Air Force (movie)
Encyclopedia
Air Force is a 1943 war film
directed by Howard Hawks
. It starred John Garfield
, John Ridgely
, Harry Carey, and Gig Young
as crew members on a B-17 Flying Fortress named the Mary-Ann. An uncredited William Faulkner
wrote the emotional deathbed scene for John Ridgely, the pilot of the bomber. Made in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack, it was one of the first of the patriotic films of World War II
, often characterized as a propaganda
film.
and its crew, fly with the rest of their unarmed squadron from Hamilton Field
, near San Francisco, to Hickam Field at Pearl Harbor
, Territory of Hawaii
. The crew includes a disaffected gunner, Sergeant Winocki (John Garfield), who washed out of flight school at Randolph Field, Texas in 1938 as an aviation cadet after a mid-air collision in which pilot, Flying Cadet Driscoll was killed. Quincannon was the Flight Instructor who requested the board dismiss Winocki. Later, in the Philippines, Major Mallory recalls training Quincannon at Kelly Field, Texas. The navigator and bombadier also washed out of pilot training.
Master Sergeant Robbie White (Harry Carey), the Mary-Anns crew chief is a long-time veteran in the Army Air Corps
, whose son is an officer and pilot. Navigator, Lt. Monk Hauser, Jr. (Charles Drake) is the son of famed World War I
aviation hero of the Lafayette Escadrille
, (Captain) General Monk Hauser, Sr. The pilot, Michael Aloysius "Irish" Quincannon, Sr. (John Ridgely) and co-pilot Bill Williams (Gig Young) complete the crew.
Before the bombers depart Hamilton Field, Quincannon's wife arrives to give him a "good luck" gift, a toy pilot from their infant son, Michael Aloysius Quincannon, Jr. Young Private Chester asks Captain Quincannon to meet his worried mother and tell her it is a standard flight to Hawaii. The Mary-Ann arrives right at the beginning of the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The crew listens to President Franklin D. Roosevelt
give his war declaration to Congress. In the aftermath, the beleaguered crew is taxed to the limit, as they are sent on to first Wake Island
, then Clark Field in the Philippines with little rest. They take along fighter pilot Lt. Thomas "Tex" Rader (James Brown) and small dog from the Marines on Wake named Tripoli who barks when asked about Mr. Moto.
When they arrive in the Philippines, M/Sgt. "Robbie" White receives the news from Quincannon who was told by the base commander, that his son was killed on the first day trying to lead his squadron into the air. Quincannon gives Robbie his son's effects. Soon after, Quincannon volunteers for a solo mission against a Japanese invasion fleet, but the Mary-Ann is attacked by enemy fighters and forced to abort. After the wounded Quincannon orders his men to bail out of the stricken bomber, he blacks out. Winocki checks up on him and manages to guide the bomber in for a belly landing. Having told the dying Quincannon that the Mary-Ann is ready to fly, the crew work feverishly through the night repairing her, as the Japanese close in. They manage to take off just before the airfield is overrun. Private Chester volunteers to fly as a gunner in a two-seat fighter aircraft. When the pilot is killed, Chester bails out of the fighter and is killed in his parachute by a Japanese fighter pilot. Winocki and White in the Mary Ann, shoot down the Japanese aircraft. After the Japanese pilot emerges from his burning aircraft, an angry Winocki kills the pilot for murdering the defenseless Chester.
As the Mary-Ann heads for the safety of Australia, with Tex as a reluctant bomber pilot and a wounded Williams as co-pilot, they spot a powerful Japanese fleet below. The crew radios the information to all nearby airbases and aircraft carriers, then lead the attack when reinforcements arrive. As the B-17 lands in Australia, President Franklin Roosevelt is heard giving a patriotic speech.
, Commanding General of the Army Air Forces
, based on the experiences of a flight of B-17s that left Hamilton Field
, California, on the night of December 6, 1941, and literally flew into the war the next morning at Pearl Harbor. Executive producer Jack Warner was adamant that the film be ready for release by December 7, 1942, the first anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. To that end, miniatures for battle sequences were filmed in May and June 1942, before completion of the script and storyline.
