.gif)
Command Decision (film)
Encyclopedia
Command Decision is a 1948 war film
starring Clark Gable
, Walter Pidgeon
, Van Johnson
and Brian Donlevy
and directed by Sam Wood
, based on a stage play of the same name
written by William Wister Haines
, which he based on his best-selling novel. The screenplay for the film was written by George Froeschel
and William Laidlaw
. Haines' play ran on Broadway for almost a year beginning in October 1947.
Although portraying the strategic bombing
of Nazi Germany
in World War II
, the film has virtually no action scenes, taking place almost entirely within the confines of the headquarters of its protagonist. Depicting the political infighting of conducting a major war effort, the film's major theme is the emotional toll on commanders from ordering missions that result in high casualties, the effects of sustained combat on all concerned, and the nature of accountability for its consequences.
in 1943, war correspondent
s Elmer "Brockie" Brockhurst (Charles Bickford
) and James Carwood (John Ridgely
) of United News attend the daily briefing on bombing missions. While the RAF
representative announces light losses, the PRO
of the Eighth Air Force
causes grumbling when his report reveals a record 48 bombers shot down bombing an undisclosed industrial target. Carwood questions whether any target could be worth such losses, but Brockhurst retorts that the U.S. 5th Bomb Division commander, Brig. Gen. "Casey" Dennis, loves the war. Brockhurst travels to the base of the 32nd Bomb Group, where Dennis has his headquarters, and observes B-17s taking off on another major strike. He tries to milk information about the arrest of a decorated (and highly publicized) pilot, Captain Jenks, from T/Sgt. Evans (Van Johnson
), an assistant in Dennis's office, but Evans cordially rebuffs him.
Dennis (Clark Gable
) has an unexpected public relations crisis on his hands as his superior, Maj. Gen. Kane (Walter Pidgeon
), visits at the same time, bringing Brig. Gen. Clifton Garnet (Brian Donlevy
) with him. Garnet, West Point
classmate of Dennis and brother-in-law to 32nd commander Col. Ted Martin (John Hodiak
), has stirred speculation that he has been sent by the Pentagon
to replace either Kane or Dennis in command. Kane's headquarters also reports that a visiting congressional committee
is due, while Garnet pleads for low loss missions because a Global Allocation conference at the Pentagon in three days might curtail more bombers.
Dennis and Brockhurst, old antagonists in conflicts between the military and the press
, clash again. Kane tries to ameliorate, but when Dennis identifies the targets as Posenleben and Schweinhafen, Kanes realizes Dennis has begun Operation Stitch in Kane's absence. The return of the day's mission interrupts. Losses are more severe than even the day before and Brockhurst cautions against a cover-up
. Although the 32nd has been decimated, Martin has returned, bearing the bad news that his group attacked the wrong target. As Dennis's closest friend, Martin urges him to keep quiet because the two cities are indistinguishable. When Dennis instead reveals to Kane that the target struck was a torpedo
factory, both Kane and Garnet see an opportunity to promote the mistake as cooperation with the U.S. Navy. Brockhurst learns about the mistake. To gain his cooperation, Kane decides to trust him with the top secret information that Operation Stitch seeks to destroy factories building a German jet fighter
before it can go into service and crush American strategic bombing
. A third city, Fendelhorst, must also be attacked, and Dennis's is the only bomb division able to reach these targets beyond the range of escorting U.S. fighters. A rare stretch of clear weather, about to end, presents an opportunity to complete the operation before the Luftwaffe
can mount an impenetrable defense.
