Command Decision (1948)

Reference View | Change View

Passed
1h 52min
Action, Drama
Feb 1949 (USA)
Movie

7.3 (2,187)

0

Rate

1

Rate

2

Rate

3

Rate

4

Rate

5

Rate

6

Rate

7

Rate

8

Rate

9

Rate

10

Rate

0

Error: please try again.

Army generals struggle with the decision to prioritize bombing the German factories producing new jet fighters over the extremely high casualties the mission will cost.

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

William R. Laidlaw, George Froeschel, William Wister Haines

Stars:

Awards:

2 nominations.
See more »

Reviews:

Photos and Videos

Still of Clark Gable (I), Brian Donlevy and Walter Pidgeon in Command Decision (1948)

Still of Charles Bickford (I) in Command Decision (1948)

Still of Clark Gable (I), Charles Bickford (I), Brian Donlevy, Walter Pidgeon and Clinton Sundberg in Command Decision (1948)

Add Image

21 photos | 1 video

Cast verified as complete

Edit


	Clark Gable	...	Brig. Gen. K.C. 'Casey' Dennis
	Walter Pidgeon	...	Maj. Gen. Roland Goodlow Kane
	Van Johnson	...	T / Sgt. Immanuel T. Evans
	Brian Donlevy	...	Brig. Gen. Clifton I. Garnet
	Charles Bickford	...	Elmer Brockhurst
	John Hodiak	...	Col. Edward Rayton Martin
	Edward Arnold	...	Congressman Arthur Malcolm
	Marshall Thompson	...	Capt. George Washington Bellpepper Lee
	Richard Quine	...	Maj. George Rockton
	Cameron Mitchell	...	Lt. Ansel Goldberg
	Clinton Sundberg	...	Maj. Homer V. Prescott
	Ray Collins	...	Maj. Desmond Lansing
	Warner Anderson	...	Col. Earnest Haley
	John McIntire	...	Maj. Belding Davis
	Moroni Olsen	...	Congressman Stone
	John Ridgely	...	James Carwood
	Michael Steele	...	Capt. Lucius Malcolm Jenks
	Edward Earle	...	Congressman Watson
	Mack Williams	...	Lt. Col. Virgil Jackson
	James Millican	...	Maj. Garrett Davenport
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	Lane Allan	...	Officer (uncredited)
	Joel Allen	...	Lieutenant Colonel (uncredited)
	George Backus	...	Cook (uncredited)
	Ray Barons	...	Loudspeaker Voice (uncredited) (voice)
	Gregg Barton	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
	Jack Bonigul	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
	William Cabanne	...	Flyer (uncredited)
	John Cannon	...	Officer (uncredited)
	Campbell Copelin	...	Correspondent (uncredited)
	Bruce Cowling	...	Operations Officer (uncredited)
	Robert Cunningham	...	Officer (uncredited)
	James Dale	...	Operations Sergeant (uncredited)
	Fred Datig Jr.	...	Flyer (uncredited)
	Bert Davidson	...	Correspondent (uncredited)
	Dennis Dengate	...	Flyer (uncredited)
	Tay Dunn	...	Major (uncredited)
	Sam Flint	...	Congressman (uncredited)
	Don Garner	...	Flyer (uncredited)
	Don Haggerty	...	Command Officer (uncredited)
	Henry Hall	...	Congressman (uncredited)
	Alvin Hammer	...	Sgt. Cahill - Machine Shop (uncredited)
	Tom Handley	...	Correspondent (uncredited)
	Clarke Hardwicke	...	Flyer (uncredited)
	Carey Harrison	...	Staff Officer (uncredited)
	Holmes Herbert	...	Chairman (uncredited)
	David Holt	...	Lt. Nelson (uncredited) (voice)
	James Horne Jr.	...	Young Officer (uncredited)
	Russell Hoyt	...	Officer in Tower (uncredited)
	Robin Hughes	...	RAF Officer (uncredited)
	John James	...	Officer (uncredited)
	Colin Kenny	...	Elevator Passenger (uncredited)
	Marten Lamont	...	RAF Officer (uncredited)
	Billy Lechner	...	Operations Sergeant (uncredited)
	William F. Leicester	...	Parker - Chauffeur (uncredited)
	Bob Manning	...	Control Sergeant (uncredited)
	Peter Martin	...	Command Sergeant (uncredited)
	Frank Mayo	...	Staff Officer (uncredited)
	John McGuire	...	Fly Control Officer (uncredited)
	Bill McIvor	...	Jeep Driver (uncredited)
	George Melford	...	Correspondent (uncredited)
	John Michaels	...	Flyer (uncredited)
	Bob Milton	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
	Howard M. Mitchell	...	Staff Officer (uncredited)
	Glenn Mullen	...	Officer in Tower (uncredited)
	William Murphy	...	Flyer (uncredited)
	Bill Neff	...	Flyer (uncredited)
	Barry Nelson	...	Cumquat B-Baker Crewman (uncredited) (voice)
	David Newell	...	Staff Officer (uncredited)
	William Nind	...	Staff Officer (uncredited)
	George Offerman Jr.	...	GI Waiter (uncredited)
	William 'Bill' Phillips	...	Jeep Driver (uncredited)
	Frank J. Scannell	...	Correspondent (uncredited)
	Robert Seiter	...	Control Officer (uncredited)
	Tony Shaw	...	Officer in Tower (uncredited)
	Robin Short	...	Guard (uncredited)
	J. Lewis Smith	...	Photographer (uncredited)
	Buddy Swan	...	Flyer (uncredited)
	William Tannen	...	Officer (uncredited)
	Arthur Walsh	...	Photographer (uncredited)
	Douglas Walton	...	Englishman on Loudspeaker (uncredited) (voice)
	Harlan Warde	...	Control Officer (uncredited)
	Steve Wayne	...	Command Sergeant (uncredited)
	Wilson Wood	...	Photographer (uncredited)
	Jimmy Zahner	...	Flyer (uncredited)

