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'''''The Flying Missile''''' is a 1950 black-and-white [[Cold War]] era [[Columbia Pictures]] film starring [[Glenn Ford]] and [[Viveca Lindfors]]. Made with the cooperation of the [[US Navy]],<ref>Ford 2011, p. 111.</ref> it tells a fictionalized story of the then recently revealed story of the US Navy's first mounting and firing [[submarine-launched cruise missile]]s such as the [[Republic-Ford JB-2|Loon]] off the deck of submarines.<ref name="google">{{cite journal|title=Boys' Life|journal=Boys' Life. Inkprint Edition|date=January 1924|publisher=Boy Scouts of America, Inc.|issn=0006-8608|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_vfJR7p5uSFAC|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_vfJR7p5uSFAC/page/n59 58]|access-date=2015-07-24}}</ref>
'''''The Flying Missile''''' is a 1950 black-and-white [[Cold War]] era [[Columbia Pictures]] film starring [[Glenn Ford]] and [[Viveca Lindfors]]. Made with the cooperation of the [[US Navy]],<ref>Ford 2011, p. 111.</ref> it tells a fictionalized story of the then recently revealed story of the US Navy's first mounting and firing [[submarine-launched cruise missile]]s such as the [[Republic-Ford JB-2]] [[Republic-Ford JB-2|Loon]] off the deck of submarines.<ref name="google">{{cite journal|title=Boys' Life|journal=Boys' Life. Inkprint Edition|date=January 1924|publisher=Boy Scouts of America, Inc.|issn=0006-8608|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_vfJR7p5uSFAC|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_vfJR7p5uSFAC/page/n59 58]|access-date=2015-07-24}}</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
Decorated submarine commander [[Commander (rank)|Commander]] William Talbot's (Glenn Ford) boat USS ''Bluefin'' (actually {{USS|Cusk}}<ref name="usscusk">{{cite web|url=http://www.usscusk.com/1950.htm|title=1950|publisher=usscusk.com|access-date=2015-07-24}}</ref>) is on manoeuvres with the goal of simulating sinking the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Midway|CV-41|6}}. ''Midway'' is carrying a US Senator to view the test firing of a [[V-2 rocket]] from its [[flight deck]]. Sighting the carrier, ''Bluefin'' attempts a simulated torpedo attack but is detected and "sunk" by a simulated depth charge attack from a [[destroyer]].
Decorated US Navy submarine commander [[Commander (rank)|Commander]] William Talbot's (Glenn Ford) boat USS ''Bluefin'' (actually {{USS|Cusk}}<ref name="usscusk">{{cite web|url=http://www.usscusk.com/1950.htm|title=1950|publisher=usscusk.com|access-date=2015-07-24}}</ref>) is on manoeuvres with the goal of simulating sinking the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Midway|CV-41|6}}. ''Midway'' is carrying a US Senator to view the test firing of a [[V-2 rocket]] from its [[flight deck]]. Sighting the carrier, ''Bluefin'' attempts a simulated torpedo attack but is detected and "sunk" by a simulated depth charge attack from a [[destroyer]].


After viewing the successful launching of the JB-2 from the surface, Talbot attempts to convince his commanding officer that if his submarine had a guided missile his attack on the carrier would have been successful. His commander relays the information that the Navy has been thinking of the same idea and sends the ''Bluefin'' and its crew to the [[Pacific Missile Test Center]] at [[Naval Air Station Point Mugu]] for a short period of training and familiarization. On the way to the base ''Bluefin'' ruins a fishing net of Lars Hansen's ([[John Qualen]]) fleet, which fishes in the area when the US Navy is not testing their missiles.
After viewing the successful launching of the V-2 from the surface, Talbot attempts to convince his commanding officer that if his submarine had a guided missile his attack on the carrier would have been successful. His commander relays the information that the US Navy has been thinking of the same idea and sends the ''Bluefin'' and its crew to the [[Pacific Missile Test Center]] at [[Naval Air Station Point Mugu]] for a short period of training and familiarization. On the way to the base, ''Bluefin'' ruins a fishing net of Lars Hansen's ([[John Qualen]]) fleet, which fishes in the area when the US Navy is not testing their missiles.