Kane denies permission to attack Schweinhafen again but Dennis blackmail
s him by threatening to prefer charges against Capt. Jenks, whose uncle is Congressman Malcolm (Edward Arnold
) of the visiting Military Affairs Committee. Kane gives permission to continue Stitch while Dennis agrees to award Jenks (who refused to fly the mission to Schweinhafen) a medal during Malcolm's visit. While Kane wines and dines the Committee, Garnet offers Martin the job of chief of staff (and a promotion) in the B-29
command in the Pacific that Garnet believes he is in line for, unbeknownst to Dennis. The next day the Committee is impressed by the takeoff of the mission, led by Martin, but back in headquarters, Malcolm bitterly accuses Dennis of recklessly causing heavy losses. As tensions rise, Evans uses political savvy to ease the situation. Martin sends the signal that Schweinhafen has been destroyed, but during the ceremony to decorate Jenks, Dennis is brought a message that Martin's B-17 (and the crew of Capt. Jenks) is shot down. Malcolm renews his tirade against Dennis. Jenks unexpectedly tells his uncle to shut up and refuses his medal. Dennis, emotionally shaken by Martin's death, is relieved of command and replaced by Garnet. While Garnet queries his staff about ordering an easy mission for the next day, he comes to the realization that Dennis hated every minute of his duties. Garnet makes the command decision to attack Fendelhorst while the weather permits. Dennis looks forward to a training command in the United States, where he can be near his family, but a message from the Pentagon orders him to the Pacific and the new B-29 command. Brockhurst, their differences ended by all he has observed, wishes Dennis well as he boards his airplane.
during World War II shortly after the death of his wife Carole Lombard
in a plane crash. He was promoted from lieutenant to major and flew five combat bombing missions from England, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross
and the Air Medal
. Cameron Mitchell, who plays bombardier
Lt. Goldberg, was also a bombardier during the war.
On the basis of his stage performance as Technical Sergeant Evans in the Broadway production of Command Decision
, James Whitmore
was contracted to MGM, although Van Johnson played the role in the film. Whitmore would make his mark in another MGM World War II film released just a year later, Battleground, which also featured Johnson.
Barry Nelson
provided the uncredited radio voice ("Cumquat B-Boy") of B-17 pilot bringing in his airplane after a raid with wounded aboard.
MGM to bought the rights to William Wister Haines
' 1947 novel Command Decision at the behest of Clark Gable, who saw in it a starring role for himself. MGM paid a $100,000 down payment, which would escalate to $300,000 if the novel was staged as a play by October 1947. In the event, the play opened on Broadway on October 1 of that year.
Before filming began, Robert Taylor
and Tom Drake
had been expected to play roles in the film. Command Decision was in production from 13 April to 23 June 1948. A single location shot was included in the final print, in which Dennis sees Martin off on the fatal mission. Filmed in proximity to two privately-owned B-17s, the scene was shot at San Fernando Valley Airport
.
The premiere took place in Los Angeles on 25 December 1948, and the film went into general release in February 1949. The premiere in Washington D.C., which took place sometime in February,
was attended by Vice President Alben W. Barkley
, Secretary of State Dean Acheson
, the Air Force
Chief of Staff
General
Hoyt S. Vandenberg and other dignitaries.
The film uses extensive cuts of archived footage shot during the war, but all of it is of the many varied aspects of mission preparation, takeoffs, and landings. Except for the sequence under the opening credits, of bomber formations leaving voluminous contrail
s and then dropping bombs, no combat footage is used in the movie. Only two exteriors were used, of Brockhurst driving up to the main gate of the base in a jeep, and of Martin saying farewell to Dennis at his bomber's dispersal hardstand, totalling little more than a minute of film. The film's only action scene involves closeups of Dennis "talking down" a plane piloted by a bombardier.
Director Sam Wood acknowledged the limitations of filming a stage play, shooting all scenes from a "relentlessly ground level", and used master shot
s and single-camera group shots that allowed the actors to use the choreography of the theatrical play to establish dramatic and moral relationships.
The film did not receive any awards, but writers William Laidlaw
and George Froeschel
were nominated for two Writers Guild Awards, for "Best Written American Drama" and the Robert Meltzer Award for the "Screenplay Dealing Most Ably with Problems of the American Scene".
On March 3, 1949, Clark Gable, Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon, Brian Donlevy, John Hodiak, Edward Arnold, and Richard Quine reprised their film roles in a 30-minute radio version of Command Decision for the NBC
radio network program Screen Guild Theater, the first pre-recorded commercial show to be broadcast over the network from Hollywood.
