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| caption =
| caption =
| director = [[Gordon Douglas (director)|Gordon Douglas]]
| director = [[Gordon Douglas (director)|Gordon Douglas]]
| producer =
| producer =[[Henry Blanke]]
| writer =
| writer =Ted Sherdeman<br>Sam Rolfe
|based on = a story by Ted Sherdeman
| narrator =
| narrator =
| starring = [[Alan Ladd]]<br/>[[June Allyson]]<br/>[[James Whitmore]]
| starring = [[Alan Ladd]]<br/>[[June Allyson]]<br/>[[James Whitmore]]
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| distributor = [[Warner Bros.]]
| distributor = [[Warner Bros.]]
| released = {{film date|1955|9|29|New York}}
| released = {{film date|1955|9|29|New York}}
| runtime =
| runtime =107 mins
| country = United States
| country = United States
| language = English
| language = English
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'''''The McConnell Story''''' is a 1955 dramatization of the life and career of U.S. Air Force pilot [[Joseph C. McConnell]] (1922&ndash;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.
'''''The McConnell Story''''' is a 1955 dramatization of the life and career of U.S. Air Force pilot [[Joseph C. McConnell]] (1922&ndash;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.


==Cast==
*[[Alan Ladd]] as Joseph "Mac" McConnell, Jr.
*[[June Allyson]] as Pearl "Butch" Brown McConnell
*[[James Whitmore]] as Ty Whitman
*[[Frank Faylen]] as Sgt. Sykes
*[[Robert Ellis]] as Bob Brown
*[[Willis Bouchey]] as Newton Bass
*[[Sarah Selby]] as Mom Brown
*[[Gregory Walcott]] as Military policeman
*Frank Ferguson as Mechanic
*[[Perry Lopez]] as Red
*John Pickard as Military policeman
*Dabbs Greer as Pilot instructor
==Production==
==Production==
The movie was announced in May 1954, with Alan Ladd and June Allyson attached from the beginning.<ref>WYLER WILL FILM NOVEL BY HAYES: Paramount Producer Lists 'Desperate Hours,' Suspense Drama Set in Midwest
By THOMAS M. PRYORSpecial to The New York Times.. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 14 May 1954: 20. </ref> It was Alan Ladd's second consecutive film for Warner Bros following ''[[Drum Beat]]''. However unlike that it was made for Warner Bros, not Ladd's own production company.<ref>ALAN LADD STARS IN 'DARKEST HOUR': Warner Film, a Melodrama, Will Be Made by Actor's Own Producing Company
By THOMAS M. PRYORSpecial to The New York Times.. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 18 Nov 1954: 40. </ref>

A number of months after the film was announced, McConnell died in a crash.<ref>BY THE WAY with BILL HENRY: Rites for Jet Ace Scheduled for Tomorrow
Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 27 Aug 1954: A1. </ref>

For a sequence depicting the rescue of a downed [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|B-29 Superfortress]] crew that McConnell was trying to protect, a [[Sikorsky H-19]] of the [[48th Rescue Squadron|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.
For a sequence depicting the rescue of a downed [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|B-29 Superfortress]] crew that McConnell was trying to protect, a [[Sikorsky H-19]] of the [[48th Rescue Squadron|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.


Revision as of 08:07, 29 December 2015

The McConnell Story
Directed byGordon Douglas
Written byTed Sherdeman
Sam Rolfe
Produced byHenry Blanke
StarringAlan Ladd
June Allyson
James Whitmore
CinematographyJohn F. Seitz
Edited byOwen Marks
Music byMax Steiner
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • September 29, 1955 (1955-09-29) (New York)
Running time
107 mins
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3.5 million (US)[1]

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.

Cast

Production

The movie was announced in May 1954, with Alan Ladd and June Allyson attached from the beginning.[2] It was Alan Ladd's second consecutive film for Warner Bros following Drum Beat. However unlike that it was made for Warner Bros, not Ladd's own production company.[3]

A number of months after the film was announced, McConnell died in a crash.[4]

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."[5]

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 Allyson's husband, actor/director Dick Powell, and told him, "I'm in love with your wife," to which Powell replied, "Everyone is in love with my wife."[6]

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.

See also

References

  1. ^ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955', Variety Weekly, January 25, 1956.
  2. ^ WYLER WILL FILM NOVEL BY HAYES: Paramount Producer Lists 'Desperate Hours,' Suspense Drama Set in Midwest By THOMAS M. PRYORSpecial to The New York Times.. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 14 May 1954: 20.
  3. ^ ALAN LADD STARS IN 'DARKEST HOUR': Warner Film, a Melodrama, Will Be Made by Actor's Own Producing Company By THOMAS M. PRYORSpecial to The New York Times.. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 18 Nov 1954: 40.
  4. ^ BY THE WAY with BILL HENRY: Rites for Jet Ace Scheduled for Tomorrow Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 27 Aug 1954: A1.
  5. ^ Fort Walton Beach, Florida, "Eglin Group Aiding In Film Story", Playground News, Thursday 3 March 1955, Volume 9, Number 57, page 3.
  6. ^ American Movie Classics


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