IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1.2K
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As he is retiring, Jonathan L. Scott "Scotty" reminisces about his long Navy career and the development of the role of the aircraft carrier from the early 20s.As he is retiring, Jonathan L. Scott "Scotty" reminisces about his long Navy career and the development of the role of the aircraft carrier from the early 20s.As he is retiring, Jonathan L. Scott "Scotty" reminisces about his long Navy career and the development of the role of the aircraft carrier from the early 20s.
Joel Allen
- Pilot
- (uncredited)
Roger Anderson
- Pilot
- (uncredited)
Gregg Barton
- Pilot
- (uncredited)
Roscoe J. Behan
- Ames' Attache
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Delmer Daves
- Ranald MacDougall(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWayne Morris who portrayed Lt.McKinney was the only actor in the cast who had actual combat experience as a carrier pilot in WWII. As a fighter pilot, Morris shot down seven enemy planes and contributed to the sinking of five enemy ships. He was awarded four Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Air Medals. He was the only combat "ace" of all the Hollywood actors who went to war.
- GoofsDuring the attack sequence on the Japanese carriers at Midway, the film shows the dive bombers striking first. Actually, it was the torpedo bombers that attacked first. This was caused by missed communications between the torpedo planes and the fighter cover. It was supposed to be a coordinated high-low attack. Almost every torpedo plane was shot down. No torpedoes made hits. While a tragic accident, the torpedo planes drew the Japanese fighter cover down to wave top height. When the U.S. fighters and dive bombers arrived there were very few Japanese fighters to intercept them.
- Quotes
Jonathan L. Scott: Turn that record over.
McCluskey: You can't get a girl out of your mind by turning a record over.
- ConnectionsEdited from December 7th (1943)
- SoundtracksTea for Two
(uncredited)
Music by Vincent Youmans
Played when Cmdr. Richard introduces Lt. Scott to the Admiral and his wife
Featured review
Engaging docudrama about the history of naval aviation
This has a structure much like the FBI Story where the story of the FBI itself as seen through the eyes of one man is weaved with the personal story of that one man. Here the story of naval aviation is weaved with the story of one mythical witness to that history. In this case the fictional man is Jonathan Scott (Gary Cooper). Scott is getting ready to retire in present day (1949) and then thinks back on all that has transpired in the last 27 years when he and several other pilots were to learn how to land and take off aboard an air craft carrier.
For all the history he witnessed, Scott had a rather tragic life. He wanted to be a pilot. But he gets sent to Washington, then to a desk job in Panama, then to Annapolis as an instructor, and then he is promoted to being an officer on a carrier in the Pacific when WWII begins. Seldom is he in the air himself. That's not the way the film sold it, but I did notice that aspect. Then there is Scott's personal life. He falls in love with Mary Morgan (Jane Wyatt), the widow of a pilot friend of his who died in a plane crash. The two develop feelings for each other fairly quickly, but don't do anything about them for over seven years. Mary says she does not want to marry a pilot again and always worry, and ironically the way Scott's life worked out she wouldn't have been marrying one even if she married Scott early on! And then after Scott actually DOES crash his plane THEN she decides to accept his proposal! Jane Wyatt seems a little homespun for the likes of Coop, but the two actors make it work.
There's lots of actual footage of WWII aerial battles, and you can tell real care went into detail so that this film looked authentic. For some reason, the film switches over to color about two thirds into it. That is where most of the action takes place, but it is rather an odd switchover, seeming somewhat like a holdover from the 1930s when individual scenes of a black and white movie would be shot in color.
Warner Brothers put their best supporting players into this film including Wayne Morris and Bruce Bennett, and there is Walter Brennan making his eighth and final appearance in a film with Gary Cooper. There's also a very early appearance by Julie London as the wife of one of the pilots. If you are interested in naval history this is an interesting way to spend a couple of hours.
For all the history he witnessed, Scott had a rather tragic life. He wanted to be a pilot. But he gets sent to Washington, then to a desk job in Panama, then to Annapolis as an instructor, and then he is promoted to being an officer on a carrier in the Pacific when WWII begins. Seldom is he in the air himself. That's not the way the film sold it, but I did notice that aspect. Then there is Scott's personal life. He falls in love with Mary Morgan (Jane Wyatt), the widow of a pilot friend of his who died in a plane crash. The two develop feelings for each other fairly quickly, but don't do anything about them for over seven years. Mary says she does not want to marry a pilot again and always worry, and ironically the way Scott's life worked out she wouldn't have been marrying one even if she married Scott early on! And then after Scott actually DOES crash his plane THEN she decides to accept his proposal! Jane Wyatt seems a little homespun for the likes of Coop, but the two actors make it work.
There's lots of actual footage of WWII aerial battles, and you can tell real care went into detail so that this film looked authentic. For some reason, the film switches over to color about two thirds into it. That is where most of the action takes place, but it is rather an odd switchover, seeming somewhat like a holdover from the 1930s when individual scenes of a black and white movie would be shot in color.
Warner Brothers put their best supporting players into this film including Wayne Morris and Bruce Bennett, and there is Walter Brennan making his eighth and final appearance in a film with Gary Cooper. There's also a very early appearance by Julie London as the wife of one of the pilots. If you are interested in naval history this is an interesting way to spend a couple of hours.
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- Feb 22, 2022
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Horizon in Flames
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 56 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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