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...
starring Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, Walter Pidgeon
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
, Van Johnson
Van Johnson
Van Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
and Brian Donlevy
Brian Donlevy
Brian Donlevy was an Irish-born American film actor, noted for playing tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best known films are Beau Geste and The Great McGinty...
and directed by Sam Wood
Sam Wood
Samuel Grosvenor "Sam" Wood was an American film director, and producer, who was best known for directing such Hollywood hits as A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, and The Pride of the Yankees...
, based on a stage play of the same name
Command Decision (play)
Command Decision was a 1948 play in three acts written by William Wister Haines, and formed the basis for his best-selling novel of the same title. Produced by Kermit Bloomgarden and directed by John O'Shaughnessy, it ran for 409 performances from October 1, 1947 to September 18, 1948 at the Fulton...
written by William Wister Haines
William Wister Haines
William Wister Haines was an American author, screenwriter, and playwright. His most notable work, Command Decision, was published as a novel, play, and screenplay following World War II.-Personal history:...
, which he based on his best-selling novel. The screenplay for the film was written by George Froeschel
George Froeschel
Georg "George" Froeschel was an Austrian screenwriter best known for Mrs. Miniver, Quentin Durward, and The Story of Three Loves, while working for MGM in the 1940s and 1950s. Before working in film he was a lawyer and journalist.-Biography:Georg Froeschel was born in 1891, the son of a Jewish...
and William Laidlaw
William Laidlaw
William Laidlaw , poet, son of a border farmer, becamesteward and amanuensis to Sir Walter Scott, and was the author of thebeautiful and well-known ballad, Lucy's Flittin....
. Haines' play ran on Broadway for almost a year beginning in October 1947.
Although portraying the strategic bombing
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in 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...
, the film has virtually no action scenes, taking place almost entirely within the confines of the headquarters of its protagonist. Depicting the political infighting of conducting a major war effort, the film's major theme is the emotional toll on commanders from ordering missions that result in high casualties, the effects of sustained combat on all concerned, and the nature of accountability for its consequences.
Plot
At the Ministry of Information in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1943, war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
s Elmer "Brockie" Brockhurst (Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette , The Farmer's Daughter , and Johnny Belinda...
) and James Carwood (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...
) of United News attend the daily briefing on bombing missions. While the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
representative announces light losses, the PRO
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
of the Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
causes grumbling when his report reveals a record 48 bombers shot down bombing an undisclosed industrial target. Carwood questions whether any target could be worth such losses, but Brockhurst retorts that the U.S. 5th Bomb Division commander, Brig. Gen. "Casey" Dennis, loves the war. Brockhurst travels to the base of the 32nd Bomb Group, where Dennis has his headquarters, and observes B-17s taking off on another major strike. He tries to milk information about the arrest of a decorated (and highly publicized) pilot, Captain Jenks, from T/Sgt. Evans (Van Johnson
Van Johnson
Van Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
), an assistant in Dennis's office, but Evans cordially rebuffs him.
Dennis (Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
) has an unexpected public relations crisis on his hands as his superior, Maj. Gen. Kane (Walter Pidgeon
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
), visits at the same time, bringing Brig. Gen. Clifton Garnet (Brian Donlevy
Brian Donlevy
Brian Donlevy was an Irish-born American film actor, noted for playing tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best known films are Beau Geste and The Great McGinty...
) with him. Garnet, West Point
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
classmate of Dennis and brother-in-law to 32nd commander Col. Ted Martin (John Hodiak
John Hodiak
John Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio and film.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter Hodiak and Anna Pogorzelec . He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent...
), has stirred speculation that he has been sent by the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
to replace either Kane or Dennis in command. Kane's headquarters also reports that a visiting congressional committee
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
is due, while Garnet pleads for low loss missions because a Global Allocation conference at the Pentagon in three days might curtail more bombers.
