I just caught this old gem on AMC. The movie is quite good, especially offering insights into the mentality of the early 1950’s. Anyhow, who was the actor who portrayed Gen. Curtis LeMay of SAC? Also, the Boeing B-36 bomber-was it the largest bomber that the USAF ever flew? I understand that this aircraft had many serious problems-were engine fires (as portrayed in the movie) really a common problem with this airplane?
Graet movie, and i notice that the colors were crisp and excellent-was this movie shot using the Technicolor process?
According to the IMDB, the film was in Technicolor.
http://us.imdb.com/Credits?0048667
There is no character credited as LeMay. Perhaps one of the listed actors was the “LeMay” character?
Old hands flying the B-36 with it’s ten engines called them “six turning and four burning.” Due to chronic engine problems another saying was common "four turning, four burning and two standing still. The engines of the B-36 were prone to catch fire easily if you pay close attention to the movie in the scene where the engines start an airman stands ready with a very large fire extinguisher, just in case.
The music in SAC was great with wonderful flying scenes.
There is a B-36 at the Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio, awesome aircraft, I have a picture of myself sitting on the main landing gear!
if you want to see the USAF museum B-36, wait until summer. the museum is doing a major expansion. They moved the B-36 from the building it was in (which involved cutting a very large hole in the wall.) into the new Cold War Gallery. This gallery is not open yet and will open in late spring early summer.
According to the IMDB, there was a General Innes C. Hawkes, played by Frank Lovejoy.