05 May Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command, post-WWII movie starring James Stewart
(1955) The Strategic Air Command was established by the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1946 as a major command devoted to strategic, long-range air combat operations. It was inactivated in 1992, its operations absorbed into other parts of the Air Force.
Even though the story in this film takes place after WWII, it is about a former pilot, played by James Stewart, who is recalled to active duty. Incidentally, James Stewart really was a WWII pilot.
His bride, played by June Allyson, is patient for just so long as his secret trips take him farther and farther from home.
What made this movie especially significant is that it was co-written by Beirne Lay, Jr. who also co-wrote the novel Twelve O’Clock High. In fact, Lay was nominated for a 1955 Academy Award for Best Motion Picture Story.
The real stars of the movie are the spectacular airplanes … the B-36 and the Boeing B-47. It was amazing how much larger and more complex they were than the Boeing I know best, the B-17. My favorite wartime NYT reviewer Bosley Crowther said, “NEVER, in many years of looking at Air Force and aviation films, have we seen the wide blue yonder so wide or so magnificently displayed …”
Strategic Air Command instant video at amazon.com
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