Old Movies

[rumpletumbler]

Dr. Strangelove.

 

[Timebuilder]

Strategic Air Command, with Jimmy Stewart and June Alyson.

Also, Flight of the Phoenix and Spirit of St Louis, both Stewart movies.

I'll try and think of some more...

 

[bigr]

Fail Safe

Not black & white:

Strategic Air Command (top box office film of 1955, great aerial footage of the B36 (my avatar) and B-47

Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

A Gathering of Eagles (1963)

Battle of Britain (1969)

The Blue Max

Operation Crossbow (about the V-1 & V-2)

The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)

 

[FL000]

Here's a link to a search on Internet Movie Database under the genre "aviation". It should have about every movie or TV series related to flight in there.

 

[bigr]

The McConnel Story (1950s about top jet ace in Korea, alan ladd)

The Bridges at Toko Ri (about the carrier air war in Korea-William Holden, "where do we get such men")

 

[bobbysamd]

Aviation movies

"No Highway in the Sky," starring James Stewart.

"Flying Leathernecks," starring Duke Wayne.

"Flying Tigers," also starring The Duke.

"Catch-.22" is aviation-related.

"Thirty Seconds over Tokyo," starring Van Johnson.

"Tora, Tora, Tora" is in color, but a good movie.

For that matter, "Pearl Harbor," with Alec Baldwin as Col. Jimmy Doolittle has great special effects. The story, in my .02, is somewhat lame, though.

 

[chawbein]

Alec Baldwin isn't fit to lick the toejam out of Jimmy Doolittle's shoes. Why would you recruit fighter pilots to fly bombers off of a carrier? Why at the end is Ben Affleck flying a biplane with his son and neither one of their hair is moving?

In case you didn't catch it, I wasn't too impressed with "Pearl Harbor".

The Right Stuff is a great aviation movie - hence my signature.

 

[bigr]

How could I forget "Airport", starring Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin and Jackie Bisset (she plays the flight attendant that's pregnant with the married captains baby-Dean Martin. pretty racy for 1968).

Ironic the story is about a suicidal bomber aboard a commercial airliner.

 

[bobbysamd]

The Right Stuff

Gosh!! How could I forget that movie, especially when Chuck Yeager was one of my early aviation heroes?

Agreed, the biplane scene at the end of "Pearl Harbor" was rather insipid and lacked credibility.

 

[414Flyer]

Re: The Right Stuff

Gosh!! How could I forget that movie, especially when Chuck Yeager was one of my early aviation heroes?

Agreed, the biplane scene at the end of "Pearl Harbor" was rather insipid and lacked credibility.

What do you mean? The WHOLE movie was insipid and lacked credibility

 

[414Flyer]

There was also a movie in 1981, called Red Flag. Its takes place at the Red Flag competition at Nellis. It wasnt that tell known, but I have seen it on tv a couple of times

 

[airbrush]

Several of the above flicks make my list, too.

"Red Flag:The Ultimate Game" was a made-for-TV movie with William Devane, Joan van Ark, and I think Barry Bostwick. As is a trend with aviation movies, the flying was mostly good but the story was lacking. Doubt you'd find it on video anywhere, but it's rather forgettable anyway. The only reason I remember the stars is that I have a vast storehouse of useless knowledge that I carry around.

"Toward the Unknown" was a 1950s test pilot movie starring William Holden. Great flying, terrific selection of aircraft (Martin XB-51!), all in color. Saw it once late at night when I was in high school, never since. Unfortunately, any release on video has been stalled by some dispute with Holden's heirs.

"Piece of Cake" is a six-part British miniseries about a Spitfire squadron during the Battle of France and Battle of Britain that came out in the late '80s or early '90s. Absolutely OUTSTANDING in every category (more human than "Battle of Britain", not as ponderous). You can order it through some of the aviation movie ads in various magazines.

Don't bother with anything that starts with the words "Iron Eagle"......

"Dive Bomber", in color, available on video, is good. Errol Flynn and Fred McMurray and lots of colorful old Navy planes from 1940. The funny parts are how there seems to be a 300 aircraft flyover at 100 AGL in every scene (with accompanying patriotic music), and how every actor/actress lights up a cigarette 10 seconds into every scene.

Comments on "Pearl Harbor" agreed (especially about Alec Baldwin!). Typically, my wife liked it (I did like the girl, though...)

Several others lurk in the fringes of my mind. I'll post them when I remember.

 

[Cardinal]

I'll second the motion for Dr. Strangelove. So will Cornelius

 

[RunUp]

I second the nomination for "The Right Stuff." Sam Shepard was way cool as Chuck Yaeger - even if "the whole movie was insipid and lacked credibility."

 

[Timebuilder]

Runup, I think he meant the whole Pearl Harbor movie was insipid, and lacked credibility.