The crew of ''Bluefin'' are impatient with the training course they must take and attempt to speed things up and gather their own equipment through "midnight supply" (theft), but run afoul of the tight security on the base. Talbot meets and unsuccessfully attempts to seduce the base commander's secretary Karin Hansen, a Danish emigre who is the niece of the still furious Captain Lars. Talbot does obtain from Karin the location of needed missile parts at an army base and obtains them for his trial launch.
The crew of ''Bluefin'' are impatient with the training course they must take and attempt to speed things up and gather their own equipment through "midnight supply" (theft), but run afoul of the tight security on the base. Talbot meets and unsuccessfully attempts to seduce the base commander's secretary Karin Hansen, a Danish emigre who is the niece of the still furious Captain Lars. Talbot does obtain from Karin the location of needed missile parts at an army base and obtains them for his trial launch.
Line 32: Line 32:
The unorthodox procedures used so well in wartime cause tragedy to the couple; Karin loses her job for revealing information and Talbot's haste in launching a missile from his boat's deck results in his serious injury and the death of his friend [[Quartermaster#Navies|Quartermaster]] "Fuss" Payne ([[Joe Sawyer]]). Talbot's depression leaves him not desiring to walk without braces and in danger of being medically discharged from the US Navy.
The unorthodox procedures used so well in wartime cause tragedy to the couple; Karin loses her job for revealing information and Talbot's haste in launching a missile from his boat's deck results in his serious injury and the death of his friend [[Quartermaster#Navies|Quartermaster]] "Fuss" Payne ([[Joe Sawyer]]). Talbot's depression leaves him not desiring to walk without braces and in danger of being medically discharged from the US Navy.


Karin snaps Talbot out of his whining self-pity to take command of his boat during maneuvers for a submarine [[flotilla]] to attack a surface fleet. Talbot conceives the idea for the missile-carrying submarines to launch their missiles, but then have them successfully guided to the surface fleet by the nearer submarines originally earmarked for a torpedo attack.
Karin snaps Talbot out of his whining self-pity to take command of ''Bluefin'' during a [[military exercise]] deploying a submarine [[flotilla]] to attack a surface fleet. Talbot conceives the idea for the missile-carrying submarines to launch their missiles, but then have them successfully guided to the surface fleet by the nearer submarines originally earmarked for a torpedo attack.


==Cast==
==Cast==
Line 52: Line 52:


==Production==
==Production==
The subject matter in ''The Flying Missile'' was considered restricted and no other contemporary film describing cruise missile development in the immediate postwar era had been produced. As indicated in the film's opening credits, on location photography on US naval bases, aircraft carriers, surface fleet ships and submarines took place with the "full cooperation" of the US Armed Forces. Both US Naval and US Army installations were made available.
The subject matter in ''The Flying Missile'' was considered restricted and no other contemporary film describing US Navy cruise missile development in the immediate postwar era had been produced. As indicated in the film's opening credits, on location photography on US naval bases, aircraft carriers, surface fleet ships and submarines took place with the "full cooperation" of the US Armed Forces. Both US Naval and US Army installations were made available.
[[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Thomas M. Dykers]] was the technical director on ''The Flying Missile''. After a long and distinguished career in the US Navy as a submarine commander, Rear Admiral Dykers retired from the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and moved to California in 1949. He worked as a technical advisor for the film industry, on films such as ''The Flying Missile'' (1950), ''[[Submarine Command]]'' (1951), and [[Torpedo Alley (film)|''Torpedo Alley'']] (1952).<ref name="Film Credit">{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245837/|title=Thomas M. Dykers|website=imdb.com}}</ref> He later produced and narrated the 1957–58 TV series [[The Silent Service (TV series)|''The Silent Service'']].<ref name="Film Credit"/>
[[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Thomas M. Dykers]] was the technical director on ''The Flying Missile''. After a long and distinguished career in the US Navy as a submarine commander, Rear Admiral Dykers retired from the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and moved to California in 1949. He worked as a technical advisor for the film industry, on films such as ''The Flying Missile'' (1950), ''[[Submarine Command]]'' (1951), and [[Torpedo Alley (film)|''Torpedo Alley'']] (1952).<ref name="Film Credit">{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245837/|title=Thomas M. Dykers|website=imdb.com}}</ref> He later produced and narrated the 1957–58 TV series [[The Silent Service (TV series)|''The Silent Service'']].<ref name="Film Credit"/>
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==References==
==References==
===Notes===
===Notes===
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


