Strategic Air Command (movie)
|
|
Strategic Air Command was a movie released in 1955 starring Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson.
Jimmy Stewart plays an Air Force Reserve officer recalled to active duty to fly B-36 Peacemaker and B-47 Stratojet nuclear bombers for the Strategic Air Command. The movie portrays the duties and responsibilities of service in the armed forces, and the strains they can place on family life. The movie features many long shots of the bombers in flight.
Stewart plays the part of a professional baseball player called to active duty. His on-duty injuries not only bar him from further flying, but also appear the end his baseball career, as he leaves the Air Force at the end of the film. Stewart was, in fact, a World War II bomber pilot and member of the Air Force Reserve, eventually reaching the rank of Brigadier General.
The film, made in cooperation with the United States Air Force, expresses a strong opinion that strong and confident nuclear deterrence is the only way to ensure peace as well as the tactical superiority of strategic bombing. This is in stark contrast to Dr. Strangelove.
Some critics of the film have viewed a seemingly negative point in that "Strategic Air Command" seriously downplays the role of women and minorities in the military. Throughout the entire movie, the only women seen are housewives and there are absolutely no non-whites depicted in military uniform. This is not surprising, given the era in which the film was made, but seemingly portrays an unrealistic picture of the 1950s miltiary which was, by that time, integrated with minorities and had a sizeable women's auxiliary force.