bellino-angelo2014 I personally disagree with the ones that say that this is bad in the same way as ''The Conqueror''. Sure it's bad, but it more looked a comedy than a war movie.John Wayne plays a US Air Force Colonel that is forced to escort a defecting soviet pilot (Janet Leigh) to Russia, and then all hell breaks loose, and in a funny way. Wayne and Leigh even fall in love, and they share even some nights out. Even when they end in Russia the comedy comes out of nowhere! Paul Fix is the comic relief while Hans Conried did his best with the material he was given.However there was a good thing about this movie (that's why I rated it 7); the nice figther planes and the aerial shots, very ahead of its time (made in 1951, but not released until 1957).

ma-cortes So-so film was held up for 7 years , before being finally released , being spoiled by an absurd story , though saved only by the impressive flying scenes . It deals with Air Force Col. Jim Shannon (John Wayne) is tasked to escort a defecting Soviet pilot Lt. Anna Marladovna Shannon / Olga Orlief (cute-pie spy played by attractive Janet Leigh) who is scheming to lure Shannon to the USSR . Maj. Gen. Black (Jay C. Flippen) and Maj. Rexford (Paul Fix) assign Shannon to survey Anna , but things go wrong . Later on , they marry , but our protagonist suspects she is a spy planted to find out US secrets . Then Shannon pretends defect with her back to Russia to watch what he can find out , but they again flee . This romantic comedy packs thrills , one-dimensional heroics , comic-strip dialogue , spy-game , ludicrous screenplay and a lot of sky-shattering scenes that are flashily breathtaking . Intimate as well as spectacular WWI airplane movie with an agreeable cast , overwhelming aerial scenes , though including a silly romance . It is one of the Greatest Air Spectacle of the Jet Age but it has a ridiculous plot that relies heavily on an ridiculous love story . This is an entertaining as well as showy Dramedy about relationship between two pilots as well as a tough commanding officer determined to improve efficiency , interwoven with nice aerial footage ; it was so big it took years to make with an inestimable help from the US Air Force , still taking advantage of Chuck Yeager's 1947 supersonic flight for publicity , offered his services as a stunt pilot . This was apparently one of the first films in which the US Air Force during the Cold War was featured , including spectacular aircrafts , such as : first Bell X-1 , Glamorous Glennis , Boeing EB-50A Superfortress , serial 46-0007 ,B-36 , F-94 Starfire F-80 Shooting Star , prototype Northrop XP-89 Scorpion ,Lockheed T-33As , B-36B by a Lockheed F-94A Starfire , among others . It appeared in a number of films afterward , notably Bombers B-52 (1957) , A gathering of eagles (1963) , Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), and By Dawn's Early Light . Amiable acting by John Wayne , in real life a staunch anti-communist, who shambles through the action with a permanent sympathetic grin , he plays a jet pilot in charge of Alaskian Air Force base who falls in love with a defecting pilot , a gorgeous Janet Leigh . Support cast is frankly excellent , such as Jay C. Flippen , Paul Fix , Richard Rober , Hans Conried and brief appearances by Bill Erwin , James Brown , Mamie Van Doren , Kenneth Tobey and Denver Pyle . Brilliant cinematography in Cinemascope and Technicolor by Winton Hoch , John Ford 's usual cameraman , shot on location , the filming for the Russian air base was done at George Air Force Base, a World War II air base with many of its wartime structures still intact, giving the base a primitive appearance . Thrilling as well as rousing musical score by Bronislau Kaper . The film was produced by RKO in 1950 which was owned by Howard Hughes, although this was shot in the fifties , it took seven more years to be released because Hughes couldn't keep his hands off it . As he intended to show off the latest in aircraft technology in 1950 , when this film was shot . By the time it was released to the public, in 1957 , the aircraft featured were already obsolete . The picture was regularly directed by Josef Von Sternberg . His commercial breakthrough was Underworld (1927), a prototypical Hollywood gangster film . With The Last Command (1928), starring the equally strong-willed Emil Jannings , von Sternberg began a period of almost a decade as one of the most celebrated artists of world cinema . Both his film career and his personal life were transformed in the making of Blue Angel (1930). Chosen by Jannings and producer Erich Pommer to make Germany's first major sound picture, Von Sternberg gambled by casting Marlene Dietrich . Josef , subsequently , directed her in various prestigious pictures as Dishonored , The Devil Is a Woman , Blonde Venus , The Scarlet Empress and the greats hit : Shanghai Express ; being Jet pilot his last film .