Dennis and Brockhurst, old antagonists in conflicts between the military and the press
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
, clash again. Kane tries to ameliorate, but when Dennis identifies the targets as Posenleben and Schweinhafen, Kanes realizes Dennis has begun Operation Stitch in Kane's absence. The return of the day's mission interrupts. Losses are more severe than even the day before and Brockhurst cautions against a cover-up
Cover-up
A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrong-doing, error, incompetence or other embarrassing information...
. Although the 32nd has been decimated, Martin has returned, bearing the bad news that his group attacked the wrong target. As Dennis's closest friend, Martin urges him to keep quiet because the two cities are indistinguishable. When Dennis instead reveals to Kane that the target struck was a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
factory, both Kane and Garnet see an opportunity to promote the mistake as cooperation with the U.S. Navy. Brockhurst learns about the mistake. To gain his cooperation, Kane decides to trust him with the top secret information that Operation Stitch seeks to destroy factories building a German jet fighter
Messerschmitt Me 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944...
before it can go into service and crush American strategic bombing
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
. A third city, Fendelhorst, must also be attacked, and Dennis's is the only bomb division able to reach these targets beyond the range of escorting U.S. fighters. A rare stretch of clear weather, about to end, presents an opportunity to complete the operation before the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
can mount an impenetrable defense.
Kane denies permission to attack Schweinhafen again but Dennis blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
s him by threatening to prefer charges against Capt. Jenks, whose uncle is Congressman Malcolm (Edward Arnold
Edward Arnold (actor)
Edward Arnold was an American actor. He was born on the Lower East Side of New York City as Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider, the son of German immigrants Carl Schneider and Elizabeth Ohse.-Acting career:...
) of the visiting Military Affairs Committee. Kane gives permission to continue Stitch while Dennis agrees to award Jenks (who refused to fly the mission to Schweinhafen) a medal during Malcolm's visit. While Kane wines and dines the Committee, Garnet offers Martin the job of chief of staff (and a promotion) in the B-29
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
command in the Pacific that Garnet believes he is in line for, unbeknownst to Dennis. The next day the Committee is impressed by the takeoff of the mission, led by Martin, but back in headquarters, Malcolm bitterly accuses Dennis of recklessly causing heavy losses. As tensions rise, Evans uses political savvy to ease the situation. Martin sends the signal that Schweinhafen has been destroyed, but during the ceremony to decorate Jenks, Dennis is brought a message that Martin's B-17 (and the crew of Capt. Jenks) is shot down. Malcolm renews his tirade against Dennis. Jenks unexpectedly tells his uncle to shut up and refuses his medal. Dennis, emotionally shaken by Martin's death, is relieved of command and replaced by Garnet. While Garnet queries his staff about ordering an easy mission for the next day, he comes to the realization that Dennis hated every minute of his duties. Garnet makes the command decision to attack Fendelhorst while the weather permits. Dennis looks forward to a training command in the United States, where he can be near his family, but a message from the Pentagon orders him to the Pacific and the new B-29 command. Brockhurst, their differences ended by all he has observed, wishes Dennis well as he boards his airplane.
Cast
- Clark GableClark GableWilliam Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
... Brig. Gen. K.C. "Casey" Dennis - Walter PidgeonWalter PidgeonWalter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
... Maj. Gen. Roland Goodlaw Kane - Van JohnsonVan JohnsonVan Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
... T/Sgt. Immanuel T. Evans - Brian DonlevyBrian DonlevyBrian Donlevy was an Irish-born American film actor, noted for playing tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best known films are Beau Geste and The Great McGinty...
... Brig. Gen. Clifton I. Garnet - Charles BickfordCharles BickfordCharles Bickford was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette , The Farmer's Daughter , and Johnny Belinda...
... Elmer Brockhurst - John HodiakJohn HodiakJohn Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio and film.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter Hodiak and Anna Pogorzelec . He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent...
