Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson in a symbolic pose.
Strategic Air Command (1955) is a propaganda film for the US Air Force and its Strategic Air Command (SAC), and while I have very little exposure to propaganda films1, I think this is a rather good example of the genre.
First, it has a bona fide star, the great Jimmy Stewart, in the leading role. (It also has Harry Morgan, but only in a minor role.) And he’s about as good as ever.
Second, Jimmy Stewart, a winner of the DFC twice in WW II, flew the planes that appear in this movie, and in fact achieved the rank of brigadier general during his post-war military career. While I knew he probably had flown these planes when I viewed the movie, I can at least hope the unknowing viewer would still find a measure of verisimilitude. We can also realistically hope that a measure of what the actual fliers experienced is brought to the theater: the claustrophobic quarters, the constant danger, and the occasional disaster.
Third, the patriotism that any propaganda piece will display in its attempt to invoke a sympathetic reaction is kept more or less to a minimum. Naked patriotism, so precious to those who display it, is often an awful sight, because while it reminds the displayer of a nation’s greatest moments, for others it may remind them of repugnant moments, for often those who commit war crimes are self-described patriots. For example, those who slaughtered Comanche women and children during the war with the Comanche may have thought themselves patriots – but those are still the bodies of noncombatants, virtually defenseless – and murdered.
Fourth, it has an actual story, and it serves to convey both official and human information. We see men (not so much women) and their spouses torn from their communities and jobs, called up to serve again because of their relevant experience – it admits that this is a great burden on some Americans. It makes no bones about low pay, awful conditions, and sometimes severe danger (rigorous work, but that’s more implied than explicit). Meanwhile, the motivation and mission of SAC is visited, but not at wearisome length. Just enough mint is added to the dough to make its presence known without overwhelming the viewer. By presenting the duty as a burden first, then an honor, it achieves more.
Now, it’s not a great story; intriguing characters are not examined for motivation and change, they just sort of bubble along. But it’s an OK story because it’s portraying a reasonable facsimile of what may have happened. Perhaps this was a wise scriptwriter, or perhaps this was a wise reading of a weary country that had recently endured both World War II and the Korean conflict, with World War I not all that far back; war as an opportunity for a young man to make a life for himself had begun receding before the might of the terrible weapons now available.
Courtesy the Truman Library.
Finally, if you’re a fan of the old USAF B-36 bomber, there are a number of luscious shots of this odd combination of pusher props and jet engines, and a bulbous nose to top it all off. And the insides! B-47s are also a major part of this movie, but not featured so prominently.
1Or I have way too much exposure, and those antennae have died.
