Operation Haylift
| Operation Haylift | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | William Berke |
| Written by |
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| Produced by | Joe Sawyer |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Benjamin Kline |
| Edited by | Carl Pierson |
| Music by |
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Production companies | Lippert Productions, Inc. |
| Distributed by | Lippert Pictures, Inc. |
Release date |
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Running time | 83 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Operation Haylift is a 1950 American aviation film by William Berke starring Bill Williams, Ann Rutherford, and Tom Brown. The film documents the United States Air Force mission in 1948–49 to save thousands of cattle caught in the snowdrifts of a sudden winter storm in northern Nevada. "Operation Haylift" involved scores of cargo aircraft delivering hay to the stranded animals.[1]
Plot
With their 10-year-old son Roy (Tommy Ivo), Bill (Bill Williams) and Clara Masters (Ann Rutherford) live in a ranch near Ely, Nevada. Bill's brother Tom (Tom Brown), recently returned from serving as a pilot in the United States Air Force, is home to work on the ranch. When Bill and Tom capture rustlers, they earn a $5,000 reward from George Swallow (Joe Sawyer) of the Stockman's Association. Bill wants to use the money to buy more ranch land but he senses Tom doesn't have his heart in working at the ranch. When Bill sends for Tom's girl friend Pat Rogers (Jane Nigh), they marry and leave for their honeymoon in Tahoe.[disambiguation needed]
On the way, the married couple meet Tom's old service buddy Max Maxwell (Richard Travis) and his wife. Max has rejoined the Air Force and is about to leave for Germany to take part in the Berlin Airlift. Tom also rejoins and leaves with Pat for Germany. When his tour finishes in 1948, he is posted back home, where the United States is experiencing first a drought, then a massive series of 18 blizzards in 27 days, which cripples Nevada.
A state of emergency is declared and the U.S. Army and National Guard units from Nevada and neighboring states are called out. In the winter, many sheep and cattle experience freezing temperatures and die of starvation. George Swallow calls ranchers proposing to seek the Air Force's help in dropping hay to the stranded animals. Bill is skeptical that the scheme will work. A fleet of 18 Fairchild C-82 Packets arrive at Fallon Airport, with Tom scheduled to fly the first mission.
The first flight is a great success and, while President Harry S. Truman requests emergency funds for the ranchers, the 62nd Troop Carrier Group continues its haylift operation. When Bill gets stuck in a snow drift, he has to ride on horseback into Ely for help. Tom flies a mission to drop hay to Bill's animals and eventually, with the successful conclusion of Operation Haylift, thousands of tons of hay dropped over an area of 85,000 square miles saved a million head of cattle and two million sheep.
Cast
- Bill Williams as Bill Masters
- Ann Rutherford as Clara Masters
- Tom Brown as Tom Masters
- Jane Nigh as Pat Rogers
- Joe Sawyer as George Swallow
- Richard Travis as Max Maxwell
- Raymond Hatton as Sandy Cameron
- James Conlin as Ed North
- Tommy Ivo as Roy Masters
- M'Liss McClure as Mary
Production
Production of Operation Haylift took place in 1950 at Ely, the center of the actual operation.[2] The opening credits include the following written prologue: "This production was photographed entirely in Ely, Nevada, and was made possible through the cooperation of the Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force and the Department of Agriculture."[1] The film premiere took place in Ely on April 10, 1950. [3]
Reception
Operation Haylift was a modest B movie whose "... most interesting moments come during sequences of the Flying Boxcars, lent by the Air Force for the film." [4] Aviation film historians Jack Hardwick and Ed Schnepf cynically dismissed Operation Haylift as "... good if you like to watch C-82s dropping hay."[5]
References
Notes
- ^ The C-82 was sometimes called the "Flying Boxcar", a name that was more often linked to the C-82 development, the Fairchild C-119 series.
Citations
- ^ a b c "Details: 'Operation Haylift'." American Film Institute. Retrieved: May 24, 2016.
- ^ "Notes: 'Opertation Haylift'." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: May 24, 2016.
- ^ "Original print information: 'Operation Haylift'." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: May 24, 2016.
- ^ Pendo 1985, p. 232.
- ^ Hardwick and Schnepf, 1989, p. 60.
Bibliography
- Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies". The Making of the Great Aviation Films, General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.
- Pendo, Stephen. Aviation in the Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. ISBN 0-8-1081-746-2.