The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell | |
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Warner Bros | |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $3 million (US)[1] |
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell is a 1955 American CinemaScope biographical drama film directed by Otto Preminger, and starring Gary Cooper and co-starring Charles Bickford, Ralph Bellamy, Rod Steiger, and Elizabeth Montgomery in her film debut. The film is based on the 1925 court-martial of General Billy Mitchell, who is considered a founding figure of the U.S. Air Force.
During the 28th Academy Awards, it received a nomination for Best Story and Screenplay for Milton Sperling and Emmet Lavery. The award, however, went to Interrupted Melody (William Ludwig and Sonya Levien).
Plot
Mitchell is demoted to colonel and sent to a ground unit in Texas. A high-profile air disaster occurs in which his close friend Zachary Lansdowne (Jack Lord) is killed in the crash of the dirigible USS Shenandoah. This is followed by a second disaster in which six aircraft crash after flying from a base on the California coast to Fort Huachuca, Arizona. They were poorly maintained because of lack of funds.
Mitchell is outraged by the tragedy and calls a press conference in which he harshly accuses the Army and Navy of criminal negligence and almost treasonable disregard of the air service. This results in a court martial in Washington, D.C. He is represented by his friend, Illinois Congressman Frank R. Reid (Ralph Bellamy), an advocate of air power in Congress. None of the officers hearing the case, which includes General Douglas MacArthur, are in the Air Corps. Reid makes little headway. His request to call witnesses on the merits of Mitchell's position are denied. He asks who preferred the charges against Mitchell, and receiving no clear answer he demands the appearance as a witness of President Calvin Coolidge as commander of all armed forces. The court adjourns to consider the request..
Mitchell refuses to sign a paper Reid has presented him in which he withdraws his criticisms in return for saving his career as an Army officer. Margaret Lansdowne (
Finally Mitchell testifies and is cross-examined by Maj. Allen W. Gullion (Rod Steiger), a prosecutor specially brought in for the job. He stresses that Mitchell had disobeyed his superior officers. Gullion also ridicules Mitchell's claims, such as his prediction that Japan would attack the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor.
The court finds Mitchell guilty, however his men in the air service salute him as he departs. Mitchell steps out and looks up to see a squadron of four biplanes and fades to a squadron of fighter jets, demonstrating what Billy Mitchell's actions will result in for the future of the United States and its Air Force.
Cast
- Gary Cooper as Col. Billy Mitchell
- Charles Bickford as Maj. Gen. Jimmy Guthrie (based upon Maj. General Charles Pelot Summerall and Maj. General Robert Lee Howze)
- Ralph Bellamy as Congressman Frank R. Reid
- Rod Steiger as Maj. Allen W. Gullion
- Elizabeth Montgomery as Mrs. Margaret Lansdowne
- Fred Clark as Col. Sherman Moreland
- James Daly as Lt. Col. Herbert White
- Jack Lord as Lt. Cmdr. Zachary Lansdowne
- Peter Graves as Capt. Bob Elliott
- Darren McGavin as Capt. Russ Peters
- Robert Simonas Adm. Gage
- Charles Dingle as Unnamed US Senator
- Dayton Lummis as General Douglas MacArthur
- Tom McKee as Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker
- Steve Roberts as Major Carl Spaatz
- Herbert Heyes as General John J. Pershing
- H. H. Arnold
- Fiorello LaGuardia
- Ian Wolfe as President Calvin Coolidge
- William S. Sims
Production
Producer and screenwriter Milton Sperling began work on Mitchell's story in 1938, just two years after the general's death. In the successive years, he continued to seek out help from Mitchell's family until 1955 when production began in earnest. Under the direction of Otto Preminger, the first 10 days of principal photography took place on location in Washington, D.C. in the original sites involved in the story. The old War Department Building, Army-Navy Club and State Department buildings, among others, were featured in key scenes.[2]
Aerial sequences under the direction of second unit director Russ Saunders and aerial coordinator
Reception
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell had its national premiere in
See also
References
Notes
- ^ A "gala" premiere was held on December 14, 1955 at the Liberty and Weller Theaters in Zanesville, Ohio, near the site of the USS Shenandoah crash.[7]
Citations
Bibliography
- Orriss, Bruce. When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Post World War II Years. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 2018. ISBN 978-0-692-03465-1.
- Paris, Michael. From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0-7190-4074-0.
- Pendo, Stephen. Aviation in the Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. ISBN 0-8-1081-746-2.