Strategic Air Command (1955)

68/100. Not one of Jimmy Stewart's best films, but not fault of his. He is terrific. June Allyson, I don't know what exactly it is I don't like about her. I feel her performances are so rehearsed and phony. She is way too sappy and understanding in this film and I feel she hurts the films overall effect. Some excellent aerial photography, good score and the entire production is top notch. It waves the flag a little excessively and the mix of personal drama and action sequences is at times a little awkward. The supporting cast is a bit bland, Harry Morgan and Rosemary deCamp stand out as the best. Good special effects. The color in the film was exceptionally crisp.

As military films go, "Strategic Air Command" is pretty run-of-the-mill. It is most likely that the lack of constant action (we are talking the post-Korean war Cold War era) is what keeps it from being very absorbing.Jimmy Stewart, as Lt. Col. Robert 'Dutch' Holland, is a former baseball player recruited into SAC despite his initial lack of enthusiasm. And his wife June Allyson (as Sally Holland) is even less thrilled as her husband is thrust into the maelstrom of lengthy patrols, uneven schedules and seemingly endless on-call status situations. And of course there is the inherent danger and uncertainty that adds considerable stress in a military family.June Allyson is on the short list of my least favorite Hollywood women stars. Apparently many liked her almost constant portrayals of "the gal I left behind". I instead picture her as one of the least hot women I've seen in leading roles – sort of another Doris Day. She is right on cue here, demonstrating her Susie Homemaker type, and eventually seems to be a regular spoilsport.Jimmy Stewart, also an actor I am not too thrilled about – discounting primarily his work with Alfred Hitchcock – plays his usual mostly affable sort, but he does show us a tough streak in parts of the movie. And he does convey pretty well the effects that the strain of long flights and topsy-turvy schedules has on a person in those scenes. To his advantage in this film, Stewart was the real deal, having been a decorated Air Force pilot.The film relies on tried-and-true Hollywood plot lines; all the usual concerns of family life are trotted out. So we are leaning pretty heavily to the sentimental side of things.Nonetheless, the photography is remarkable. The live footage of contemporary state-of-the-art aircraft, in flight, on the ground, and even during ground operations is very good. There is a scene of in-flight refueling, which in my view is the edgiest moment of the movie, that makes us think "I still don't really see how that works", even though it is skillfully captured.The film had an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story. That stumps me; the award it did receive was a Special Citation for the Aerial Photography from National Board of Review, and that was well deserved.Two and a half stars.

I just finished reading all of the comments posted over the years on this movie. Some people never cease to amaze me.First, the film is a must-see for aviation buffs, particularly those who are interested in the USAF during the 1950's. Many commenter's have referred to the spectacular aerial photography, so nothing further need be said on that issue.The film is also a fascinating look into 50-year old technology. There were no digital readouts or touch screens in 1955. Aircraft instruments were round and the controls were operated with dials, knobs, and switches. It might be hard for the younger generation to believe, but at that time, aircraft like the B-47 were on the cutting edge. Yes, compared to an F-16 or B-2, the B-36, B-45, and even the B-47 were dinosaurs. But at that time, they were top of the line aircraft.What prompted me to comment though, is the criticism brought by some on the social "evils" of the film, including sexism, degradation of women, etc. Come on, folks, get real! I'm sorry to have to break this to you, but the film pretty accurately portrays the way American society was at that time. I grew up in the 50's and 60's, and that's the way it was.Even in the opening acknowledgment to SAC, the film producers give thanks to the men in SAC, and the young men who will soon take their place beside them. No mention of the WAF or women in the Air Force. Women didn't fly combat aircraft at that time, and I'm sure in 1955 no one would have imagined that the USAF would someday have female combat pilots.I'm also surprised no one commented on the lack of minorities in the film. I don't recall seeing any African-Americans, Asians, or other people of color in the film, even in the background scenes. Again, a sign of the times.I'm not defending the way women and minorities were treated in that era. But this film wasn't meant to be a catalyst for social change in America. The film is an excellent representation of the cold war fear that existed at that time, and the necessity for a strong deterrent to the spread of Communism. Whether that threat was real can be debated by scholars. But the underlying fear was there. I remember people building bomb shelters in their back yards.In summary, I love this movie. For anyone who is fascinated with the USAF during the 50's, I would highly recommend this film.

Interesting story of Dutch Holland (James Stewart) and his wife (June Allyson) and their involvement with the Strategic Air Command of the U.S. Air Force in the post-war years. Holland, an ex bomber pilot, is now a successful third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals and has just signed a contract for seventy thousand bucks. His career is interrupted when the Air Force activates his reserve status and he's hauled back in for 21 months. Holland has a lot of catching up to do but learns to love flying the huge B-36 and then the slim B-47. He's a good officer and reenlists, which perturbs his wife, but a bad shoulder forces him out of the Air Force and, presumably, he goes back to baseball as a coach or manager.The movie is practically a recruitment film for the Strategic Air Command, promoting self sacrifice for the sake of a nation on the brink of war. The incidents we witness are familiar from earlier war movies. All that's missing is the war itself.June Allyson plays June Allyson, the steadfast, common-sense wife, who endorses Stewart's first hitch but balks at the second. Some sit-com humor is gotten out of their adjustment to military life. They move from a prosperous-looking home into a standard typical spare functional monochromatic generic Monopoly Air Force house. The re-introduction to military routine is played for some sarcasm too. Stewart has gone for a medical check up but he's late. "Well, honey, they go over you from head to foot here, and they've only gotten down to my throat." There is the requisite cigar-chomping tough general, modeled after the brave but reckless Curtis LeMay who ran SAC at the time. The tedium of being checked out on various airplanes is omitted. And there is a soaring score by Victor Young that almost adds lift to the wings of those stone-heavy B-36s.Interesting airplanes, B-36s. The largest combat airplane ever produced. As in a training film, the story guides us through the vast interior of this machine, crowing a bit over the 80-foot-long "Holland Tunnel" that connects the fore and aft compartments. The thing was a dinosaur, of course, designed during WWII to deliver bombs from the US to Germany in case Britain fell, slow, ungainly and obsolescent almost from the beginning. The B-47 represented a new paradigm -- twice as fast and with a crew of only three men. And the B-36s replacement, the B-52, has had a service life of half a century. There are also a few proud shots of Globemaster transports, huge things, seen swallowing an 18-wheeler whole from its open maw, like a python swallowing a shoat. It seems impossible.Gorgeous shots of airplanes in flight. (In fact, the photography, by seasoned pro William H. Daniels, is superb.) Seeing this spacious bomber fly from Texas to Alaska and back without refueling generates a desire to be aboard. There's even a built-in coffee station. Maybe glazed donuts with sprinkles.I've seen it twice and enjoyed it both times despite the stereotypical script. The airplanes make the rest of it worthwhile.