SimonJack What a fun film this turned out to be. I don't recall it at all from my high school days in 1957, and now having seen it in my retirement years, "Jet Pilot" is a very entertaining movie. The history of this film, from its making in 1950 and delayed release until 1957 is interesting in itself. Thanks to those reviewers who added to that background.The flying sequences with all the aerial antics are excellent. Howard Hughes was known for his interest and work in aviation, so his interest in producing this movie is obvious. It would be interesting to know some of the politics or other hidden details behind the film's delayed release of so many years. How much of a concern might there have been in Washington about a film like this during the early months of the Korean War (then called "conflict")? To those whose sons, husbands or brothers were in peril on the battlefields of Korea, a film with humor about the Cold War could be seen as dispassionate. The world was just five years beyond the end of World War II, and it was still fresh in the minds of most. The extent of the atrocities of the Holocaust was still being unveiled. Likewise, the horrors and effects of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan to end World War II in 1945. Were there other reasons for holding this film back?Whatever the reason, by the time of its release, "Jet Pilot" was clearly the first tongue-in-cheek treatment of the Cold War and Soviet Union that would reach its zenith in 1964 with "Dr. Strangelove." More than half a century later, the flying scenes in "Jet Pilot" are exciting and fun to watch. With all of the supersonic developments in aviation and all the space missions in the past half century, most of us still don't move at the speed of jet fighters when traveling. So, the film isn't outdated to that extent. As for plot and script, I think this movie may indeed have been ahead of its time. Anyone with a sense of humor has to appreciate the obvious spoofing in this film. The idea that the U.S. would let a dubious Soviet defector fly any aircraft she wanted, and have free reign to go where she wanted around military bases in 1950 is itself so preposterous that even a modern-day Scrooge would have to laugh. In its day, the humor of that would not have been lost, and most audiences by 1957 surely would have been able to enjoy the obvious word play, characterizations and humorous jabs throughout the script. John Wayne and Janet Leigh especially added to the humor with their facial expressions and sometimes subtle, sometimes obvious comedic nuances. The supporting cast did likewise – check out the laid back almost nonchalant attitudes of the FBI and CIA agents. That some reviewers could not see the intentional spoofing in this film – by director, writer, actors and all, is puzzling. Maybe some have lost all sense of humor. Anyway, the film makers gave us sufficient obvious signals – Leigh's miscues on Wayne's baloney, bird hatching and other idiomatic references. And then, to be sure the audience didn't miss its laugh, each one of those was followed with Paul Fix giving Leigh some other concocted explanation for what Wayne had said. Another laugh, bigger than the first. In 1962, Agent 007 gave birth to the James Bond movies in "Dr. No." Ian Fleming's and later writers' subsequent stories have continued to entertain audiences with their mixture of mystery, action, romance and humor for half a century. And the humor is usually in the form of spoofery. Anyone who has enjoyed the James Bond franchise of films will enjoy "Jet Pilot." It's a milder form of this mixed genre. Who knows, it may even have influenced the James Bond producers. Clearly, all involved in this film were having fun. So, enjoy it yourself. Just don't take it any more seriously than you would a James Bond movie.

maxsmodels I can watch this film just for the flying.I'd love to get my hands on all of the footage and remake it with a descent plot.Although intended to showcase American airpower in the 50's, it could be redone as cold war retro flick because the footage is still cool and beautiful. This the only place you will likely ever see some off that magnificent old hardware in use.We know the Duke was a hardcore anti-communist as was Howard Hughes. The two no doubt saw eye-to-eye on politics, ergo it is no surprise that they would both be involved in this movie, yet it was probably a bad idea for the Duke. Some people consider it his worst movie (through no fault of his own, the script is ludicrous). I doubt even the red hunting members of the House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) could take it seriously.Still, it has a really cool theater poster. It's a painting of the Duke in an old P-2 flight helmet with the late/post WW2 style flying goggles (althought I believe they use the P-4 helmet in the movie. The P-4 is just a P-2 with a big retractable visor screwed on. The visor replaced the old style goggles). Again, it also has some great aerial footage, which is what you would expect from Hughes.