Air Force

[Hondo]

Has any one seen this film, director by Howard Hawks? Its about the B-17 bomber the Mary Ann, I may have seen this years ago, but can't recall. I check amazon.com and all they have is VHS
Whats the hang up with DVD? It sounds like a great movie, whats your take?

 

[Hondo]

James L.

Here's one from James L.

The legendary Howard Hawks directed this WWII classic about the Mary Ann, a B-17 bomber lead by Captain John Ridgely and featuring crew members Gig Young, Harey Carey, Arthur Kennedy, Charles Drake, George Tobias, Ray Montgomery, and John Garfield. On a routine mission to Hawaii, the crew arrives just hours after the Pearl Harbor attack and find themselves thrust into war. Other stops include Wake Island and the Philippines. Of course, one of the purposes of this film was to rally the American spirit, and it features some of the anti-Japanese dialogue you'd have to expect. But the film succeeds beyond the propaganda value. The action sequences are well filmed and exciting, with terrific aerial action and some good ground sequences, too. The camraderie amongst the crew is credible. Each member has his own small "back story" as you would expect, but these fine character actors make it all very believable (Harry Carey is a particular standout). This film is a true WWII classic.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

It's on TCM this very moment.

 

[Hondo]

TCM

Yup! which is why I made the post, B-17 movies always catch me, but I couldn't break away from the office, hope TCM repeats this, this film shows a very early B-17 before they added tail gunners, sides and waist gunner.

 

[Mojave Jack]

I thought that was a great movie. It really captured the feeling of unpreparedness at the outset of the war, but the sort of unflagging American spirit at the same time. Highly recommended!