Although pre-production work had already taken place, the official start of the production on May 18, 1942 was tied to the War Department approving the script. Development of the film was concurrent with script-writing by Dudley Nichols, with some characters based on Air Corps personnel Hawks met while traveling to Washington, D.C. to confer with Arnold and the War Department Motion Picture Board of Review. Nichols's script, submitted June 15, was 207 pages in length (twice that of the normal feature-length film), had its initial 55 pages devoted to "character development," and was not finished.
Principal photography consisting of aerial shots and exteriors took place at Drew Army Air Field, Florida
, MacDill Field
, Florida; Randolph Field, Texas; and Santa Monica Bay
, California, the latter for water scenes and miniatures.Shooting began June 18, 1942, using a rented mock-up of a B-17 interior, in which the 10 principal characters performed for a month. The company then moved by train to Drew Army Air Field, Florida, at the end of July, to spend the next month shooting aerial sequences coordinated by Paul Mantz
, chief pilot and aerial technical coordinator for the production. Drew was selected because of fears that use of aircraft marked as Japanese might cause panic on the West Coast
.
At the end of August, Hawks returned to Hollywood and engaged William Faulkner
to rewrite two scenes, including the death of the Mary-Anns pilot. By then, the film, scheduled to be completed by September 17, was three weeks behind schedule and only half completed. Production featured a celebrated clash between producer Hall Wallis and Hawks over the latter's constant changing of dialogue as scenes were shot. Hawks was briefly replaced on October 4 by Vincent Sherman
, but returned from "illness" on October 10 to take back primary direction. Sherman remained as second unit director to assist with completion of the picture, which wrapped on October 26, 1942, failing to shoot 43 pages of script and 33 days over schedule, too late to meet its December 7 release date.
Wallis wrote that AAF Captains Sam P. Triffy and Hewett T. Wheless were technical advisors to the film, and that Triffy in particular made significant contributions to storyline, dialogue and sets. "Shorty" Wheless had previously been a B-17 aircraft commander in the Philippines with the 19th Bomb Group
and had been one of the survivors evacuated to Australia in December 1941. He was at Randolph Field
, Texas, in the process of appearing as himself in the Academy Award-winning short film Beyond the Line of Duty
when he assisted on Air Force.
The actual Mary-Ann was reported "lost in the Pacific" shortly after the production wrapped, according to information attributed to the production's technical advisor, but in actuality none of the early model Fortresses served in combat with the AAF. Another claim, attributed to a newspaper article, was that "the real Mary Ann" went on tour to promote the film, then was assigned first to Hobbs Army Air Field, New Mexico, then to Amarillo Army Air Field, where it was assigned to a ground school. Two B-17B aircraft most likely to have played the part of Mary Ann, army serial numbers 38-584 and 39-10, were reclassified as instructional airframes in late 1943, and scrapped in January 1946.
five months later. Miniature shooting for its battle scenes was filmed in May and June of 1942, concurrent but probably coincidental with Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway
.
Anti-Japanese propaganda in the film included scenes in which the crew is forced to land on Maui
Island and is shot at by "local Japanese," and the assertion by the Hickam Field commander that vegetable trucks knocked off the tails of parked Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter
s as the attack began. As detailed in Walter Lord
's book, Day of Infamy, later investigations proved no Japanese-American was involved in any sabotage during the Pearl Harbor attack.
The film placed third (behind The Ox-Bow Incident
and Watch on the Rhine
) as the best film of 1943 by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
.
When initially released, Air Force was one of the top three films in commercial revenue in 1943.
in the category of Best Film Editing, defeating Casablanca
, For Whom the Bell Tolls
, Five Graves to Cairo
, and The Song of Bernadette
. The film was also nominated for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White and Best Effects, Special Effects and Best Writing, Original Screenplay. Elmer Dyer
, James Wong Howe and Charles Marshall were nominated for an Academy Award in the Cinematography - Black and White division.
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
directed by Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
. It starred John Garfield
John Garfield
John Garfield was an American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He grew up in poverty in Depression-era New York City and in the early 1930s became an important member of the Group Theater. In 1937 he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner...
, John Ridgely
John Ridgely
John Ridgely was an American film character actor with over 100 film credits. He appeared in the 1946 Humphrey Bogart film The Big Sleep as blackmailing gangster Eddie Mars and had a memorable role as a suffering heart patient in the film noir Nora Prentiss .The Chicago, Illinois-born actor...
