# Air Force movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 15, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386 "2013-02-15T14:40:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/1 "2013-02-15T14:40:03Z")
I’m old enough to remember when the Air National Guard still had some F-106s. The other day we watched _Super 8_, which was set in 1979 and featured the Air Force personnel as the Bad Guys. No planes, but it was interesting to see someone other than the Army or some kind of special forces. It got me thinking about films in general that feature the USAF, and the late-'50s/early-'60s and the days of the ‘Century Fighters’. I grew up near a couple of Naval Air Stations, so I’d see F-4s Phantom IIs and F-14 Tomcats flying around. As a young adult I worked at an Air Force base and saw F-4s, F-15s, F-16s, T-38s, B-1s, and various experimental aircraft. The Navy has _Top Gun_, and the Air Force has _The Right Stuff_; but what I’d really like to see is some USAF-themed films that were shot in the time period in which they took place. There’s _Strategic Air Command_ with Jimmy Stewart. Good film. Any number of films have incidental shots of USAF aircraft. For example, _The Thing From Another World_ has the C-47, _War Of The Worlds_ has a B-49, and other films have clips of F-86s or F-101s scrambling to the chase. But these are incidental. _Dr. Strangelove; Or, How I learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb_ and _Fail Safe_ featured B-52 bombers. Those were great. What are some ‘Century Fighter’-era movies that take place primarily on Air Force bases and/or focus on USAF personnel? Additionally, what films feature the USAF Auxiliary, Civil Air Patrol? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/2 "2013-02-15T14:46:10Z")
Just off the top of my head, how about [_Failsafe_](http://www.google.com/imgres?q=failsafe&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&biw=1124&bih=755&tbm=isch&tbnid=LPVflrXE4JwnOM:&imgrefurl=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/failsafe/&docid=rbtUPYqN3BeuHM&imgurl=http://content.internetvideoarchive.com/content/photos/387/016256_27.jpg&w=320&h=240&ei=XUoeUfG9M5GZqQGa7IHgAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=2&vpy=292&dur=5578&hovh=192&hovw=256&tx=141&ty=105&sig=116026351230573022592&page=3&tbnh=147&tbnw=187&start=50&ndsp=29&ved=1t:429,r:73,s:0,i:323) with Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Larry Hagman, etc? They were trying to defuse a SAC attack and it would likely have a few shots. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/3 "2013-02-15T14:54:40Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > . . ._Fail Safe_ featured B-52 bombers. Those were great. . . . I think the movie version of the Fail-Safe bombers looked more like B-58s. I don’t recall what kind were mentioned in the book. I also don’t recall how many external shots there were of the bombers, other than the stock footage when they were shown taking off. But, more to the point, another Air Force movie was “Bombers B-52,” featuring a young Natalie Wood. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/4 "2013-02-15T14:58:20Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > I think the movie version of the Fail-Safe bombers looked more like B-58s. I think you’re right. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/5 "2013-02-15T15:04:44Z")
Argh, I missed your Failsafe mention, apologies! He’s the wiki on the [Convair B-58 Hustler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-58_Hustler). \*"The B-58 has also appeared in the 1964 film Fail-Safe, where [stock footage of B-58s](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Convair_B-58A_Hustler_in_flight_%28SN_59-2442%29._Photo_taken_on_June_29%2C_1967_061101-F-1234P-019.jpg) was used to represent the fictional “Vindicator” bombers which attacked Moscow. Interestingly, the art used in the original magazine publication of the novel had depicted the “Vindicator” bombers - itself the recycling of the name of a World War II American dive bomber - as almost identical to B-58s but equipped with canards.[44] In Fail Safe, a 2000 made-for-TV remake starring George Clooney, the fictional Vindicator bomber was again represented by the B-58 Hustler."\* ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/6 "2013-02-15T16:27:10Z")
Earl beat me to Bombers B-52. There’s “A Gathering of Eagles” with Rock Hudson. It’s somewhat in the mode of “Twelve O’Clock High” in that it’s more about the leadership than flying. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/7 "2013-02-15T16:56:16Z")
Disappointingly, an [F-104](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-104) is NOT featured in the movie [The Last Starfighter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Starfighter). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/8 "2013-02-15T17:25:06Z")
[Iron Eagle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Eagle)? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/9 "2013-02-15T17:27:48Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > [Iron Eagle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Eagle)? Oh God, no! I couldn’t get past the silliness of the Cessna vs. motorcycle race. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/10 "2013-02-15T17:37:21Z")