... Col. Edward Rayton "Ted" Martin - Edward ArnoldEdward Arnold (actor)Edward Arnold was an American actor. He was born on the Lower East Side of New York City as Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider, the son of German immigrants Carl Schneider and Elizabeth Ohse.-Acting career:...
... Congressman Arthur Malcolm - Marshall ThompsonMarshall ThompsonMarshall Thompson was an American film and television actor.He was born James Marshall Thompson in Peoria, Illinois. In 1943 Thompson, known for his boy-next-door good looks, was signed by Universal Pictures...
... Capt. George Washington Bellpepper Lee - Richard QuineRichard QuineRichard Quine was an American stage, film, and radio actor and film director.Quine was born in Detroit. He made his Broadway debut in the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Very Warm for May in 1939 and appeared in My Sister Eileen the following year...
... Maj. George Rockton - Cameron MitchellCameron Mitchell (actor)Cameron Mitchell was an American film, television and Broadway actor with close ties to one of Canada's most successful families, and considered, by Lee Strasberg, to be one of the founding members of The Actor's Studio in New York City.-Early life and career:Born Cameron MacDowell Mitzel in...
... Lt. Ansel Goldberg - Clinton SundbergClinton SundbergClinton Sundberg was a stage and film character actor.Sundberg was born in Appleton, Minnesota on December 7, with sources differing on his year of birth...
... Maj. Homer V. Prescott - Ray CollinsRay Collins (actor)Ray Bidwell Collins was an American actor in film, stage, radio, and television. One of Collins' best remembered roles was that of Lt. Arthur Tragg in the long-running series Perry Mason.- Biography :...
... Maj. Desmond Lansing - Warner Anderson ... Col. Earnest Haley
- John McIntireJohn McIntireJohn McIntire was an American character actor.-Career:The craggy-faced film actor was born in Spokane in eastern Washington State but reared in Montana, growing up around ranchers and cowboys, an experience that would later inspire his performances in dozens of westerns.A graduate of USC, McIntire...
... Maj. Belding Davis - Moroni OlsenMoroni OlsenMoroni 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...
... Congressman Stone - John RidgelyJohn RidgelyJohn 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...
... James Carwood - Michael Steele ... Capt. Lucius Jenks
- Edward EarleEdward EarleEdward Earle was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in almost 400 films between 1914 and 1956.He was born in Toronto and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 90.-Selected filmography:* The Purple Dress...
... Congressman Watson - Mack Williams ... Lt. Col. Virgil Jackson
- James Millican ... Maj. Garrett Davenport
Casting notes
Clark Gable joined the Army Air ForcesUnited 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....
during World War II shortly after the death of his wife Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
in a plane crash. He was promoted from lieutenant to major and flew five combat bombing missions from England, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
and the Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
. Cameron Mitchell, who plays bombardier
Bombardier (air force)
A bombardier , in the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force, or a bomb aimer, in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces, was the crewman of a bomber responsible for assisting the navigator in guiding the plane to a bombing target and releasing the aircraft's bomb...
Lt. Goldberg, was also a bombardier during the war.
On the basis of his stage performance as Technical Sergeant Evans in the Broadway production of Command Decision
Command Decision (play)
Command Decision was a 1948 play in three acts written by William Wister Haines, and formed the basis for his best-selling novel of the same title. Produced by Kermit Bloomgarden and directed by John O'Shaughnessy, it ran for 409 performances from October 1, 1947 to September 18, 1948 at the Fulton...
, James Whitmore
James Whitmore
James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
was contracted to MGM, although Van Johnson played the role in the film. Whitmore would make his mark in another MGM World War II film released just a year later, Battleground, which also featured Johnson.
Barry Nelson
Barry Nelson
Barry Nelson was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.-Early life:...
provided the uncredited radio voice ("Cumquat B-Boy") of B-17 pilot bringing in his airplane after a raid with wounded aboard.
Production
William Wister Haines
William Wister Haines was an American author, screenwriter, and playwright. His most notable work, Command Decision, was published as a novel, play, and screenplay following World War II.-Personal history:...
