Air Force (Warner Bros.) (1943)

REVIEW e FEATURES ABOUT THE DIRECTOR THEATRE ANNOUNCEMENT (Review) ‘Air Force’ Outstanding War Drama Of Flying Fortress, the ‘Mary Ann’ “AIR FORCE;” produced by Hal B. Wallis; a Howard Hawks production; directed by Howard Hawks; screen play by Dudley Nichols; presented by Warner Bros. at the Strand Theatre with the following cast: Set. Winocki....... John Garfield Lieut. Williams...... Gig Young Se toe Wohnen sess Gisa, 5 Harry Carey Corp. Weinberg...George Tobias Lieut. McMartin. .Arthur Kennedy Liewt: Rader oy. has James Brown Capt. Quincannon..John Ridgely Major Mallory....Stanley Ridges Pvt. Chester....Ray Montgomery Lieut. Hauser..... Charles Drake Command. Officer..Moroni Olsen Sgt Callahan..Edward S. Brophy Major Roberts..... Richard Lane Lieut Moran eh see Bill Crago Mary Quincannon....Ann Doran Susan McMartin...Faye Emerson Mrs. Chester...Dorothy Vaughan Corn, Peterson... Ward Wood Made with the cooperation of the United States Air Corps, “Air Force,” which opened yesterday at the Strand, is one of the most exciting dramas of heroism that the screen has yet given us. For plot, “Air Force” has the simplest, yet perhaps, the most dramatic story ever told: the daily log of a Boeing Flying Fortress as it makes its way across the troubled waters of the Pacific Ocean. Directed by Howard Hawks, whose recent “Sergeant York’ has made cinema history, “Air Force” has a large cast featuring John Garfield, Gig Young, Harry Carey, George Tobias, Arthur Kennedy, James Brown and John Ridgely. The actors, under Howard Hawks’ able direction, play second fiddle to the story itself; the real star of “Air Force’ is “Mary Ann,” which is the affectionate name given the B-17 by its nine-man crew. The story begins when “Mary Ann” and its crew of nine take off on a peace-time mission to Honolulu just before December 7. Unarmed and unaware of its fate, it soon makes the bitter discovery of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The bomber goes from Maui where it is attacked from ambush to Hickam Field, in spite of warnings; then. heads for Manila by way of Wake Island. After a perilous flight through a bank of storm clouds, it makes a hazardous landing at Action at Manila! Mat 205—30c Gig Young and Arthur Kennedy man a machine gun, taken from their Flying Fortress, the “Mary Ann,” to fight off an attack by Jap Zeros. Scene from Warner Bros.” picture, “Air Force,”? now at the Strand Theatre. Clark Field only to learn that it is being evacuated. They hurriedly load with bombs, but after only three have been loaded, sirens warn of enemy attack, and they quickly take off to find the invasion fleet, accounting for one cruiser and two transports with their bombs. Although their Captain is killed and another member of the crew shot by Jap gunners, the brave ship is brought down safely, patched up with loving care and feverish haste, and taken up again to play an active part in the Battle of the Coral Sea. “Air Force,” .perfectly performed, is indeed a tribute to the heroic boys who “keep ’em flying.” All the heroism witnessed and recorded by our boys fighting in South Pacific waters from that fateful December 7, is captured by the cameras. “Air Force” is the real stuff! High ranking officers sat in on the preparation of the script, the screen play of which was written by Dudley Nichols, with the aid of Howard Hawks, whose splendid direction made this thrilling saga possible. Against the resounding background of the war in the air Hawks plays the men and machines assigned for this purpose, with consummate skill and ease. He is working in a medium he knows, having directed such air pictures as “The Dawn Patrol,” “Only Angels Have Wings” and “Ceiling Zero.” Hats off, too, to Hal B. Wallis, producer of “Air Force!” Boeing Flying Fortress, ‘Mary Ann,’ Star of ‘Air Force’ Now at Strand There’s a new glamour girl in Hollywood! She doesn’t wear sweaters or pose for “leg art.” She has never been seen at the Brown Derby. And though her autograph is well-known in certain European and Asiatic cities, nobody has ever asked her for it. She’s Boeing’s Flying Fortress, the “Mary Ann,” and star of Warner Bros.’ saga of the skies, “Air Force” which is now at the Strand Theatre. Made with the cooperation of the office of General H. H. “Hap” Arnold, chief of the U. S. Air Corps, the picture is the dramatic story of this B-17 and the gallant crew that flew her to fame in the air over the Pacific. “Air Force” records the log of the “Mary Ann” from the time it left Mather Field in San Francisco, December 6, 1941, on a routine flight to Honolulu. Caught above the Hawaiian Islands without ammunition by the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the “Mary Ann” makes an emergency landing at a secret field at Maui. Forced to take off by Jap snipers the plane heads for Hickam Field. Here it is immediately ordered to Manila where the shortage of bombers is acute. At Clark Field, only partially loaded, the plane flies out to intercept an 20 Still AF 2; Mat 102—15c JOHN GARFIELD plays an important role in Warner Bros,’ saga of the skies, “Air Force,” the Strand Theatre’s current feature attraction of aerial warfare over the Pacific. invasion fleet. It accounts for several ships but is heavily damaged and barely manages to get back to Clark Field. Hastily repaired, the “Mary Ann” takes off for Australia but over the Coral Sea spots a heavy Jap task force. With aerial aid summoned from nearby Allied bases, the redoubtable plane takes part in the routing of the enemy fleet. Riddled by bullets and “flak” the ship just makes Australia where it burns. In its telling of the achievements of one Flying Fortiess, the “Mary Ann,” “Air Force” is a tribute to all B-17’s for the role they are playing in carrying the war to