a DVD of this movie in the States - just old VHS. If anyone knows of a DVD copy, I would be interested!!

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  • 2 months later...
TrenchfootJoe66

Couldnt agree more, one of the great Cold War classics. This movie inspired me to start dabbling in USAF stuff.

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Check out the 2nd name on this (I have the original, one of the copies given at the time to someone else on the list)

 

jimmy1.jpg:

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Strategic Air Command is my favoriate Air Force Movie. I watched it alot as a kid and after spending 11 years in SAC operations later on I can say the movie was spot on. One of the biggest mistakes the Department Of The Air Force made was getting rid of SAC.

 

To Error Is Human, To Forgive Is Not SAC Policy

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A very interesting piece of ephemera...and no doubt the classiest address on the list?! I wonder if the Stewart family still reside there? Thanks for posting.

 

Ian :thumbsup:

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  • 3 weeks later...

The B-36 was fitted, I think, with Pratt & Whitney R-4360 engines, same as the C-124. As a small boy I heard them take off from Wright-Patterson right over our apartment while my father was there during the Korean War. The noise was deafening, windows & everything in the place rattled, and you weren't sure whether it was staying in the air or coming down on top of you. It was loud enough that you plugged you ears.

 

In the late sixties some outfit was flying something fitted with R-4360s off the Burbank Airport. Our class instructor, a retired Air Force mechanic or FE I suppose, always cocked his head and smiled when he heard one going over..."4360s" he would say with a big grin on his face. And we would have to stop the lecture to let it go by until we could hear again.

 

This picture was in a 1956 Life magazine...maybe the house in the background was 141 El Camino.

 

PS

post-3515-1281388075.jpg

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I always liked that movie quite a lot as well. I was reading the other day that Jimmy Stewart actually flew a lot more than 20 missions. He went overseas and flew his 20 with his original squadron-- and was then given command of another with which he flew many more missions but ordered that those not count on his official records.

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I think you're right about his mission count being higher. He was most associated with the 445th Bomb Group flying B-24s. IIRC he also (unofficially) flew a few B-52 missions over Vietnam.

 

PS

post-3515-1281419095.jpg

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