There was little about this movie worth watching, but there was a little. The plot was an afterthought, the dialog childish, special effects were marginal (even for 1941), the aeronautic aspects were suitable for use in cartoons. But there were some great shots of early versions of the B17 (known as Fortress I to the RAF). If you're a fan of the B17, struggle through the nonsense for these rare pictures.
The initial private plane crash scene was ridiculous as was the trial determining that the two drunken pilots in the front seat (at the controls) were not at fault but Sky, the passenger-pilot in the rear seat, was. What? Was the judge drunk too? And what kind of fool was Sky to even consider getting into a plane with two drunken pilots?
Flash forward to the Berlin mission. An engine is on fire. Extinguisher didn't work solution? Climb out on the wing and stuff your seat cushion into the damaged engine. Brilliant - does this work on airliners?
Conclusion: Does the aircraft successfully return to base? Do Spence and Sky become friends? Does the romance between Sky and Deborah blossom? Do Spence and Sydney get together? If you think the movie will answer these questions guess again.
A side note: Contrary to what others have posted, the B17 was not "hated" by the Brits ("their British crews generally were quite pleased with the Fortress" http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b17_6.html) What dissatisfaction there was came from the Brits holding unreasonably high expectations of an early version of the plane. While early-on the Brits carried out high altitude daylight missions they soon switched to lower altitude night time missions as effectiveness and survivability was greater.
The film accurately depicts the B17A version which lacked among other things the dorsal and ball turrets and the tail gunner position. These improvements were made in large part due to RAF input and greatly improved the effectiveness and survivability of the aircraft allowing the Flying Fortress to become the symbol of the WWII European air war.
The initial private plane crash scene was ridiculous as was the trial determining that the two drunken pilots in the front seat (at the controls) were not at fault but Sky, the passenger-pilot in the rear seat, was. What? Was the judge drunk too? And what kind of fool was Sky to even consider getting into a plane with two drunken pilots?
Flash forward to the Berlin mission. An engine is on fire. Extinguisher didn't work solution? Climb out on the wing and stuff your seat cushion into the damaged engine. Brilliant - does this work on airliners?
Conclusion: Does the aircraft successfully return to base? Do Spence and Sky become friends? Does the romance between Sky and Deborah blossom? Do Spence and Sydney get together? If you think the movie will answer these questions guess again.
A side note: Contrary to what others have posted, the B17 was not "hated" by the Brits ("their British crews generally were quite pleased with the Fortress" http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b17_6.html) What dissatisfaction there was came from the Brits holding unreasonably high expectations of an early version of the plane. While early-on the Brits carried out high altitude daylight missions they soon switched to lower altitude night time missions as effectiveness and survivability was greater.
The film accurately depicts the B17A version which lacked among other things the dorsal and ball turrets and the tail gunner position. These improvements were made in large part due to RAF input and greatly improved the effectiveness and survivability of the aircraft allowing the Flying Fortress to become the symbol of the WWII European air war.