Air Force (film)

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Air Force
Image:Air Force film.jpg Cover of Air Force video tape
Directed by	Howard Hawks
Starring	John Garfield, John Ridgely, Gig Young, Harry Carey
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

Air Force is a 1943 Academy-Award-winning movie directed by Howard Hawks. It starred John Garfield, John Ridgely, Harry Carey, and Gig Young.

[edit] Synopsis

The film details the story the crew of the Mary-Ann, a B-17 bomber, in the early days of World War II. It begins with a flight from California to Hickam Field at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, beginning on December 6, 1941. The unarmed B-17 squadron arrived right at the beginning of the Japanese attack (This is based on a true incident; radar operators thought the Japanese planes they detected were an incoming flight of B-17s). It portrays John Garfield as a disaffected gunner who was washed out of flight school after a mid-air collision where another pilot was killed. Harry Caray has a very effective role as the Mary-Ann's crew chief and a long-time veteran in the Army Air Corps, with a son who is a pilot.

[edit] Production

Made in the early days of World War II, there is quite a bit of anti-Japanese propaganda. The crew is shot at by "local Japanese" on Maui and the Hickam Field commander tells the crew that vegetable trucks knocked the tails off a row of P-40 Warhawk fighters as the attack began. As detailed in Walter Lord's book, Day of Infamy, later investigations proved no Japanese-American was involved in any sabotage during the Pearl Harbor attack.