, Harry Carey, and Gig Young
Gig Young
Gig Young was an American film, stage, and television actor. Known mainly for second leads and supporting roles, Young won an Academy Award for his performance as a dance-marathon emcee in the 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.-Early life and career:Born Byron Elsworth Barr in St...
as crew members on a B-17 Flying Fortress named the Mary-Ann. An uncredited William Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
wrote the emotional deathbed scene for John Ridgely, the pilot of the bomber. Made in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack, it was one of the first of the patriotic films of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, often characterized as a propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
film.
Plot
December 6, 1941, with the United States still at peace, the Mary-Ann, a B-17D bomberBomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
and its crew, fly with the rest of their unarmed squadron from Hamilton Field
Hamilton Air Force Base
Hamilton Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located along the western shore of San Pablo Bay, south of Novato, California.-History:...
, near San Francisco, to Hickam Field at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, Territory of Hawaii
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
. The crew includes a disaffected gunner, Sergeant Winocki (John Garfield), who washed out of flight school at Randolph Field, Texas in 1938 as an aviation cadet after a mid-air collision in which pilot, Flying Cadet Driscoll was killed. Quincannon was the Flight Instructor who requested the board dismiss Winocki. Later, in the Philippines, Major Mallory recalls training Quincannon at Kelly Field, Texas. The navigator and bombadier also washed out of pilot training.
Master Sergeant Robbie White (Harry Carey), the Mary-Anns crew chief is a long-time veteran in the Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
, whose son is an officer and pilot. Navigator, Lt. Monk Hauser, Jr. (Charles Drake) is the son of famed World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
aviation hero of the Lafayette Escadrille
Lafayette Escadrille
The Lafayette Escadrille , was an escadrille of the French Air Service, the Aéronautique militaire, during World War I composed largely of American volunteer pilots flying fighters.-History:Dr. Edmund L...
, (Captain) General Monk Hauser, Sr. The pilot, Michael Aloysius "Irish" Quincannon, Sr. (John Ridgely) and co-pilot Bill Williams (Gig Young) complete the crew.
Before the bombers depart Hamilton Field, Quincannon's wife arrives to give him a "good luck" gift, a toy pilot from their infant son, Michael Aloysius Quincannon, Jr. Young Private Chester asks Captain Quincannon to meet his worried mother and tell her it is a standard flight to Hawaii. The Mary-Ann arrives right at the beginning of the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The crew listens to President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
give his war declaration to Congress. In the aftermath, the beleaguered crew is taxed to the limit, as they are sent on to first Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
, then Clark Field in the Philippines with little rest. They take along fighter pilot Lt. Thomas "Tex" Rader (James Brown) and small dog from the Marines on Wake named Tripoli who barks when asked about Mr. Moto.
When they arrive in the Philippines, M/Sgt. "Robbie" White receives the news from Quincannon who was told by the base commander, that his son was killed on the first day trying to lead his squadron into the air. Quincannon gives Robbie his son's effects. Soon after, Quincannon volunteers for a solo mission against a Japanese invasion fleet, but the Mary-Ann is attacked by enemy fighters and forced to abort. After the wounded Quincannon orders his men to bail out of the stricken bomber, he blacks out. Winocki checks up on him and manages to guide the bomber in for a belly landing. Having told the dying Quincannon that the Mary-Ann is ready to fly, the crew work feverishly through the night repairing her, as the Japanese close in. They manage to take off just before the airfield is overrun. Private Chester volunteers to fly as a gunner in a two-seat fighter aircraft. When the pilot is killed, Chester bails out of the fighter and is killed in his parachute by a Japanese fighter pilot. Winocki and White in the Mary Ann, shoot down the Japanese aircraft. After the Japanese pilot emerges from his burning aircraft, an angry Winocki kills the pilot for murdering the defenseless Chester.
As the Mary-Ann heads for the safety of Australia, with Tex as a reluctant bomber pilot and a wounded Williams as co-pilot, they spot a powerful Japanese fleet below. The crew radios the information to all nearby airbases and aircraft carriers, then lead the attack when reinforcements arrive. As the B-17 lands in Australia, President Franklin Roosevelt is heard giving a patriotic speech.
