Air Force (1943) on Netflix
Approved19432h 4mActionDramaHistory
On December 6, 1941, the B-17 Mary-Ann flies from San Francisco toward Hawaii. Pilot Michael Quincannon and gunner Joe Winocki arrive at Hickam Field during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
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Trailer
Plot summary
On December 6, 1941, nine B-17 Flying Fortresses fly from San Francisco to Hawaii, among them the Mary-Ann, commanded by Michael Quincannon. His crew includes co-pilot Bill Williams, bombardier Tom McMartin, navigator Monk Hauser Jr., crew chief Robbie White and gunner Joe Winocki, a disgruntled gunner who intends to leave the Army Air Corps. The bombers carry no ammunition. They reach Hickam Field during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and afterward the crew is ordered to Clark Field in the Philippines by way of Wake Island. En route they hear President Roosevelt ask Congress to declare war, and take on two passengers, fighter pilot Thomas "Tex" Rader and a small dog named Tripoli.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Air Force (1943)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Producer Hal Wallis and director Howard Hawks clashed over Hawks constantly changing dialogue as scenes were shot; Hawks was briefly replaced on 4 October by Vincent Sherman, but returned from \"illness\" on 10 October to take back primary direction.
- Executive producer Jack Warner insisted the film be ready for release by 7 December 1942, the first anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, so miniatures for the battle sequences were filmed in May and June 1942, before the script and storyline were finished.
- The story grew out of a real flight of twelve B-17s that left Hamilton Field, California, on the night of December 6, 1941 and flew straight into the attack on Pearl Harbor the next morning, a concept director Howard Hawks credited to Lieutenant General Henry H. Arnold.
- The production moved by train to Drew Army Airfield in Florida at the end of July to shoot aerial sequences coordinated by chief pilot Paul Mantz; Drew was chosen because of fears that aircraft marked as Japanese might cause panic on the West Coast.
- Real American aircraft played the enemy: North American AT-6 Texans and Republic P-43 Lancers were painted as Japanese fighters, and six Martin B-26C Marauders from MacDill Field were painted as Japanese bombers.
- Nichols's script, submitted on 15 June, ran 207 pages, twice the length of a normal feature film, with its first 55 pages devoted to character development, and was still unfinished.
