Production
In real life, Stewart had been a B-17 instructor pilot, a B-24 squadron commander, and a bomb group operations officer, completing 20 combat missions during World War II. At the time of filming, Stewart, much like the character he portrays, was also a colonel in the Air Force Reserve; he was later promoted to brigadier general. In later years, Stewart continued to fly, including Operation Arc Light missions in Vietnam on the B-52F. Thus, Stewart's character was not too far from a life he could have chosen.
Stewart's military service and lifelong interest in aviation greatly influenced the making of the film. He pushed for an authentic but sympathetic portrayal of the Strategic Air Command, which led Paramount to put together a strong cast of Hollywood veterans and production people including June Allyson, Frank Lovejoy, director Anthony Mann, and the top stunt pilot of the day, Paul Mantz. The film accurately portrays (from the perspective of the 1951 starting point of the script) the duties and responsibilities of an Air Force strategic bomber pilot, and the demands such service places on family life.
The film includes some of the most dramatic aerial photography ever filmed, for which it was awarded a special citation by the American National Board of Review. It is also the only motion picture to highlight the Convair B-36 Peacemaker (depicted in the movie poster), the largest mass-produced piston-powered aircraft ever built, and the first delivery method for the hydrogen bomb. The propeller-driven B-36 was then near the end of its service life, about to be replaced by the jet-powered B-47 Stratojet and ultimately, by the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. The aerial footage was accompanied by a dramatic and soaring musical score composed by Victor Young.
The film was made with the full cooperation of the United States Air Force and was partly filmed on location at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida; Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado and Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. Baseball scenes were filmed with the cooperation of the St. Louis Cardinals at their spring training home of Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, just across Tampa Bay from MacDill AFB.
Stewart's character is based on the real-life military career and an actual mission flown by Brigadier General Clifford Schoeffler, who crashed during an Arctic B-36 mission and survived. Brigadier General Schoeffler was on site at Carswell Air Force Base during the filming of Strategic Air Command for consultation.
Some commentators have speculated that the plot was inspired by Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams, a World War II veteran, who was recalled for Korean War service as a Marine Corps aviator, at the height of his baseball career.
Read more about this topic: Strategic Air Command (film)
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