the Axis. The “Mary Ann,” built in the prePearl Harbor days, was one of the earlier ‘fortresses. Today, the planes that have come after her—the B-17E’s and now the B-17F’s, representing new and improved Boeing models—carry on the fight for Victory begun by the “Mary Ann.” Featured in the picture are John Garfield, Gig Young, Harry Carey and George Tobias. Howard Hawks, who has been responsible for such aviation successes as “Dawn Patrol’ and “Ceiling Zero” in addition to “Sergeant York,” directed this Hal B. Wallis production. Dudley Nichols wrote the script. Gig Young Finds Make-up Too Real Gig Young, wearing the three-day growth of beard called for in the script of “Air Force,” the Warner Bros. picture now at the Strand Theatre, dined in a small restaurant on one of his day’s off. Dressed shabbily, he looked and felt like a bum. But he felt even more like a denizen of skid-row when the man in charge pushed away his money for the check with: “‘Forget it, buddy. I’ve been on the bum myself.” Hope ‘Air Force’ Will Produce New Star Crop — “Air Force,” the picture which deals entirely with the heroic exploits of the American Air Force in Pacific warfare, may well be the star-maker of the present decade. Howard Hawks, directing “Air Force” for Producer Hal B. Wallis under the Warner Bros. banner, believes that there are several potential stars in his cast of young but talented players. John Garfield and Harry Carey are the only time-tested stars of this production, but Gig Young, John Ridgely, Arthur Kennedy, Charles Drake, Ray Montgomery, Ward Wood and James Brown are youngsters whose work is being watched carefully by both director and studio because from among them several future stars are expected to emerge. Young and Ridgely Get Nod After only a few weeks of work with his young cast in “Air Force,” Hawks was inclined to give the nod that may mean stardom to John Ridgely and to Gig Young. The latter had earned his potential star rating in a previous. picture, “The Gay Sisters,” but Ridgely is new on the probable star list as are Arthur Kennedy, James Brown and Charles Drake, all of whom have also earned the veteran director’s quick and hearty approval. Hawks has had _ experience discovering and developing new star names for motion pictures. His famous early talking picture, “Scarface,” swept Paul Muni to quick stardom and introduced two new names and faces, those of George Raft and Ann Dvorak. More recently “Sergeant York,” which Hawks directed, gave the motion picture world a new feminine star in Joan Leslie. Hawks takes a true artist’s delight in working with fresh, unspoiled material, in both personnel and plot. “Air Force” is an interesting and free field for him and he expects it to be a picture which will be unusual in scope and development and bring to light much previously unrecognized star talent. _ the ‘Air Force’ Opens Friday at Strand “Air Force,” Warner Bros.’ aviation film which was produced with the cooperation of the United States Air Corps, will open Friday at the Strand. The picture records the log of the “Mary Ann,” a Boeing Flying Fortress, from the time it leaves Mather Field, San Francisco, Dec. 6, 1941, for Honolulu. It traces the feats of the B-17 over Pearl Harbor, Wake Island and the battle of the Coral Sea. John Garfield, Gig Young, Harry Carey and George Tobias are featured in “Air Force.” Howard Hawks Reports the War In ‘Air Foree’ Film producer Howard Hawks is the new kind of war correspondent in this war. He is the man reporting back home from behind the movie cameras and the microphone — right now while it is still news of the times. The Germans had 4500 motion picture cameras turned on the invasion of Poland. They were out to scare the world and win a phase of the war that way. Uncle Sam doesn’t have that many cameras, and he doesn’t need them. But he, too, is utilizing the movie-and-sound box as a Big Bertha of modern warfare to bring home to his people and to the people of his Allies the true story of what is happening on the battleground. He does this (1) through the newsreel, which picks out the highlights; (2) through the medium of photographic missions operating as units in the military forces, which also, of course, are limited to only certain phases of a battle, and (3) through the ful. sength feature motion picture story which recreates the whole story. Tells Full Story Howard Hawks is one of the men who has this latter job. As producer of “Air Force,” the Warner Bros. picture opening Friday at the Strand Theatre, he told for the first time the complete story of America’s air men in the Pacific from Pear] Harbor to the Coral Sea and the drama behind those headlines. The generalities of certain war backgrounds, including the R.A.F. exploits, the heroism of the Yanks of the Eagle Squadron, and the story of the Flying Tigers in China have furnished basis of several movie scenarios. “Air Force” is heralded as the first to be factual both in outline and in detail. What the audience sees actually happened and the words it hears actually were spoken—and the proof is to be found in the official archives of the Air Corps in Washington, D.C. With his picture under the direct approval of General H. H. “Hap” Arnold, commander of the Army Air Forces, Hawks’ assignment was like that of any good reporter—it was up to him to get all the facts and tell them, without coloring, and the way they happened. Thus he has re-created what happened at Hickam Field. He did not pull any punches to make Uncle Sam look better than he was. He didn’t melo-’ dramatically paint the Japs as some slow-witted, inferior little oafs, but for the cruel, shrewd, ingeniously ruthless enemy they are. He told of the beatings we took up to the Coral Sea, and then he shows the beginnings of our turn to dish it out.