We shall now reveal just how old we really are and tell ya I first saw this movie as a first-run flick... in the base theatre at Orly Field in Paris. I prolly saw it in 1956, given the military didn't get first-run movies until they were pretty old, back in the day. I saw the movie with my Mom and Dad and can still remember how my Mom cried at the end. I uphold that particular tradition every time I see the film... in more than a few places.
Some other minor notes and nits worth picking...
The Panther is my favorite Navy fighter of all time; I just love the lines of that aircraft. I had at least two models of that plane when I was a kid.
Last night's guest on "An Ossifer and a Flick" was author Stephen Coonts, who was listed as LT, US Navy (Retired). You'd THINK the fucking MILITARY channel would get stuff right in this space, in that Coonts is a former naval aviator who was honorably discharged after his service. The man is NOT "retired." I hate it when that happens.
TMC runs these lil questions during commercial breaks and the strikingly odd thing about both of last night's questions was the fact they were Air Force-related, not Navy. During the showing of a Navy flick. Go figger.
The helicopter pilot in "Bridges" is a Chief Petty Officer, played by Mickey Rooney. You'd THINK TMC would remark on enlisted aviators... their history, why there aren't any left, yadda, yadda. There was ample opportunity last evening when the host asked Coonts his opinion of Navy helicopter pilots. The response from Coonts? "They're all brave professionals," and so on. BIG minus points for that oversight.
TMC runs their "Ossifer and a Flick" show several times during the course of the weekend, so if ya missed it last night you have at least three other chances today. The flick is well worth your time if you've never seen it and worth seein' again, even if you have. My nit-picking on TMC aside, of course.
They do show some pretty good flicks. Lou Diamond Phillips occasionally makes me wanna puke. I think I've seen one enlisted guy on "Officer and A Movie", it was when they showed "Hamburger Hill", guy had been a grunt in the 101. Yeah the whole Coonts being retired thing irks me, he's been on a couple of times. Coonts IS one of my favorite writers though.
ReplyDeleteConcur with you on the Panther. One of my favorites too. We probably had the same airplane model collection too.
Yeah the whole Coonts being retired thing irks me, he's been on a couple of times.
DeleteIt's not just Coonts, to continue with my rant. Most news organizations do this, too, and it irritates the HELL outta me. The general population seems to believe that anyone who ever served is "retired" once they get out. I take that shit personally... even though I prolly shouldn't.
/rant
;-)
I would have just nuked the bastards and their bridges...
ReplyDeleteYou sound like my Ol' Man, Nuke. I'm grateful neither of you were king. ;-)
DeleteI haven't seen "Bridges at Toko-ri" in a long time, but was a great movie. Reminds me of my quest years ago to find a copy of the book. At every book store I would ask for the book. Finally a lady said, "Of course we have that book." Then she showed me books on how to win at bridge.
ReplyDeleteSaw the movie as a kid when it first came out at the old 30's art-deco Will Rodgers theater just off our town square. I'm like the rest--what a helluva movie and still brings tears after all these years--and here I am a combat veteran myself..
ReplyDeleteAnd I used to have a Revelle (or was it Monogram?) plastic model of the Panther as well...in fact I had over a squadron's worth of WWII and post-war jets--Dad strung two sets of parallel wires at a height just under the light fixture in a V-formation anchored on either side of the room and meeting overhead the head of my bed, upon which I laid the models cross-wise athwart the wires so they would all properly be heading in the same direction in formation as real aircraft would instead of chasing each others tails lying parallel between the wires. Plus I had several on my desk shelves and one F-100C painted like my cousins 1955 Bendix Air Race winner mounted on the wall over a picture of Maurice as a young 32 yr-old O-6 getting out of the cockpit of FW-777 (lucky fuselage numbers, eh? You can't make it up! :) ) after landing in Phila from the x-country race. I was a model-building fiend...OBVIOUSLY with a USAF HIGHLY decorated war hero (DSC and everything on down to incl Purple Heart) as a 1st cousin, there was NEVER ANY DOUBT about what I was going to do when I "grew up." LOL!
Heh. Your "brothers from a different mother" thing comes to the fore yet again. I went to GREAT lengths to engineer dogfights between my models... which were hung from the ceiling with thread and scotch tape. The damned things kept falling down, though... due to the rather impermanent nature of scotch tape. My maintenance ossifer got a LOT o' work...
DeleteAs for your cousin... Just being a 32 year old O-6 is impressive enough, let alone the air racing heroics.
IMHO We'll never see the the 32 yr-old O-6 thing again unless we have--and survive--a WW III type engagement Buck--not high enough attrition rates, lol. (Of course it doesn't hurt to be a highly decorated Squadron CO Maj who shot down 4 Bf-109s in a single mission leading a P-47 squadron that did nothing but gnd attack, interdiction and CAS.)
DeletePS: I mean, 26 yr-old Lt Cols were NOT uncommon in that war..
DeleteYup, and they even made MSgts into ossifers, too. ;-)
Delete(That was about my father, btw.)
PS: The fact that my Mother was 20 years younger than the rest of her brothers & sisters explains how I had a 1st cousin my Mother's age, lol.
ReplyDeleteThat phenomenon may come to pass among my descendents, as SN3 is 31 and 29 years younger than his older brothers. Cue up Elvis Costello.
DeleteOdd thought occurs: Would Rooney have qualified height-wise? This question comes straight out of my rear, as I'm just assuming his short stature may have made him ineligible.
ReplyDeleteInteresting question... so I googled it. The minimum height requirement for consideration as a nasal radiator is 62 inches, but then you have meet other measurements as well. Rooney would have JUST made the cut.
DeleteMy models never hung from the ceiling (plaster). But they were ready for takeoff on the top of the chest of drawers and night stand. I never had a Panther model but liked (and drew) them a lot.
ReplyDeleteI had an airfield on every horizontal flat surface in my room, too. I was obsessive!
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