Air Force (film)

For other uses, see Air Force (disambiguation).

Air Force
File:Air Force (1943).jpg Cover of videotape
Directed by	Howard Hawks
Written by	Dudley Nichols
Produced by	Hal B. Wallis Jack Warner (executive producer)
Starring	John Garfield John Ridgely Gig Young Harry Carey
Cinematography	James Wong Howe
Edited by	George Amy
Music by	Leo F. Forbstein
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	3 February 1943 (New York City premiere)
Running time	124 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

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 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, most often characterized as a propaganda film.

Plot

The film details the story the crew of the Mary-Ann, a B-17 bomber, in the early days of World War II. It begins with a flight from California to Hickam Field at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, beginning on 6 December 1941. The unarmed B-17 squadron arrives right at the beginning of the Japanese attack. This is based on a true incident; radar operators thought the Japanese planes they detected were an incoming flight of B-17s.

The film includes an ensemble cast with John Garfield as a disaffected gunner who washed out of flight school after a mid-air collision in which another pilot was killed. Harry Carey plays the Mary-Ann's crew chief and a long-time veteran in the Army Air Corps, whose son is a pilot.

The routine ferry mission to Hawaii propels the Mary-Ann and its crew into the midst of war and their subsequent deployment to other Pacific bases include stops at Wake Island and the Philippines. Using wartime combat footage sparingly, the eventual missions in the Coral Sea mirror real-life events.

Credited cast

As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):

Actor	Role
John Ridgely	Pilot
Gig Young	Co-Pilot
Arthur Kennedy	Bombardier
Charles Drake	Navigator
Harry Carey	Crew Chief
George Tobias	Asst. Crew Chief
Ward Wood	Radio Operator
Ray Montgomery	Asst. Radio Operator
John Garfield	Aerial Gunner
James Brown	Pursuit Pilot - Passenger
Stanley Ridges	Major Mallory - Clark Field
Willard Robertson	Colonel at Hickam Field
Moroni Olsen	Colonel Blake - Commanding Officer at Manila
Edward Brophy (as Edward S. Brody)	Marine Sergeant J.J. Callahan
Richard Lane	Major W.G. Roberts
Bill Crago	Pilot P.T. Moran at Manila
Faye Emerson	Susan McMartin -Tommy's Sister
Addison Richards	Major Daniels
James Flavin	Major A.M. Bagley

B-17C in flight

Production

Principal photography took place at Drew Army Air Field, Tampa, Florida, San Antonio, Texas, (aerial shots, exteriors), Santa Monica Bay, California, (water scenes) and Tampa, Florida, (aerial shots, exteriors). Location and studio shooting took place over a very tight schedule from 18 June 1942 - 26 October 1942.

The U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft that appeared in the film were:

• Ten Boeing B-17B/C/D Flying Fortresses from Hendrick Field, Sebring, Florida. The majority of these aircraft were "modernized"(upgraded to B-17C standards) B-17Bs, as was the "star" of the film.
• North American AT-6 Texans (painted as Japanese fighters) and Bell P-39 Airacobras, Curtiss P-40Cs and Republic P-43A Lancers (painted as Japanese fighters) from Drew Field.
• Six Martin B-26C Marauders from McDill Field, Tampa, Florida (painted as Japanese bombers).

The actual Mary-Ann was lost shortly after the production wrapped. This allegation is attributed to the production's technical advisor. There were no B-17B aircraft known to be used in combat; none left the Americas for other theaters of action. The two B-17B aircraft most likely to have played the part of "Mary Ann" were reclassified as instructional airframes in late 1943, and scrapped in early 1946.

Inaccuracy

There is quite a bit of anti-Japanese propaganda. The crew is shot at by "local Japanese" on Maui and the Hickam Field commander tells the crew that vegetable trucks knocked the tails off a row of P-40 Warhawk fighters 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.

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." 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.

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 Awards in the category of Best Film Editing. 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.

References

Bibliography

• Dolan, Edward F. Jr. Hollywood Goes to War. London: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-86124-229-7.
• Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Buff's Guide to Aviation Movies". Air Progress Aviation Vol. 7, No. 1, Spring 1983.

External links

• Air Force at the TCM Movie Database
• Air Force at IMDb
• Air Force at AllMovie