The McConnell Story
6.4 /10 1 Votes6.4
Duration Country United States | 6.2/10 IMDb Genre Drama, War Running time 1h 47m Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date September 29, 1955 (1955-09-29) (New York) Cast (Capt. Joseph C. 'Mac' McConnell, Jr.), (Pearl 'Butch' Brown), (SSgt. / Maj . / Col. Ty 'Dad' Whitman), (Sfc. Sykes), (Newton Bass), Sarah Selby (Mrs. Brown)Similar movies M*A*S*H , The Manchurian Candidate , The Front Line , Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War , Hamburger Hill , Queen and Country | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The mcconnell story 1955 snippet
Joseph "Mac" McConnell Jr. (Alan Ladd) dreams of piloting airplanes, so much that he goes AWOL from an Army base to take flying lessons. When the military police go looking for him, Mac hitches a ride with Bob (Robert Ellis), a teenager who takes him home to meet the family, including Bobs sister, Pearl (June Allyson). Mac and Pearl eventually marry, but she worries whenever he sets foot in a plane especially when hes chosen as a test pilot for the new Sabre jet.
Contents
The McConnell Story is a 1955 dramatization of the life and career of U.S. Air Force pilot Joseph C. McConnell (1922–1954), who served as a navigator in World War II before becoming the top American ace during the Korean War. He was killed while serving as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert of California. The Warner Brothers production, filmed in CinemaScope and Warner Color, starred Alan Ladd as McConnell and June Allyson as his wife. Longtime Warners staff composer Max Steiner wrote the musical score for the film.
Mac's plans to settle down and raise a family are upset by the Korean War. He goes as a fighter pilot and returns a hero, the first triple ace of the war. His neighbors have built a home for Mac and his devoted wife and their three children. Now he has an offer to test pilot new Sabre Jets. His wife is uneasy but knows she cannot ground her man.
Production
For a sequence depicting the rescue of a downed B-29 Superfortress crew that McConnell was trying to protect, a Sikorsky H-19 of the 48th Air Rescue Squadron, Eglin AFB, Florida, was deployed to Alexandria AFB, Louisiana, for seven days in February 1955. Captain E. R. Thone and Airman First Class Ronald K. Opitz, of the 48th ARS, were the crew for the helicopter, TDY to shoot the rescue sequence.
"Colonel William L. Orris, Commander Detachment No. 1, Air Force Operational Test Center at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico is the technical advisor for the film which will be released by Warner Brothers sometime this summer."
Shown on American Movie Classics, host Bob Dorian said that Ladd, who hated flying, filmed his scenes in mockups in front of blue screens. He also noted that Ladd and Allyson fell in love during filming; Ladd reportedly called Allysons husband, actor/director Dick Powell, and told him, "Im in love with your wife," to which Powell replied, "Everyone is in love with my wife."
Legacy
This film helped establish the Missing Man Formation as part of military aviation culture.
Directed by Gordon Douglas, the film was released in the VHS home video format in 1995.
References
The McConnell Story WikipediaThe McConnell Story IMDb The McConnell Story themoviedb.org