MovieChat Forums > Strategic Air Command (1955) Discussion > Jimmy Stewart's dullest film

Jimmy Stewart's dullest film

posted 20 years ago by bkoganbing
20 replies | jump to latest

Even the best of actors have a clinker or two within them and this was one that
Jimmy Stewart had to get out of his system. Everyone knows about Stewart's
service in the Army Air Corps in World War II and how he became a Brigadier
General in the Air Force Reserve. Flying may have been his second greatest love next to acting and that was the problem with this film.

The whole approach to telling the story of Strategic Air Command was too reverential. The film had no action in it at all, the best sequence was Stewart and his crew being rescued after a forced landing in the frozen north is
glossed over. John Wayne made a very good film on just that plot line in Island
in the Sky the year before Strategic Air Command came out. Anthony Mann and
Stewart should have shelved the rest of the picture and concentrated on that.

Stewart plays a baseball player who looks in his 30s and probably didn't have
that many good seasons left in him when he volunteers to be recalled to the Air
Force for the newly formed Strategic Air Command. Jimmy was 46, playing a character 10 years younger and I just didn't believe he was making all that much of a sacrifice, career wise. And the point of the film was the sacrifice
the men (no women at the time) of SAC were making.

I'm sure that the duty at SAC was tedious and boring for the most part, airmen
having to be constantly on the alert for attack. But tedious and boring doesn't
usually translate well, (Mister Roberts excepted) to the screen.

Maybe the film was too realistic at that.

[–] paulmarkj 19 years ago

Agreed.

The only positive comments I have found about this film is from people who either like planes or have some interest in SAC.

That's fine, but it doesn't make for a good film. I'm sure I'll get comments from people saying "don't you know how brave these people were", but that's not the point. A dull film us a dull film. No plot, no good acting.

[–] lmtrkt-1 18 years ago

I fear you missed some great one-liners and clever 'rat-a-tat' dialogue.
The conversation between Stewart and Allison about how the daughter was named is very cute!
The comment about, "she's a battleship! Oh, what am I saying?" is related to the congressional bickering between the Navy and the Air Force about funding at the time. The Navy wanted the B-36 funding to be applied to new battleships.
How 'bout, "I see. No orangutan's allowed."
Also;
"Any kids?"
"Yep! One on the ramp, one in the hanger!"
"Doesn't the general know the airplane could explode?"
"It wouldn't dare!"
The combative chat between Allison and Lovejoy at the ball park.
I have a great memory of the first time I saw a B-36 close up.
My dad was stationed at Hickam Field and being a master sergent in the 50's and having been station at Ol' Hick for a total of 12 years, well I was convienced that my dad could go anywhere and do anything on that base.
One day a few weeks after he and I saw the film, a trio of Peacemakers made a stop over at Hickam on their way to Okinawa. Dad came to the house that afternoon for lunch and told me he was going to take me to the field to see "something special".
The planes were parked wingtip to wingtip at a remote tarmac and dad was driving us in a aircraft tug to see them "up close". I'll never forget as we chugged along and closed the gap how the bright aluminum sparkled as they sat there; hulked like a prehistoric flying caravore.
Suddenly...end of adventure!
A fleet of air police trucks intercepted us and a dozen or so armed AP's stopped us dead cold about 50 yards from the nearest plane.
A captain walked over to my dad and asked just where we thought we where going.
"Gonna show my son these airplanes?" was his lump in the throat reply.
"No you're not." answered the officer.
"Turn it around, now!"
I sat there, mouth agape, as my bulging, unbelieving eyes flashed in rapid sucession to those guns, that captain, my dad and those magnificant airplanes.
We turned around.
One of my prized possessions to this very day is an immaculate B-36 ashtray identical to the one's sitting on Stewart and Barry Sullivan's desks.
Rest in peace, dad...and thanks for the ashtray, that day and many others at the Ol Hick!!
Larry Templeton

[–] bkoganbing 18 years ago

I'm in complete agreement about the contribution the
Stratgegic Air Command and the men who served in it made to our
national defense.

The problem is that it is a film about men on 24 hour alert so they sit around
and wait. Doesn't make for good dramatic content.

Jimmy Stewart obviously put his heart and soul into this film because of his
background. The best part of the film was when they were forced down in the
Arctic. Should have definitely expanded on that part of the film.

Could have been another Island in the Sky.

Bureaucrats need love

[–] sggar00 17 years ago

This movie and "Bombers B-52" were not designed to be extremely entertaining. They were actually designed to show off the new USAF Bombers and show the interaction of the crew and maintainers and their dedication to doing alerts as it related to their lives. Probably a better movie would be the 1963 "A Gathering of Eagles" about the job of a new commander taking over a base and getting it shipshape for the old fashioned IGs (when they would just drop in on you out of no where, not like today where you know they are coming months/years in advance).

SAC was a tough command. BG Stewart didn't want this to be a "star" vehicle for his acting talents - he wanted people to understand the sacrifices made daily to maintain alert status. So an average story line backdropped the real star of the movie - the aircraft.

Pure USAF movies are hard without a war theme going on. Trust me alerts are boring.

May seem silly in this era; but at the time these were rather huge movies for the public to see because of the very strict secretive nature of SAC.

[–] dust-7 17 years ago

"The problem is that it is a film about men on 24 hour alert so they sit around
and wait. Doesn't make for good dramatic content."