Pre-century fighter but how about Battle Hymn? Rock Hudson plays a WWII vet who becomes a minister after the war. He is recalled for Korea to take command of a squadron. Based on a true story. Eta looking it up I see they were flying P-51s. I had forgotten that. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/11 "2013-02-15T18:38:57Z")
[McDonnell F-101B Voodoo](http://www.impdb.org/index.php?title=The_Russians_Are_Coming_the_Russians_Are_Coming) seen in The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/12 "2013-02-15T18:53:11Z")
There was a '50s flick with John Wayne and Janet Leigh, in which he was a USAF colonel and she was a Russian defector. She came over in what they said was basically a Soviet version of the T-33 (it wasn’t) and were flying, IIRC, F-94s and F-96s; probably others as well, but it’s been almost 30 years since I saw the movie on late-night, and I don’t remember. One thing that did stick with me was that the AF officers were wearing weird combinations of brown and blue uniform parts. I’ve always wondered if there was indeed a transitional period in which Army uniforms were still being issued to AF personnel, or if the movie had just been Colorized badly. (I remember seeing such a '40s Sherlock Holmes movie, in which a USAAF officer was wearing the correct period uniform but they had colored it blue instead of brown.) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/13 "2013-02-15T18:54:37Z")
This is the movie: > **[Jet Pilot (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_Pilot_(film))** > > Jet Pilot is a 1957 American Cold War romance film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring John Wayne and Janet Leigh. It was written and produced by Jules Furthman, and presented by Howard Hughes. Filming lasted more than eighteen months, beginning in 1949. The last day of shooting was in May 1953, but the Technicolor film was kept out of release by Hughes due to his tinkering until October 1957, by which time Hughes had sold RKO. Universal-International ended up distributing Jet Pilot.\[ Th... ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/14 "2013-02-15T18:58:41Z")
How can you say **Failsafe** without thinking of **Dr. Strangelove**. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/15 "2013-02-15T19:05:31Z")
In _Strategic Air Command_, I’m pretty sure, Stewart was flying B-47s, at least for part of the movie. In the book _Fail-Safe_, the fighters are called “Skyscrappers,” and from the brief description that was given of them sounded a lot like F-104s (e.g., missiles with stubby wings). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/16 "2013-02-15T19:07:37Z")
This link works: > **[Jet Pilot (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_Pilot_(film))** > > Jet Pilot is a 1957 American Cold War romance film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring John Wayne and Janet Leigh. It was written and produced by Jules Furthman, and presented by Howard Hughes. Filming lasted more than eighteen months, beginning in 1949. The last day of shooting was in May 1953, but the Technicolor film was kept out of release by Hughes due to his tinkering until October 1957, by which time Hughes had sold RKO. Universal-International ended up distributing Jet Pilot.\[ Th... What I meant to say, of course, was that the plane she came over in _was_ a T-33, NOT a “Soviet version” of one. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/17 "2013-02-15T19:21:31Z")
Two of my favorites: [The Hunters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunters_(1958_film)) starring Robert Mitchum. Some terrific footage of F-86 Sabres, including dropping external tanks. Not a bad story either. [The Bridges at Toko-Ri](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridges_at_Toko-Ri). I believe they’re flying Grumman Panthers. I’ve always thought of this film as the Top Gun of its day. The scene where William Holden has to trap with a crane sitting on the deck is one of my all time favorites. I’ve had a few landings with a pucker factor, but nothing like that! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/18 "2013-02-15T19:32:08Z")
What about more that aren’t set in the Korean War? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/19 "2013-02-15T20:52:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > . The Navy has _Top Gun_, and the Air Force has _The Right Stuff_ It wasn’t that neat a delineation in _ **The Right Stuff.** _ Of the primary characters… 1. John Glenn was a Marine 2. Alan Shepard, Walter Schirra, and Scott Carpenter were in the Navy 3. Chuck Yeager, Gus Grissom, Deke Slayton and Gordon Cooper were in the Air Force \*\*\*Firefox \*\*\*had Air Force pilot Mitchell Gant (Clint Eastwood) as its hero, but he was mostly seen flying a Russian plane. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386/20 "2013-02-15T20:55:20Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > It wasn’t that neat a delineation in _ **The Right Stuff.** _ Of the primary characters… True, but much of the film took place at Edwards (Muroc) Air Force Base. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-force-movies/650386.md?page=2)