===Bibliography===
===Bibliography===

Revision as of 13:50, 17 July 2021

The Flying Missile
original film poster
Directed byHenry Levin
Screenplay byJames Gunn
Richard English
Story byHarvey S. Haislip
N. Richard Nash
Produced byJerry Bresler
StarringGlenn Ford
Viveca Lindfors
Kenneth Tobey
CinematographyWilliam E. Snyder
Edited byViola Lawrence
Music byGeorge Duning
Production
company
Columbia Pictures
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • December 24, 1950 (1950-12-24) (U.S.)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Flying Missile is a 1950 black-and-white Cold War era Columbia Pictures film starring Glenn Ford and Viveca Lindfors. Made with the cooperation of the US Navy,[1] it tells a fictionalized story of the then recently revealed story of the US Navy's first mounting and firing submarine-launched cruise missiles such as the Republic-Ford JB-2 Loon off the deck of submarines.[2]

Plot

Decorated US Navy submarine commander Commander William Talbot's (Glenn Ford) boat USS Bluefin (actually USS Cusk[3]) is on manoeuvres with the goal of simulating sinking the aircraft carrier USS Midway. Midway is carrying a US Senator to view the test firing of a V-2 rocket from its flight deck. Sighting the carrier, Bluefin attempts a simulated torpedo attack but is detected and "sunk" by a simulated depth charge attack from a destroyer.

After viewing the successful launching of the V-2 from the surface, Talbot attempts to convince his commanding officer that if his submarine had a guided missile his attack on the carrier would have been successful. His commander relays the information that the US Navy has been thinking of the same idea and sends the Bluefin and its crew to the Pacific Missile Test Center at Naval Air Station Point Mugu for a short period of training and familiarization. On the way to the base, Bluefin ruins a fishing net of Lars Hansen's (John Qualen) fleet, which fishes in the area when the US Navy is not testing their missiles.

The crew of Bluefin are impatient with the training course they must take and attempt to speed things up and gather their own equipment through "midnight supply" (theft), but run afoul of the tight security on the base. Talbot meets and unsuccessfully attempts to seduce the base commander's secretary Karin Hansen, a Danish emigre who is the niece of the still furious Captain Lars. Talbot does obtain from Karin the location of needed missile parts at an army base and obtains them for his trial launch.

The unorthodox procedures used so well in wartime cause tragedy to the couple; Karin loses her job for revealing information and Talbot's haste in launching a missile from his boat's deck results in his serious injury and the death of his friend Quartermaster "Fuss" Payne (Joe Sawyer). Talbot's depression leaves him not desiring to walk without braces and in danger of being medically discharged from the US Navy.

Karin snaps Talbot out of his whining self-pity to take command of Bluefin during a military exercise deploying a submarine flotilla to attack a surface fleet. Talbot conceives the idea for the missile-carrying submarines to launch their missiles, but then have them successfully guided to the surface fleet by the nearer submarines originally earmarked for a torpedo attack.

Cast

Production

The subject matter in The Flying Missile was considered restricted and no other contemporary film describing US Navy cruise missile development in the immediate postwar era had been produced. As indicated in the film's opening credits, on location photography on US naval bases, aircraft carriers, surface fleet ships and submarines took place with the "full cooperation" of the US Armed Forces. Both US Naval and US Army installations were made available.

Rear Admiral Thomas M. Dykers was the technical director on The Flying Missile. After a long and distinguished career in the US Navy as a submarine commander, Rear Admiral Dykers retired from the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and moved to California in 1949. He worked as a technical advisor for the film industry, on films such as The Flying Missile (1950), Submarine Command (1951), and Torpedo Alley (1952).[4] He later produced and narrated the 1957–58 TV series The Silent Service.[4]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Ford 2011, p. 111.
  2. ^ "Boys' Life". Boys' Life. Inkprint Edition. Boy Scouts of America, Inc.: 58 January 1924. ISSN 0006-8608. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  3. ^ "1950". usscusk.com. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  4. ^ a b "Thomas M. Dykers". imdb.com.

Bibliography

  • Ford, Peter. Glenn Ford: A Life (Wisconsin Film Studies). Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-29928-154-0.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Flying_Missile&oldid=1034051723"