Warbird Information Exchange

I watched a film the other day called "Wake me When It's Over", a mildly funny film released in 1960. Story line is about a forgotten USAF base on a backwater island off Japan's coast called "Shima". Everyone's on the island is board so Kovacs and Dick Shawn come up with an idea to make money by using surplus USAF equipment to build a resort hotel around a hot spring located on the island. Lots of neat ideas for using wings, horizontals and drop tanks for decorations.

The highlight, aircraft-wise, is Kovacs landing with one wheel up in a P-51. Not sure if it's the actual serial number, but 413362 is painted on the tail.
Pardon the images, as I shot them off the screen with my camera!

Capt. Stark ( Ernie Kovacs )after landing with one gear up.


Video clip of landing. looks like they used a wheel or something attached to the wing pylon to be able to "taxi-crash" the aircraft down the field. Clever.
http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/Jerry_ONeill/media/DSC_2425_zps46477615.mp4.html


Pool bar with what I think are F-86 canopies and three bladed props for decor.


Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

That one wheeled landing is a pretty good effect!

I thought so too. Looks like the pilot had good control with rudder and right brake. Obviously there is something keeping the left wing off the ground, but it is "real" and not a digital effect so I really like it. Maybe not so much sparks coming of the wing tip, but otherwise a very good effect and no damage to the aircraft.
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

That was the great stunt pilot Frank Tallman doing that scene. I think there were many takes before the director was satisfied.

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"I can't understand it, I cut it twice and it's still too short!" Robert F. Dupre' 1923-2010 Go With God.

Frank also did the B-25 crash in "Catch 22" by landing the plane and going thru the smoke of the "Crashed" B-25, then the camera swings around and there is the "crashed" one. He also did the L-5 cut the guy in half.

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The movie also had the remains of a Japanese kamikaze plane that the islanders kept in a shrine, but they later burned it. The plane was actually a Stearman minus its top wing.
(A certain WIXer is no doubt thinking "No great loss.")

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

Here's that Stearman just before they burn it. It was portraying a Japanese fighter that had crashed in WWII that the local villagers made into a shrine.
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

Slipping a bit O.T., Kovacs was a true comic genius-one short bit on his TV show was a close up of him lighting a cigar then holding the match in front of the camera lens because he knew it would fry the cathode ray tube.
Many very famous folks were under the masks in the Nairobi Trio. It's too bad he died before Mad Mad World was filmed.

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

Kovacs was a real talent a somewhat ahead of his time.
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

His widow Edie Adams was in Mad Mad Mad Mad World. She played Sid Cesar's wife. Kovacs was supposed to have Cesar's role, but was killed in a car accident before filming began.

She also felt obligated and worked her fanny off to pay off all his substantial debts.

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-