# What was this aviation movie (ejection seats)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869 "2014-04-11T13:47:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/1 "2014-04-11T13:47:46Z")
Another obscure question. A long time ago, I watched a movie that had either a subplot or a main plot about developing ejection seats for jet fighters. Every time the test subject would eject, he’s get his arm dislocated by the wind. Whenever they’d think they got it licked, and try again, they’d still have that problem. I’ve tried several movies from the era, but I cannot find any that sound familiar. I think it must have been contemporary, so it was likely from the 1950. Can’t say if it was color or B&W, because on my TV at the time, everything was B&W. Any ideas? Sound familiar? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/2 "2014-04-11T14:01:41Z")
Not much help, but it does sound like one of the long string of “hero test pilot/jet jock” films of the 1950s. Maybe the original of “Always”? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/3 "2014-04-11T14:08:41Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Not much help, but it does sound like one of the long string of “hero test pilot/jet jock” films of the 1950s. Maybe the original of “Always”? No, I have seen _A Guy Named Joe_, and that one isn’t it. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/4 "2014-04-11T14:17:37Z")
No, the original of “Always” was “A Guy Named Joe”, with Spencer Tracy. I thought I’d seen all of that genre of film, but maybe not. Are you sure it was a film, and not a TV episode? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/5 "2014-04-11T14:27:50Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > No, the original of “Always” was “A Guy Named Joe”, with Spencer Tracy. Yeah, I couldn’t remember the original title. I also can’t remember what the non-romance subplot is in that movie and it seemed both a vague fit and something the OP might have overlooked. Onward… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/6 "2014-04-11T14:34:49Z")
Much of the plot of [_On the Threshold of Space_ (1956)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Threshold_of_Space)was about the development of ejection seats for the B-47 Stratojet. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/7 "2014-04-11T14:34:58Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > No, the original of “Always” was “A Guy Named Joe”, with Spencer Tracy. > > I thought I’d seen all of that genre of film, but maybe not. Are you sure it was a film, and not a TV episode? Not 100%. I’m not sure I’ve seen it more than once, so it could be, but if it was an episode, it was probably from a show I didn’t watch regularly. I can’t think of it as a being from a show, unless it was an anthology show. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/8 "2014-04-11T14:40:53Z")
[Bailout at 43,000 Feet?](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050160/)" ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/9 "2014-04-11T14:48:13Z")
Hmm…I did a new Google search (did you know this thread shows up like 4th in the search, and it is barely an hour old?) and I found a possibility: Bailout at 43,000. There’s not a lot of info on it. There’s also an episode of the TV show Climax! (exclamation point in the original) by that name as well. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/10 "2014-04-11T14:52:41Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > [Bailout at 43,000 Feet?](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050160/)" Ninja’d in my own thread! It could be. Have to see if I can find it to watch. I see one is available on ebay for $20. Have to decide if it is worth it. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/11 "2014-04-11T14:55:09Z")
I found a website the claims you can view it for free, but I can’t get to the site from work. Just my opinion, but I can’t think of _any_ movie from the 50s that’s worth twenty bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/12 "2014-04-11T15:02:54Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I found a website the claims you can view it for free, but I can’t get to the site from work. Just my opinion, but I can’t think of _any_ movie from the 50s that’s worth twenty bucks. I agree. What if it isn’t the movie? What if it is and it sucks? 🙂 I’ll have to try the viewing site at home. Maybe _Forbidden Planet_ would be worth $20. I may have paid that when DVDs were new. But I’d balk at that price now, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/13 "2014-04-11T18:33:42Z")
How bizarre. Not only did Hollywood make one movie made about the trials and tribulations of developing downward ejection seats for the B-47 Stratojet bomber, it actually made two! That’s just crazy… did people just watch anything military-themed back in the 50s and 60s? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/14 "2014-04-11T18:51:16Z")
> [@bump](#): > > How bizarre. Not only did Hollywood make one movie made about the trials and tribulations of developing downward ejection seats for the B-47 Stratojet bomber, it actually made two! > > That’s just crazy… did people just watch anything military-themed back in the 50s and 60s? Pretty much. Military themed movies were a major genre just like westerns. The studios had costumes and props available, and people bought the tickets. They didn’t have a lot of choices back then. On top of that there were a huge number of WWII and Korean war veterans who liked these things. ETA: Think about now, how many zombie movies do we need? Look at 1984, Places in the Heart, Country, and The River, all farm stories, all were out at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/15 "2014-04-11T18:51:31Z")
it was the cold war. nuclear war was close. WW2 people were young adults into middle age. it was a significant interest. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/16 "2014-04-12T22:47:37Z")
Plus there was tons of stock footage to use. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/17 "2014-04-13T00:10:09Z")
A brief search turned up a possibility: > **[Chain Lightning (1950) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042324/)** > > Chain Lightning: Directed by Stuart Heisler. With Humphrey Bogart, Eleanor Parker, Raymond Massey, Richard Whorf. Former World War II flying ace Matt Brennan takes a position as a test pilot for a commercial aircraft corporation and bumps into his... \*\*Chain Lightning \*\* (1950) Matt Brennan runs into Jo Holloway, the Red Cross girl he romanced in Europe when he was a flyer in World War II, when he is offered a job by jet manufacturer Leland Willis as a test pilot. Carl Troxell, wants to sell an escape cockpit to the Air Force. He wants Matt to stall the presentation of JA-3 the prototype that doesn’t include the ejection seat, to give him more time for the experimental JA-4. But Matt doesn’t believe it is yet safe enough to try. Starring Bogart. Some bits on Youtube: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/K5cnkkBgtfE/maxresdefault.jpg "Original Theatrical Trailer | Chain Lightning | Warner Archive") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5cnkkBgtfE) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BrxVTG0aHks/maxresdefault.jpg "Preview Clip | Chain Lightning | Warner Archive") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrxVTG0aHks) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByFJAaPfD8U) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/18 "2014-04-13T12:51:50Z")
A dislocated arm? Sheesh. In real life: Aide: The testing of the new ejector seats reveals that the pilots will get a dislocated arm. General: Wonderful news! Start installing them immediately. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/19 "2014-04-14T20:50:52Z")
It’s probably reckless for me to post this without any cites. Just exiting the cockpit is dangerous. Captain John McCain got a broken arm ejecting from his wounded plane before his time as a POW. I’ve seen a picture of a fighter plane’s canopy, and there’s a zigzag line of explosive along the top seam, that’s triggered with the ejection seat. If this is non-factual, feel free to straighten me out. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869/20 "2014-04-14T22:29:35Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > A dislocated arm? Sheesh. > > In real life: > > Aide: The testing of the new ejector seats reveals that the pilots will get a dislocated arm. > General: Wonderful news! Start installing them immediately. Well, we try not to make the DEFAULT operating mode cause bodily harm. 🙂 In extreme cases trade offs are acceptable. Downward firing seats? Sorry, you can’t eject below 150 feet, but at 50000 where you spend most of your time you’ll be fine. Note that the XB-70 and the B-58 had ejection capsules, not just seats. Even so, the one and only use of ejection capsules in the XB-70 had a 50% fatality rate due to the capsule design. Modern seats are little miracle machines. Inverted ejection from 150 feet? No problem. (That’s gotta be quite the ride!) Remember the footage of the MiG 29 crash where the plane is hitting the ground like a lawn dart and at the same time the pilot is just hitting the ground? He survived, and his chute didn’t even fully open! [http://proairshow.com/images/migcrash5.jpg](http://proairshow.com/images/migcrash5.jpg) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-aviation-movie-ejection-seats/685869.md?page=2)