LouAbbott As a child, TV I watched "Air Force" and other war films some consider WW II "propaganda" on TV. As a young man, after a night of carousing, I'd come stumbling home and, if a channel were showing these types of films, I'd watch them on the Late, Late Show. Now, I watch these films for the excellent acting, action, and for their historical content significance as "propaganda" films during the dark part of WWII for the US and its allies. When it seemed as if Japan and Germany were conquering the world. And I could also enjoy the action and danger vicariously.Don't kid yourself that Hollywood no longer makes "propaganda" films. They are making them now more than ever. The films are just a different type of "propaganda".

starbase202 Luckily, I was able to view this wonderful and inspiring movie last night. And I was unable to bring myself to change channels to watch another program. The actors were very natural in both combat and 'normal' situations. Of course, the special effects were dated but fine considering the movie's production mid-WWII time frame. Maybe the movie industry should consider updating and reissuing it or a new version? The movie reminded me of how so very much all Americans owe to our WWII veterans as well as those who were involved in working and supporting the war effort. I hope that the USA never has to go through such a terrible time fighting a national security threat.

GManfred Can't understand how I missed this picture for so long, but I finally caught up to it after all these years. I thought it was great, one of the best war pictures ever, on a par with "A Walk In The Sun". As everyone has attested, it charts the progress of a B-17 across the Pacific after taking off from San Francisco on Dec. 6, 1941. They were headed for Hickam Field in Honolulu - we know what happens next.The sleepless crew refuels and moves on to Wake Island and eventually to the Philippines, where it engages in some the best aerial fighting footage in movies, patched up and held together by gum and rubber bands. On the way, we get to know the crew members and their backgrounds. The crew are mostly neophyte actors (this is 1943) John Garfield, Arthur Kennedy, Gig Young and James Brown, but the cast and the story are pulled together by old veteran Harry Carey as the Crew Chief.There are lots of cliché scenes and some of the material has been recycled in other war pictures, but "Air Force" did it first and did it under the skilled direction of Howard Hawks. There is a lot to like in 'Air Force" and I can't think of a single criticism - well done all around and I loved it.

vincem41 To those people who are so caught up in political correctness that they can not for the life of them watch a period film without smugly pointing out all of "incorrect" and "offensive" parts, thus enhancing their own "moral superiority" and "self-esteem" – I say please stop watching movies made before your twenty-first birthday. That way you will not be offended and will not have to deal with reality. Look kiddies – it was 1943, the Japanese had just attacked Pearl Harbor, they had perpetrated the Bataan Death March and the Rape of Nanking. They were on nobody's short list of nice guys. The were in fact "F***ing Japs", "Slopeheads" and a whole lot of other non-printable epithets, By the way, at the same time the Germans were "Krauts", "Squareheads" and "F***ing Nazis" – Italians were universally referred to a "Wops", "Dagos" & "Greaseballs"- by the way all of my uncles who fought in the ETO were Italian-American - and they used the "nicknames" for Italians. They were the enemy. Get over it!!! Speaking from experience, when someone is actively engaged in trying to kill you, and you him, you could care less about political correctness or the ENEMY'S feelings. They are the enemy – thus for me, they will ALWAYS be "Gooks" and "Gomers" and if that hurts their feelings – oh well!! By the way, despite the best efforts of the government and the political correctness mafia – today's combat troops refer to the bad guys as "Rag Heads" and "Muji's". Again, deal with it.Also – 1943 – we barely had enough planes to fight the war, (thanks to the pre-war peace lobby) let alone make movies with them. The fact that the P-39 was somewhat less than a stellar performer just might be the reason that it was available to make this movie, among other "inconsistencies. The fictional battles and actions were a result of the fact that when this film was made there were very few Air Force victories to brag about in the Pacific – yes it was "propaganda" – so what? Finally, many of you use the word "propaganda" like it's a bad thing. Perhaps you feel that we shouldn't be all "Rah, Rah" for our side?? Whose side should we be "Rah, Rah" for? Or do you think in a war you should remain "neutral", not caring which side wins, just so long as "your" nominal side retains the moral high ground. Well hell, Belgium had the moral high ground in two world wars – ask them how they enjoyed it.