633 squadron w/ cliff robertson on history channel tonight!!

[JDK]

Sorry, John, I was just being a smartazz.

Not only are you quite right, Murphy's War was actually* a very-anti war film, as well.

Regards,


*And amazingly not just an attempt to demonstrate that the Grumman Duck is the coolest, wettest aerobatic aircraft ever...

[The Inspector]

Keep in mind that sometimes a 'star' does a movie or series of movies that make you think 'what in the heck is that all about?' Usually the reason is they are broke or about to lose their houses or expensive car (or wife) so they do very bad films just to score a paycheck, which may explain 99% of Nicolas Cages films as well as some 'clunkers' done by huge stars like Tracey and Cooper and Stewart.
On the other hand there are actors like Morris Ankrum who did about 15000 'B' Westerns and other stinkers usually as the heavy, for studios like Repulsive....er REPUBLIC, but he worked a very long time and wound up doing early television. look up his filomgraphy

[Steve Nelson]

Exactly so. Robertson's character in the book was British. Insert major American film star, get funding to make film...

I've always assumed that was why Steve McQueen was cast and so heavily promoted in the movie "The Great Escape."

Keep in mind that sometimes a 'star' does a movie or series of movies that make you think 'what in the heck is that all about?' Usually the reason is they are broke or about to lose their houses or expensive car (or wife) so they do very bad films just to score a paycheck, which may explain 99% of Nicolas Cages films as well as some 'clunkers' done by huge stars like Tracey and Cooper and Stewart.

Of course, back in the days of Tracey, Cooper and Stewart, most actors were under studio contracts and didn't have the freedom of choice of roles like they do today. They'd sign a deal obligating them to do x-number of pictures for a studio, and the studio execs would pick the roles based on how they wanted to promote their "property."

SN

[Mudge]

Just off subject a bit, but here goes anyway. Peter O'Toole was mentioned. If you watch him closely, you'll see that, no matter what character he's playing, he has his mouth partially open 75% of the time. Don't know what that's supposed to convey to the audience but, to me, it's very strange. Richard Harris did the same thing. Maybe it's an Irish thing.

Mudge the puzzled

[The Inspector]

Venting excess Irish whiskey perhaps? As both are know to be prone to excessive consumption

[Mudge]

Venting excess Irish whiskey perhaps? As both are know to be prone to excessive consumption

Yo...Inspector. I just noticed your location. I used to live just up the GW Parkway from you. I lived directly across the road from Ft. Hunt from '47 - '55.

Mudge the neighborly

[The Inspector]

Mudge,
ain't no such a critter in Washington State

[Mudge]

Mudge,
ain't no such a critter in Washington State

OOPS...When you get to be my age, the eyesight is the second thing to go. I thought your location said, Mt. Vernon, VA

Mudge the elderly

[The Inspector]

Keping with my twisted logic, I like to refer to the place as Mt. VERMIN even tho it's not a bad little town for an old retired airplane pounder

[Dave Hadfield]

I don't suppose I'm saying anything people here don't already know, but for the general public who wander onto this site through google searches there might be misconceptions. A very large number of fine young men from America joined the RCAF long before Pearl Harbour. They were trained under the BCATP, got their RCAF wings, then served with the RCAF and often were posted to RAF squadrons for years before the USAAC called them.

See this photo of Godfrey and Gentile. Notice they're wearing 2 sets of wings.



They were tremendously proud of having taken this path, when the US was still largely gripped by isolationism, and attitudes exemplified by the "America First" movement supported by famous people such as Lindbergh and Henry Ford. Hence both wings. Some fit into their RAF world so well that they thought long and hard about leaving.

Lance Wade was one such -- already an ace before Pearl Harbour, before the Flying Tigers. He never did leave the RAF. Kept refusing. Ended up an RAF Wing Commander with 25 kills in the MTO.

People like these were extremely useful when the US came into the war, because they were current, and blooded. The training and experience they'd received in the RCAF and RAF -- actual operational experience -- was invaluable, and of course was why they were recruited so heavily into the USAAC.

Another fine young American went this route, John Gillespie Magee, whose poem is in nearly every flight ops room in the world.



Dave

[BK]

633 Squadron is repeating on the Military Channel at 8 & 11 PM tonight. This is good because I discovered my cable provider gave me the channel a couple of days ago.

[Dave Homewood]

To be still in the RAF after 71, 121, and 133 Squadrons were turned over to the USAAF, wouldn't his character have had to swear allegiance to the King and thereby lose his US citizenship?
Yeah...yeah...I know. It's only a movie! Live with it. Just sayin....

If he was in the Royal Air Force he had already sworn his allegiance to the King, that is what you do when you the day you join an Empire/Commonwealth Air Force. I swore an oath of allegiance to HM The Queen when I joined the RNZAF.

Also regarding Citizenship, for an American to be in the RAF (legally) in the early years of the war he had to have dual Citizenship, i.e. be half-American-half British, due to the US neutrality laws. Those who didn't have that went to Canada and faked their way in I believe.