Cast
As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| John Ridgely John Ridgely John Ridgely was an American film character actor with over 100 film credits. He appeared in the 1946 Humphrey Bogart film The Big Sleep as blackmailing gangster Eddie Mars and had a memorable role as a suffering heart patient in the film noir Nora Prentiss .The Chicago, Illinois-born actor... |
Captain Michael Aloysius "Irish" Quincannon, Sr., Pilot |
| Gig Young Gig Young Gig Young was an American film, stage, and television actor. Known mainly for second leads and supporting roles, Young won an Academy Award for his performance as a dance-marathon emcee in the 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.-Early life and career:Born Byron Elsworth Barr in St... |
Lt. William Williams, Co-Pilot |
| Arthur Kennedy Arthur Kennedy (actor) Arthur Kennedy was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage" especially in the original casts of Arthur Miller plays on Broadway.- Early life and education :Kennedy was born John... |
Lt. Thomas C. McMartin, Bombardier |
| Charles Drake Charles Drake Charles Drake was an American actor.-Biography:Drake was born as Charles Ruppert in New York City. He graduated from Nichols College and became a salesman. In 1939, he turned to acting and signed a contract with Warner Brothers. He wasn't immediately successful... |
Lt. Monk Hauser, Jr., Navigator |
| Harry Carey | Master Sergeant Robert "Robbie" White, Crew Chief |
| George Tobias George Tobias George Tobias was an American character actor.-Early life and career:Born to a Jewish family in New York, he began his acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. He then spent several years in theater groups before moving on to Broadway and, eventually, Hollywood... |
Corporal Weinberg, Assistant Crew Chief |
| Ward Wood | Corporal "Minnesota" Peterson, Radio Operator |
| Ray Montgomery | Private Chester, Assistant Radio Operator |
| John Garfield John Garfield John Garfield was an American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He grew up in poverty in Depression-era New York City and in the early 1930s became an important member of the Group Theater. In 1937 he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner... |
Sergeant Joe Winocki, Aerial Gunner |
| James Brown | Lt. Thomas "Tex" Rader, Pursuit Pilot - (Passenger) |
| Stanley Ridges Stanley Ridges Stanley Ridges was a British-born actor who made his mark in films by playing a wide assortment of character parts... |
Major Mallory - Clark Field |
| Willard Robertson Willard Robertson Willard Robertson was an American actor. He appeared in 146 films between 1924 and 1948. He was born in Runnels, Texas and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:*Graft *Shanghaied Love... |
Colonel at Hickam Field |
| Moroni Olsen Moroni Olsen Moroni Olsen was an American actor.-Biography:Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah to Mormon parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Marsha Hoverholst who named him after the Moroni found in the Book of Mormon. Some sources have claimed that Olsen's birth name was John Willard Clawson, or even John Willard... |
Colonel Blake - Commanding Officer at Manila |
| Edward Brophy Edward Brophy Edward S. Brophy was an American character actor, voice artist, and comedian. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he was known for portraying gangsters, both serious and comic.-Career:... (as Edward S. Brody) |
Sergeant J.J. Callahan, USMC |
| Richard Lane Dick Lane (TV announcer) Richard Lane , more commonly known as Dick Lane, was an American television announcer and actor who made his mark broadcasting wrestling and roller derby shows on KTLA-TV, mainly from the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.-Early years:Lane was born in 1899 in Rice Lake, Wisconsin... |
Major W.G. Roberts |
| Bill Crago | Pilot P.T. Moran at Manila |
| Faye Emerson Faye Emerson Faye Margaret Emerson was an American film actress and television interviewer, known as "The First Lady of Television". She acted in many Warner Brothers films beginning in 1941... |
Susan McMartin - Tommy's Sister |
| Addison Richards Addison Richards Addison Richards was an American film actor. He appeared in over 300 films between 1933 and 1964. He died from a heart attack... |
Major Daniels |
| James Flavin James Flavin James William Flavin, Jr. was an American character actor whose career lasted nearly half a century.-Life and career:... |
Major A.M. Bagley |
Production
Director Howard Hawks credited the concept of the film to Lt. Gen. Henry H. ArnoldHenry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
, Commanding General of the Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
, based on the experiences of a flight of B-17s that left Hamilton Field
Hamilton Air Force Base
Hamilton Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located along the western shore of San Pablo Bay, south of Novato, California.-History:...