' 1947 novel Command Decision at the behest of Clark Gable, who saw in it a starring role for himself. MGM paid a $100,000 down payment, which would escalate to $300,000 if the novel was staged as a play by October 1947. In the event, the play opened on Broadway on October 1 of that year.
Before filming began, Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
and Tom Drake
Tom Drake
Tom Drake , born Alfred Sinclair Alderdice in Brooklyn, New York, was an American actor. Drake made films starting in 1940 and continuing until the mid-1970s, and also made TV acting appearances....
had been expected to play roles in the film. Command Decision was in production from 13 April to 23 June 1948. A single location shot was included in the final print, in which Dennis sees Martin off on the fatal mission. Filmed in proximity to two privately-owned B-17s, the scene was shot at San Fernando Valley Airport
Van Nuys Airport
Van Nuys Airport is a public airport located in Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley section of the city limits of Los Angeles, California, United States. No major commercial airlines fly into this airport; it is used by private, chartered, and small commercial aircraft...
.
The premiere took place in Los Angeles on 25 December 1948, and the film went into general release in February 1949. The premiere in Washington D.C., which took place sometime in February,
was attended by Vice President Alben W. Barkley
Alben W. Barkley
Alben William Barkley was an American politician in the Democratic Party who served as the 35th Vice President of the United States , under President Harry S. Truman....
, Secretary of State Dean Acheson
Dean Acheson
Dean Gooderham Acheson was an American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War...
, the Air Force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Hoyt S. Vandenberg and other dignitaries.
The film uses extensive cuts of archived footage shot during the war, but all of it is of the many varied aspects of mission preparation, takeoffs, and landings. Except for the sequence under the opening credits, of bomber formations leaving voluminous contrail
Contrail
Contrails or vapour trails are artificial clouds that are the visible trails of condensed water vapour made by the exhaust of aircraft engines...
s and then dropping bombs, no combat footage is used in the movie. Only two exteriors were used, of Brockhurst driving up to the main gate of the base in a jeep, and of Martin saying farewell to Dennis at his bomber's dispersal hardstand, totalling little more than a minute of film. The film's only action scene involves closeups of Dennis "talking down" a plane piloted by a bombardier.
Director Sam Wood acknowledged the limitations of filming a stage play, shooting all scenes from a "relentlessly ground level", and used master shot
Master shot
A master shot is a film recording of an entire dramatized scene, from start to finish, from an angle that keeps all the players in view. It is often a long shot and can sometimes perform a double function as an establishing shot...
s and single-camera group shots that allowed the actors to use the choreography of the theatrical play to establish dramatic and moral relationships.
Response
Command Decision was successful at the box office in 1949, and was named as one of the ten best films of 1948 by the New York Times and by Film Daily. Still, there were other reactions: in August 1949, the Los Angeles Times reported that a syndicated British film reviewer had called the film as ""insult to British audiences" on the basis that it gave the audience the idea that American precision bombing had won the war.The film did not receive any awards, but writers William Laidlaw
William Laidlaw
William Laidlaw , poet, son of a border farmer, becamesteward and amanuensis to Sir Walter Scott, and was the author of thebeautiful and well-known ballad, Lucy's Flittin....
and George Froeschel
George Froeschel
Georg "George" Froeschel was an Austrian screenwriter best known for Mrs. Miniver, Quentin Durward, and The Story of Three Loves, while working for MGM in the 1940s and 1950s. Before working in film he was a lawyer and journalist.-Biography:Georg Froeschel was born in 1891, the son of a Jewish...
were nominated for two Writers Guild Awards, for "Best Written American Drama" and the Robert Meltzer Award for the "Screenplay Dealing Most Ably with Problems of the American Scene".
On March 3, 1949, Clark Gable, Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon, Brian Donlevy, John Hodiak, Edward Arnold, and Richard Quine reprised their film roles in a 30-minute radio version of Command Decision for the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
radio network program Screen Guild Theater, the first pre-recorded commercial show to be broadcast over the network from Hollywood.