Favorite Aviation Movies-No Highway in the Sky

[MolaKule]

If you are a fan of Jimmy Stewart, this is one interesting movie, IMHO, made in 1951, when there were real story lines weaved into the movie.

He plays an engineer whose fatigue/failure theory is finally proven.

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/85095/no-highway-in-the-sky#overview

 

[GON]

Hope its ok to add another aviation movie. Love to get @Astro14 take on this film.

From wiki:
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards and won two: Dean Jagger for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and Thomas T. Moulton for Best Sound Recording. In 1998, Twelve O'Clock High was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Twelve O'Clock High​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_O'Clock_High

 

[Zaedock]

Iron Eagle.

 

[Oldwolf]

Strategic Air Command with Jimmy Stewart.

 

[Number_35]

If you are a fan of Jimmy Stewart, this is one interesting movie, IMHO, made in 1951, when there were real story lines weaved into the movie.

He plays an engineer whose fatigue/failure theory is finally proven.

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/85095/no-highway-in-the-sky#overview

The Nevil Shute novel No Highway the movie is based on is one of my favourites. It was published in 1948 IIRC, and the crashes of the de Havilland Comet, due to metal fatigue, happened several years later. Eerie ...

I'd love to see the movie.

 

[Number_35]

Strategic Air Command with Jimmy Stewart.

Featuring the B-36 Peacemaker!

 

[k1xv]

While not exactly an aviation movie, Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World had some great stunt flying in both a twin engine Beech and an old WW1 era biplane.

 

[Astro14]

Iron Eagle.

Oh my… you’re kidding, right? I mean, you meant to put a emoji in this post to tell us you’re kidding, didn’t you?

The movie filled with model F-16s on strings bouncing around, and preposterous tropes of what it takes to fly a fighter? That one? Put your Walkman on to “focus”? Ugh.

The Cessna 150 Aerobat scene was actually pretty good, and I love Lou Gossett, jr. but the rest of that movie was hard to watch.

One of the absolute worst aviation movies I have ever seen. Check that, one of the worst movies of any type I have ever seen. A running joke among aviators.

 

[Astro14]

Hope its ok to add another aviation movie. Love to get @Astro14 take on this film.

From wiki:
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards and won two: Dean Jagger for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and Thomas T. Moulton for Best Sound Recording. In 1998, Twelve O'Clock High was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Twelve O'Clock High​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_O'Clock_High

One of the best movies ever made. A genuine classic.

 

[rszappa1]

Hope its ok to add another aviation movie. Love to get @Astro14 take on this film.

From wiki:
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards and won two: Dean Jagger for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and Thomas T. Moulton for Best Sound Recording. In 1998, Twelve O'Clock High was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Twelve O'Clock High​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_O'Clock_High

and most of it was filmed at Eglin AFB FL...

 

[Passport1]

My picks; Fly Boys if you like WW1 biplanes. Memphis Belle for authentic WW2 B-17 action. Mission of Honor, Battle of Britian Hurricane action. There is also an excellent Spitfire segment in Dunkirk.

 

[Zaedock]

Oh my… you’re kidding, right? I mean, you meant to put a emoji in this post to tell us you’re kidding, didn’t you?

When you get over the fact that a teenager was able to steal a F16, it's not a bad movie. The models used were top notch.


In all seriousness, I'd go with 12 O' Clock High

 

[Astro14]

While not a movie, per se, “Masters of the Air” is an outstanding series on Apple. Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks did a wonderful job creating the feel of being in the formation of B-17s in combat. Truly great flying scenes.

 

[JimPghPA]

The original Flight of the Phoenix. But it's a shame a good pilot actually died, and did so because additional un-nedded footage was shot of it actually flying. I heard that he flew it and successfully landed it and they had enough footage to go with, but decided on sending him back up for extra footage just in case there was not enough during editing and cutting.

I especially liked the the parts about the aircraft engineer having only designed real flying unmanned model aircraft.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Shirley you jest.

 

[Number_35]

The Battle Of Britain
Produced in 1968, and still a classic. The producers were able to borrow some elderly Messerschmidt BF-109s from Spain, which was still under General Franco's rule.

 

[Number_35]

Tora! Tora! Tora!

This was about the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941.

There was a lot of Japanese input - the movie was very balanced, and I think historically accurate.

One of the Japanese aircraft was based on an old Harvard or Yale trainer, built by the famous Bob Diemert of Carman, Manitoba.

 

[Number_35]

The War Lover

Great B&W footage of B-17s. There were still a lot of surviving Flying Fortresses in the early 1960s.

 

[Speedy3861]

The Battle of Britain, some of the best, acting and historical accuracy. Cinematography and music were also outstanding. Incidentally, the Memphis Belle film from the 90's is largely BS, I have been good friends with Linda Morgan, widow of Col Robert Morgan, the pilot of the Memphis Bell for years. There are 2 videos on YouTube that give excellent accounts, one is titled "Memphis Belle, The Story of a flying Fortress" it was filmed on the Belle by William Wyler in 1943 during combat missions. The other tells the complete history of the Belle and was produced by The National Museum of The United States Air Force in Dayton Ohio, it's about an hour and is excellent. Find "The Memphis Belle, Her Final Mission " on YouTube. After completing 25 missions in Europe from England, Morgan's crew and the Belle returned to the States and flew a national war bond tour. Col Morgan and some of his crew then went to the Pacific and flew 26 missions in a B29 named "Dauntless Dotty". Col Morgan's book, "The Man Who Flew The Memphis Belle" is a good read if you can find a copy.

Some additional information, the nose art on the 90's film Belle isn't correct. The nose art an the actual Belle is trademarked by the Museum/USAF and they wouldn't allow it to be used in the film. The Belle was removed from display in very poor condition in Memphis and taken to the museum at Wright-Patterson where it underwent a meticulous restoration for 13 years to it's exact appearance after its last mission in 1943. I was present when she was unveiled May 18th 2018. It is totally worth a trip to see her, but also the museum is beyond description.

 

[Number_35]

The Right Stuff

I took exception to the vilification of astronaut Gus Grissom, and the portrayal of Jack Ridley as a lightweight sidekick, but the flying scenes were breathtaking.