, California, on the night of December 6, 1941, and literally flew into the war the next morning at Pearl Harbor. Executive producer Jack Warner was adamant that the film be ready for release by December 7, 1942, the first anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. To that end, miniatures for battle sequences were filmed in May and June 1942, before completion of the script and storyline.
Although pre-production work had already taken place, the official start of the production on May 18, 1942 was tied to the War Department approving the script. Development of the film was concurrent with script-writing by Dudley Nichols, with some characters based on Air Corps personnel Hawks met while traveling to Washington, D.C. to confer with Arnold and the War Department Motion Picture Board of Review. Nichols's script, submitted June 15, was 207 pages in length (twice that of the normal feature-length film), had its initial 55 pages devoted to "character development," and was not finished.
Principal photography consisting of aerial shots and exteriors took place at Drew Army Air Field, Florida
Tampa International Airport
Tampa International Airport is a major public airport located six nautical miles west of the central business district of Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. This airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority...
, MacDill Field
MacDill Air Force Base
MacDill Air Force Base is an active United States Air Force base located approximately south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida...
, Florida; Randolph Field, Texas; and Santa Monica Bay
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
, California, the latter for water scenes and miniatures.Shooting began June 18, 1942, using a rented mock-up of a B-17 interior, in which the 10 principal characters performed for a month. The company then moved by train to Drew Army Air Field, Florida, at the end of July, to spend the next month shooting aerial sequences coordinated by Paul Mantz
Paul Mantz
Albert Paul Mantz was a noted air racing pilot, movie stunt pilot and consultant from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1960s. He gained fame on two stages: Hollywood and in air races.-Early years:...
, chief pilot and aerial technical coordinator for the production. Drew was selected because of fears that use of aircraft marked as Japanese might cause panic on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
.
At the end of August, Hawks returned to Hollywood and engaged William Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
to rewrite two scenes, including the death of the Mary-Anns pilot. By then, the film, scheduled to be completed by September 17, was three weeks behind schedule and only half completed. Production featured a celebrated clash between producer Hall Wallis and Hawks over the latter's constant changing of dialogue as scenes were shot. Hawks was briefly replaced on October 4 by Vincent Sherman
Vincent Sherman
Vincent Sherman was an American director, and actor, who worked in Hollywood. His movies include Mr. Skeffington , Nora Prentiss , and The Young Philadelphians ....
, but returned from "illness" on October 10 to take back primary direction. Sherman remained as second unit director to assist with completion of the picture, which wrapped on October 26, 1942, failing to shoot 43 pages of script and 33 days over schedule, too late to meet its December 7 release date.
Wallis wrote that AAF Captains Sam P. Triffy and Hewett T. Wheless were technical advisors to the film, and that Triffy in particular made significant contributions to storyline, dialogue and sets. "Shorty" Wheless had previously been a B-17 aircraft commander in the Philippines with the 19th Bomb Group
19th Operations Group
The 19th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 19th Airlift Wing, stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas....
and had been one of the survivors evacuated to Australia in December 1941. He was at Randolph Field
Randolph Air Force Base
Randolph Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located east-northeast of San Antonio, Texas. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 902d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command ....
, Texas, in the process of appearing as himself in the Academy Award-winning short film Beyond the Line of Duty
Beyond the Line of Duty
Beyond the Line of Duty is a 1942 short drama film directed by Lewis Seiler. It won an Academy Award at the 15th Academy Awards in 1943 for Best Short Subject .-Cast:* Hewitt T. Wheless - Himself...
when he assisted on Air Force.
Aircraft
The US Army Air Forces provided the aircraft that appear in the film:- Ten Boeing B-17B/C/D Flying Fortresses from Hendricks FieldSebring Regional AirportSebring Regional Airport is a general aviation airport located southeast of Sebring, in Highlands County, Florida. A portion of the old runway system is now Sebring International Raceway, home to the 12 Hours of Sebring, an American Le Mans series race, which has been held annually since 1952...
at Sebring, FloridaSebring, FloridaSebring is a city in Highlands County, Florida, United States, nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring Downtown Historic District...
, the majority of which had been B-17Bs upgraded to B-17C standards, as was the "star" of the film. The serial number 05564 is shown on the film credits for the Mary Ann. - North American AT-6 Texans and Republic P-43 Lancers painted as Japanese fighters, and Bell P-39 Airacobras and Curtiss P-40 WarhawkCs from Drew Field.
