Customer Reviews

Strategic Air Command [VHS]

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For many of us, the cold war now seems impossibly far away. However, for those of us whose fathers were in the military during the peak of the war, the concern was always that we could be attacked at any time by the Soviet Union.

Our first line of defense, before our missiles became more accurate, was huge bombers. When these huge aircraft flew, their power and size seemed awe-inspiring. Looking back at this movie, the B-36 now seems ungainly and incredibly complex. The B-47 seems less ungainly, but technology has clearly superceded both these aircraft.

This movie comes across as a recruiting film for the Air Force, and to a certain extent a patriotic film justifying our strategic air forces. The plot is relatively simple, and trying to spice it up with a sub-story regarding Jimmy Stewart's career as a baseball player and his relationship with his wife becomes a distraction. The focus of this movie is flying big bombers.

What gloriously complex aircraft these were. The scenes showing the takeoff of the B-36 were incredible. For airplane enthusiasts, the portion of the film focusing on the reading of the checklist is unusual (because for most people it would seem boring) and unique. Watching how the plane is powered up is nearly worth the exercise of watching the film.

Later we get to watch as the B-47 is transitioned into the active military. We watch as the B-47 is flown in poor weather conditions, and watch the fatigue and boredom set in as the crews flew incredibly lengthy missions.

Some of the most interesting and now somewhat anachronistic parts of the movies are those portions dealing with the functioning of Strategic Air Command (SAC) bases. These bases were very highly protected, and exercises were continuously run to assure that saboteurs or an enemy invading force would be repelled by base security forces. During their period of duty, crews were either in the air or standing by on alert, ready to jump in their plane and be airborne in less than 15 minutes. I remember well an exercise called a "total recall" where every member of the base is called to duty to be prepared for a possible enemy attack.

While the parts of the movie dealing with Jimmy Stewart the baseball player and husband are relative distractions, they do point out the sacrifice that many people made to be in the military at that time. Military aircraft were huge and complex, and tended to break down a lot. The missions were incredibly long, and the flight systems relatively crude, requiring fatiguing concentration. For all the hardship of flying, the pay was low, and often the working conditions including the noise and cold (military aircraft are generally not well-insulated - note how the flight crew is dressed; it was cold up there) were uncomfortable to say the least.

This movie is a rarity that is close to being a historical artifact. While some of the operational details are simplified, in general the scenes depicted are relatively accurate. Further, the scenes with the aircraft are rare and detailed. Forget the plot of this movie; it's about the airplanes, Jimmy Stewart's love of flying and a time that was not so far away.

This is a movie that really "waves the flag"; and rightly so. I was a member of SAC, worked and flew in the B-36. The photography is second to none. Turn up your sound system and "live" being in or around a B-36 during a take-off. There is no sound like "6-a-churning and 4-a-burning". The scenes inside the B-36 are great and gives me a chance to relive my times "bouncing" around inside a B-36.

Harry Morgan had one line that will live in an Airman's heart. "One on the ramp and one in the hanger". How many of us lived this condition? I had three children (AF brats).

Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson played roles that can bring back true memories of SAC and Gen. Curtis LeMay. It took this type of person to take the rituals necessary for the day.

Although the interactions between Stewart and Allyson can get pretty sappy, the aerial footage is well worth the investment. And surprisingly enough, the ending is not as happy as one would expect -- a rather bitter-sweet commentary on the sacrifices that these folks made during the Cold War.

The movie appears to portray life on a SAC base in the mid-fifties pretty accurately. I got a kick out of the SAC Commander, a not-so-subtle caricature of real-life SAC visionary General Curtis LeMay, the guy who inspired the George C. Scott character in "Dr. Strangelove".

Before the B-52 became a legend, there was the B-47 and B-36. This flick spotlights both of those aircraft, presenting the interesting contrast between the two: the B-47 was a small, fast, three-person plane, while the B-36 was just so dang HUGE! At one point, Stewart traverses a tunnel to get from the front to the rear of the bomber -- take a good look at how long that thing is!

As a bonus, we get to see a rather young-looking Harry Morgan in a military role that foreshadows his "M*A*S*H" days. Who woulda thunk it?

"STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND" is by far my favorite alltime movie! The performances of JAMES STEWART,as Col. Robert "Dutch" Holland, JUNE ALLYSON as Sally Holland, Frank Lovejoy as Commander In Chief of SAC; General Hawkes, and Harry Morgan as Sgt. Bible are indeed timeless and sensational. Along with BRUCE BENNETT, ALEX NICOL, and BARRY SULLIVAN, "STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND" takes off and soars into the wild blue yonder with flying colors! The spectacular Convair B-36 Peacemakers, and Boeing B-47 Stratojets take "STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND" into a greater realm of majesty with THE MOST BREATHTAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL AND SPECTACULAR AERIAL SCENERY ever taken at the time! From actual preparedness, takeoffs, landings and a frightening B-36 crashlanding in the Greenland wasteland, "STRATEGIC AIR COM- MAND" keeps the this adventure/drama going in grand military style! The most impressive scenes of the film "STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND" are the opening credits featuring the powerful music score and majestic song "THE AIR FORCE TAKES COMMAND" to the Al Lang Field low flyover of a B-36 Peacemaker, (beautifully executed I learned in a fan letter from JAMES STEWART, back in January 1970), to CARSWELL AFB, FORT WORTH, TEXAS home to the Convair B-36 Peacemakers, and the flightlines of B-36s, (IT TOOK MY BREATH AWAY!!!!), the majestic flight of the B-36 from Texas to Alaska, and back, the crashlanding and rescue, to fly- ing the B-47 STRATOJETS from MCDILL AFB, TAMPA FLORIDA, the grand overseas flight of 45 B-47 bombers to Yakote, Japan in-cluding the aerial refueling by KC-97 Tanker, and the final discharge at SAC headquaters in Omaha, Nebraska! (The fiery crashlanding of the B-36 bomber in Greenland, and the landing of the B-47 Stratojet bomber at a rainy Kadena AFB, Okinawa were two of the best special-effects I ever saw in a motion picture before!) The majestic and moving score of VICTOR YOUNG keeps "STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND" always "second to none!" It brings back alot of memories during the late 1950s and the early 1960s when STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND had been the pride of the USAF. I highly recommend "STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND" to any aviation buff of any kind! IT WILL ALWAYS BE MY ALLTIME #1 MOTION PICTURE! A KEEPSAKE TO CHERISH ALWAYS!!!!

Almost fifty years after this movie's release date (1955), I am still haunted by the magnificent aerial photography. This movie must be seen for that reason alone! As a time-capsule, the movie also deals with a period when the Air Force was moving to jet bombers and gearing up to fight the cold war.

It is now history. We "won" the cold war, most actors in this film are no longer with us and the largest aircraft ever in active service with the Air Force---the B-36, exists only on film.

Forget the story line, forget the Air Force propaganda pitch from the fifties and just relax and enjoy a spectacular scenic view of what others did to help "protect and defend" during a earlier era.

Today, those who continue to protect us by flying stealth technology bombers stand on the shoulders of those who flew the B-36's and B-47's depicted in this movie.

We are all indebted...enjoy the movie!

This is a very good film from director Anthony Mann starring James Stewart and June Allyson. The film focuses on the operations of post-war America's modern Airforce and the lives of the men and women who lived it. It is beautifully photographed by William Daniels and Tom Tutwiler. We slept much sounder at night knowing the Strategic Air Command was above us protecting our freedoms around the clock. James Stewart's performance is one of honor and conviction.

This film, which stars James Stewart and June Allyson, is an excellent retrospective piece for the 1950s. It reminds me of the days when my father was in SAC and I was an Air Force brat. I recall the B-36, a fascinating airplane, and the B-47, a less exciting but no less interesting machine. The flying scenes, particularly of the B-36 piercing pink-hued clouds at 40,000 feet, are absolutely stunning.

The depiction of life on a 50s Air Force base is, from personal experience, also quite realistic. That AP hut, at the entrance to the base when Dutch Holland (Stewart) reports, is the real thing, and the on-base quarters are vintage 50s as well. The acting is, well, secondary to the thrust of the picture.

Don't miss this time-warp piece--great for airplane buffs and 50s freaks. Though the film is more or less a PR piece for the Air Force, the depictions are realistic and genuine. If you want to reminisce about that era, this is the movie to watch.

I agree with some of the previous reviewers who criticized June Allyson's character. I have always been a fan of June, but this part was rather immature. However, to be fair to the character, when she married "Dutch," he was a baseball player, not an Air Force pilot. It could be conceivable for anyone to be frustrated under the same conditions. I did find her character to be a bit boring though, and I grew very tired of all the self-pity.

Jimmy Stewart's character on the other hand was brave and patriotic. It somewhat mirrors what the real-life Jimmy Stewart did, when in the 1940's during the height of his Hollywood career, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. He was (and still is to this day) the highest ranking officer-actor ever to serve in the military (he became a Colonel on active duty in the Air Force, then joined the Air Force Reserves and retired from the military as a Brigadier General). Nowadays, since Hollywood leans so far to the left, it is unlikely that anyone will ever break that record. I cannot imagine a top star in the year 2005 (let's say Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt) to leave Hollywood for Iraq.

The aeriel footage was breathtakingly beautiful. The skies were so clear and I really liked the scene where the fuel tanker hooked up with the B-47.

Anyway, bombs away!

Does anyone know if Paramount has any plans to release this classic on DVD? I've got the movie on VHS, but it would be great to see this movie on DVD and in widescreen format.

This is a great, classic movie. Forget June Allyson and Jimmy Stewart -- the real star of this is the rare and awesome ten-engined B-36 bomber featured in the first hour of the movie. From the ground-shaking flyover (with real sound!) to an (admittedly dubbed) takeoff, cruise, and landing, it's fantastic footage not found anywhere else. Seeing the giant rare B-36(which flies no more, unfortunately) gives me goose bumps, especially with the lush, dramatic musical background. Just seeing the ground crew during startup as they are absolutely dwarfed by the huge three-bladed propeller is amazing. What an incredible machine. Even the early jet bombers featured in the last half of the movie are interesting to see. If you are of the "old school" when it comes to video entertainment or are a classic airplane lover, join me in grabbing this video and hoping that it also makes it to DVD sometime!