Movies - Strategic Air Command

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	Movies - Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command was a movie released in 1955 starring Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson. The film was directed by Anthony Mann.

Cast

Jimmy Stewart as Lt. Col. Robert 'Dutch' Holland
June Allyson
as Sally Holland
Frank Lovejoy
as Gen. Ennis C. Hawkes (character based on Curtis LeMay)
Harry Morgan
as Sgt. Bible (flight engineer) (as Henry Morgan)

Jimmy Stewart plays an Air Force Reserve officer recalled to active duty to fly Convair B-36 and B-47 Stratojet nuclear bombers for the Strategic Air Command. The movie accurately portrays (though more realistically from a 1951 perspective than 1955) the duties and responsibilities of service in the Air Force, and its strains on family life. The movie features some of the most dramatic aerial photography ever filmed. A soaring musical score by Victor Young adds to the stellar in-flight sequences.

Stewart plays the part of a professional baseball player recalled to active duty. His on-duty injuries not only bar him from further flying, but also appear to end his baseball career, as he leaves the Air Force at the end of the film. Stewart had, in fact, been a World War II instructor pilot in B-17's and B-24's and later a heavy bomber pilot who, as a squadron commander and group operations officer, had flown twenty combat missions. Stewart at the time the movie was filmed was himself a colonel in the Air Force Reserve (and later was promoted to Brigadier General). The character Stewart plays is not too far from a life he could have chosen. The Paramount Pictures film is the only major motion picture to highlight a Convair B-36, which was eventually replaced in the mid 50's by the B-52 Stratofortress.

The film, made in cooperation with the United States Air Force, expresses a strong opinion that strong and confident nuclear deterrence is the only way to ensure peace as well as the tactical superiority of strategic bombing. This is in stark contrast to Dr. Strangelove.

Some more recent critics of the film have viewed a seemingly negative point in that "Strategic Air Command" seriously downplays the role of women and minorities in the military. Throughout the movie, the only women seen are housewives and no non-whites are depicted in military uniform. This is not surprising, given the era in which the film was made, but does fail to recognize that the Air Force was by 1955 fully integrated and that Women in the Air Force (WAFs) had been established as part of the Regular Air Force since 1948.

The film boosted Air Force recruiting by 25 percent after its release. When viewed with a post World War Two attitude, the film's appeal lies in its optimistic portrayal of the dedicated personnel of the early Strategic Air Command.

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Movies - Strategic Air Command

Cast

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