- Six Martin B-26C Marauders from MacDill Field, painted as Japanese bombers.
The actual Mary-Ann was reported "lost in the Pacific" shortly after the production wrapped, according to information attributed to the production's technical advisor, but in actuality none of the early model Fortresses served in combat with the AAF. Another claim, attributed to a newspaper article, was that "the real Mary Ann" went on tour to promote the film, then was assigned first to Hobbs Army Air Field, New Mexico, then to Amarillo Army Air Field, where it was assigned to a ground school. Two B-17B aircraft most likely to have played the part of Mary Ann, army serial numbers 38-584 and 39-10, were reclassified as instructional airframes in late 1943, and scrapped in January 1946.
Historical accuracy
The basic premise of the film, that a flight of B-17s flying to reinforce the defense of the Philippines flies into the attack on Pearl Harbor, reflects actual events. From that point on, however, all of the incidents are fictitious. No B-17 reinforcements reached the Philippines, the survivors of those already based there retreated to Australia less than two weeks after the war began, and the major mission depicted at the film's climax most closely resembles the Battle of the Coral SeaBattle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...
five months later. Miniature shooting for its battle scenes was filmed in May and June of 1942, concurrent but probably coincidental with Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
.
Anti-Japanese propaganda in the film included scenes in which the crew is forced to land on Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
Island and is shot at by "local Japanese," and the assertion by the Hickam Field commander that vegetable trucks knocked off the tails of parked Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
s as the attack began. As detailed in Walter Lord
Walter Lord
John Walter Lord, Jr. , was an American author, best known for his documentary-style non-fiction account A Night to Remember, about the sinking of the RMS Titanic.-Early life:...
's book, Day of Infamy, later investigations proved no Japanese-American was involved in any sabotage during the Pearl Harbor attack.
Reception
Critical acclaim followed the film's premiere as it echoed some of the emotional issues that underlied the American public psyche at the time including fears of Japanese Americans. Reviewers commented that this was a prime example of Howard Hawk's abilities; "Air Force is a model of fresh, energetic, studio-era filmmaking." In naming it one of the "Ten Best Films of 1943," Bosley Crowther of the The New York Times characterized the film as "...continuously fascinating, frequently thrilling and occasionally exalting..." When seen in a modern perspective, the emotional aspects of the film seem out-of-proportion and although it has been wrongly dismissed as a piece of wartime propaganda, it still represents a classic war film that can be considered a historical document.The film placed third (behind The Ox-Bow Incident
The Ox-Bow Incident
The Ox-Bow Incident is a 1943 American western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan and Jane Darwell...
and Watch on the Rhine
Watch on the Rhine
Watch on the Rhine is a 1943 American drama film directed by Herman Shumlin. The screenplay by Dashiell Hammett is based on the 1941 play of the same title by Lillian Hellman.-Plot:...
) as the best film of 1943 by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr.'s revocation of moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve 1908. The mayor believed that the new medium...
.
When initially released, Air Force was one of the top three films in commercial revenue in 1943.
Awards
Air Force editor George Amy won an Oscar in the 1944 Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
in the category of Best Film Editing, defeating Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
, For Whom the Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls (film)
For Whom the Bell Tolls is a 1943 film in Technicolor based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. It stars Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff and Katina Paxinou. This was Ingrid Bergman's first technicolor film. Hemingway handpicked Cooper and Bergman for their roles. The film...
, Five Graves to Cairo
Five Graves to Cairo
Five Graves to Cairo is a 1943 World War II film by Billy Wilder, starring Franchot Tone and Anne Baxter. It is one of a number of films based on Lajos Biró's play Színmü négy felvonásban, including Hotel Imperial .-Plot:...
, and The Song of Bernadette
The Song of Bernadette (film)
The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 drama film which tells the story of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who, from February to July 1858 in Lourdes, France, reported 18 visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was directed by Henry King....
. The film was also nominated for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White and Best Effects, Special Effects and Best Writing, Original Screenplay. Elmer Dyer
Elmer Dyer
Elmer Dyer, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer, the first film cameraman to specialize in aerial photography.Dyer was born in Lawrence, Kansas and died in Hollywood.-External links:...
, James Wong Howe and Charles Marshall were nominated for an Academy Award in the Cinematography - Black and White division.