The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Emmet Lavery (story)
Milton Sperling (story)

Release Date:

31 December 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | War

Tagline:

He defied the army and navy . . . and they gave him a Court Martial!

Plot:

A dramatization of the American general and his court martial for publically complaining about High Command's dismissal and neglect of the aerial fighting forces.

Plot Keywords:

Battleship | Vindicated | Obsolete | Air Power | Army Air Corps

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Col. Billy Mitchell
Charles Bickford	...	Gen. Jimmy Guthrie
Ralph Bellamy	...	Congressman Frank R. Reid
Rod Steiger	...	Maj. Allan Guillion
Elizabeth Montgomery	...	Margaret Lansdowne
Fred Clark	...	Col. Moreland
James Daly	...	Lt. Col. Herbert White
Jack Lord	...	Lt. Cmdr. Zachary 'Zack' Lansdowne
Peter Graves	...	Capt. Bob Elliott
Darren McGavin	...	Capt. Russ Peters
Robert F. Simon	...	Adm. Gage (as Robert Simon)
Charles Dingle	...	Sen. Fullerton
Dayton Lummis	...	General Douglas MacArthur
Tom McKee	...	Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker
Stephen Roberts	...	Major Carl Spaatz (as Steve Roberts)

Also Known As:

One Man Mutiny (UK)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording) (magnetic prints) | Mono (optical prints)

Certification:

UK:U | USA:Approved (certificate #17602) | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Company:

United States Pictures

Trivia:

The Mitchell family was very unhappy with the film, especially the casting of the tall, laconic Gary Cooper in the lead role. The real Billy Mitchell was short with an explosive temper. The family thought James Cagney would have been ideal.

Quotes:

Admiral William S. Sims: Just because you read a lot of books about golf, doesn't make you a good golfer.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "M*A*S*H: 5 O'Clock Charlie (#2.2)" (1973)

Good Intro for the Air Force

In the USAF we were taught about Billy Mitchell as being the "Father of the Air Force", and how he sacrificed his career to bring attention to his points.

What a good movie. Rod Steiger did steal the scenes, and I suspect that James Cagney would have made a better movie... but I found myself becoming drawn in by Gary Cooper's portrayal of Billy Mitchell. He might have been a bit long in the tooth, but remember, the real Billy Mitchell was 46 years old at the time of his Court Martial, at about the age when he should start thinking about retirement anyhow.

It plays like a stage play; the story is enough to make a powerful punch.

2 Thumbs Up. See it. Get it on DVD if you can, so you can read the subtitles and not miss a thing.