Directed by

Edit

Sam Wood

Written by

Edit

William R. Laidlaw	...	(screenplay) and
George Froeschel	...	(screenplay)

William Wister Haines	...	(play)

Produced by

Edit

Sidney Franklin	...	producer
Gottfried Reinhardt	...	associate producer

Music by

Edit

Miklós Rózsa

...

(as Miklos Rozsa)

Cinematography by

Edit

Harold Rosson

...

director of photography

Editing by

Edit

Harold F. Kress

Art Direction by

Edit

Cedric Gibbons
Urie McCleary

Set Decoration by

Edit

Edwin B. Willis

Makeup Department

Edit

Jack Dawn

...

makeup creator

Production Management

Edit

Al Shenberg

...

production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

Edit

Sid Sidman

...

assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department

Edit

Jack D. Moore	...	associate set decorator
Frank Wesselhoff	...	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department

Edit

Douglas Shearer	...	recording director
James Brock	...	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by

Edit

A. Arnold Gillespie	...	special effects
Warren Newcombe	...	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department

Edit

Ed Hubbell	...	still photographer (uncredited)
Lloyd Isbell	...	grip (uncredited)
Bert Kopperl	...	still photographer (uncredited)
Robert Martin	...	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department

Edit

Eugene Zador

...

orchestrator (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

Edit

Leslie H. Martinson

...

script supervisor (uncredited)

Additional Crew

Edit

Kermit Bloomgarden

...

stage producer

Crew believed to be complete

Production Companies

Edit

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

Edit

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1948) (United States) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1948) (Canada) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1949) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1949) (Australia) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer A/B (1949) (Sweden) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1950) (France) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1950) (Belgium) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1950) (Norway) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1954) (Argentina) (theatrical)
MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (United States) (VHS)
Warner Home Video (2007) (United States) (DVD)
Warner Home Video (2007) (United States) (DVD) (Included in 'Warner WW2 Collection, Vol. 2')
Warner Home Vidéo (2009) (France) (DVD)

Special Effects

Edit

Other Companies

Edit

Storyline

Edit

Plot Summary	General Dennis of the US Force in England in World War II finds that he must order his planes deeper and deeper into Germany to prevent the production of military jet planes that will turn the tide of battle to the Germans. He must fight congressmen, and his own chain of command to win the political battle before he can send his planes out. His problem is complicated by a very narrow window of good weather necessary to allow his effort to be successful. Adapted from a stage play, it attempts to look at the challenges of command in the political arena. Written by John Vogel Plot Summary
Plot Keywords	reference-to-hermann-goring archive-footage night-bombing daylight-bombing london-england See All (84) »
Taglines	M-G-M's Dramatic Hit! See more »
Genres	Action Drama War
Parents Guide	Add content advisory for parents »
Certification	Argentina:Atp Australia:PG Australia:G Canada:PG (video rating) Finland:S France:Tous publics Norway:16 Sweden:Btl United Kingdom:U United States:Passed (National Board of Review) United States:Approved

Additional Details

Edit

Also Known As	Tragique décision (France) Sublime decisión (Spain) Trágica Decisão (Brazil) Sublime decisión (Argentina) Командное решение (Soviet Union, Russian title) See more »
Runtime	112 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Color	Black and White (archive footage)
Aspect Ratio	1.37 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix	Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Filming Locations	March Air Reserve Base, California, USA See more »

Box Office

Budget

$2,467,000 (estimated)

Did You Know?

Edit

Trivia	Twelve O'Clock High (1949) was delayed in its release because this film beat it to the punch. The similarity in content between the two films forced 20th Century-Fox to hold back on "Twelve O'Clock High" for a few months. See more »
Goofs	When Van Johnson is in Gable's office alone in the very beginning of the film, someone comes in and gives him a model plane and he places it on a shelf behind him. However, when Gable comes in soon afterwards the shelf is empty. See more »
Movie Connections	Featured in Clark Gable: Tall, Dark and Handsome (1996). See more »
Quotes	James Carwood: What's the answer, Brockie, all guts and no brain? Elmer Brockhurst: No. That's putting it too simply. Dennis is one of those boys whose brain is fascinated by guts. He loves this lousy war. See more »

Getting Started | Contributor Zone »