Well, but you're surely not arguing that it's a bad film because there's no stop-motion wire-foo or car crashes, and lots of loud guns, are you? There is the rescue scene. I don't see that they needed to make the entire film about that incident. There was a much broader scope to it.

In the Great Escape, they tunnel, and sit, and talk, until the escape. In Julius Caesar, they talk and scheme, then kill Caesar, but then talk after they are defeated and then suicide. In Top Gun, itself, they slow the pace for the forced romantic liason, which apparently killed Kelly McGillis career.

And the planes and interiors are still interesting. How they hung that many engines a that big a wing on that plane, amazing.

[–] HypnocraticGoat 15 years ago

I have no problem with that. I'm an airplane fan and I love this film. For me it wasn't dull at all.

Perhaps you or the OP prefer action films? Maybe not. Either way, my point is that for me I often find action films incredibly dull. Fight scenes all look the same and my eyes glaze over. The stunts are rarely believable. It's all just a matter of taste.

It's not a dull film OR an exciting film. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

----- Made you look! -----

[–] RickSkyboy 16 years ago

"Strategic Air Command" was as much recruiting tool as film for the masses. See it in that light, and you might have a different view about it.

And a film about Jimmy's tour in B-24's might be TOO exciting. There is always a fine line.

The Price of Freedom is Eternal Vigilance

[–] Signet 15 years ago

You are correct in all regards: it may have been realistic but it is also bone-achingly dull. A film about people preparing for a non-war doesn't have much going for it.

[–] jglapin 14 years ago

The real star of this movie is the Convair B-36. I could watch this movie with the sound off and just enjoy the footage of flight in that old bird.

[–] zumbinis-1 14 years ago

This movie is not boring!! I have watched it many times on TV, VHS, and DVD. Love the story, the actors, the planes, the music.

I also loved the progression in hardware from S.A.C. to Bombers B-52 to Gathering of Eagles. Wish the latter two were on DVD.

The Stewart movie that seemed dull to me was the one about Lindbergh's solo Atlantic crossing. Haven't seen it again in 35 years.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] FANatic-10 10 years ago

I have to concur that this film is primarily of interest to aviation and military buffs. It is interesting to a degree for its depiction of the Strategic Air Command's mission and promotion thereof, with all the 1950's atmosphere. I enjoyed some of the flying scenes, but for me it needed a more compelling story to hang everything else on, and it just wasn't there. Plus, I am not a fan of June Allyson, but I thought she was pretty good in "The Glenn Miller Story". Here, however, she's pretty much of a drag.

[–] Lincbond442 10 years ago

I must admit, I probably would never have seen or liked this film if I wasn't such a post-war aviation nut. I first saw it 20 years ago mainly to see the B-36 in action. This film has really grown on me over those last 20 years. As one of the early posters on this thread commented almost 8 years ago, there is some great dialog in this film. Everything from "No orangutans allowed" to "Don't tell me your little problems son, I'm only interested in results" are very memorable and give the film some much needed mild humor considering the lack of overall action. Another great line is "I'll trade you that block of cement for this picket fence I'm sitting on" during the non-stop B-47 flight to Japan. If you can get past the drama on the ground with June Allison, it is a pretty enjoyable film to watch every once in a while.

"Don't worry Dutch, Espy's going to tell her."

[–] thunderbird56 10 years ago

Lincbond442 is right. While James Stewart, Frank Lovejoy, and Harry Morgan do a convincing effort, the real "stars" of the film are the aircraft themselves. The thrill of seeing and hearing the mammoth ten-engine Convair B-36 Peacemaker taxi, take off, and fly is the real highlight of this now 59 year old movie. Boeing's first jet bomber, the B-47 Stratojet makes a grand appearance during the second half of the film. These sequences are anything but dull.

June Allison's character is little more than grating, and in my opinion, would constitute any dullness portrayed in this movie.

"I'm an old B-29 pilot. I don't know the first thing about a B-36."

[–] jaystarstar 10 years ago

Many of the flying scenes consisted mainly of Stewart sitting in the pilot's seat.

Unless they were going to have the massive bombers do dive runs and aerobatics, there was probably a limit to how much 'action' they could write in.

================

4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.

[–] eelb 9 years ago

In 1955, the aircraft depicted in the film were cutting edge technology, that most of the public had only seen still photos of. Jet airliners were still several years away.

The airplanes are the true stars of the movie, and in 1955, provided more than enough interest and entertainment for the viewing audience.

Basing the plot around the Greenland crash landing, would've made for a boring film. Similar to Stewart's Flight of the Phoenix, a decade later.

[–] karnevilelp 9 years ago

I was born on an Air Force base (Travis) and lived on them until I was 15. I grew up around planes and knew all about them due to my flight engineer Dad. And.....this is really two movies that don't fit together. One is plane porn and "I too, Mrs. Holland, didn't have a choice" military stuff and the other is a rather stilted, predictable domestic drama. I also found the music to be really annoying, over-the-top and mixed way too loud. 5.5/10

[–] TexasGreek 8 years ago

You must not have seen "Pot o' Gold" or "Magic Town"

[–] CincyDude 8 years ago

Until seeing this film, I hadn't realized what a poor actor James Stewart was. The crappy script certainly didn't help, but his wooden, awe-shucks, misfiring, so-called acting was of his own doing.
Only some cool airplane shots saved this movie from being complete garbage.

[–] rockmail 8 years ago

That's not saying much, Stewart was a pretty dull actor in general. Tough to select his actual dullest outing