A group of cadets have assorted problems at the U.S. Air Force Pilot Training Academy.A group of cadets have assorted problems at the U.S. Air Force Pilot Training Academy.A group of cadets have assorted problems at the U.S. Air Force Pilot Training Academy.
Russell Dennis
- Instructor
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAn unnamed extra in this movie, Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom, was later selected as one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts. Grissom died on January 27, 1967, during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission at Cape Kennedy, Florida, along with his fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee.
- GoofsThe characters in the movie mentioned Air Force installations as "Randolph Field," or "Williams Field." In 1947 the Air Force renamed all of its "fields" as "bases." By 1950 or 1951, when this movie was made, "Randolph Field" should have been "Randolph Air Force Base," and so on. Perhaps old habits were hard to break.
- Quotes
Jerry Connell: Buddy of mine once told me that he'd rather fly a jet than kiss his girl. Said it gave him more of a kick.
Walt Carver: No foolin'!
Joe Czanoczek: Maybe he oughta get another girl!
Featured review
Good Storytelling That Sidesteps Cliches
If you love aviation, you'll appreciate all that Air Cadet offers. It's well acted, beautifully produced, and vastly more realistic than most military flying films.
The aircraft, flight instruction, and training facilities are all historically accurate and take place at the training bases actually named because this movie was produced with the full cooperation of the U. S. Air Force.
The plot is only minimally hokey as it largely sidesteps the Hollywood clichés that make so many films of the era unwatchable. The main characters have depth, complexity, and credible motivations. No spoilers here, but the protagonist isn't entirely good / right and his antagonist isn't entirely bad / wrong. In short, the film realistically represents the human element in flight training.
The Lockheed F-80 and T-33 are stars in their own right. Two versions of the same first-generation USAF jet, the former is the single-seat fighter version and the latter a two-seat trainer.
The greatest treat of all is the in-flight photography.
It's utterly superb and -- a rarity in aviation films -- is perfectly choreographed to match the storyline. A great deal of planning, coordination, and astonishingly precise flying creates a spectacular look at the USAF's "early blowtorch era."
I suspect this film's undeservedly the low IMDb rating reflects viewer expectations of over-the-top drama and cliché-ridden hyperbole rather than something relatively realistic. It truly deserves to stand alongside I Wanted Wings before it.
The aircraft, flight instruction, and training facilities are all historically accurate and take place at the training bases actually named because this movie was produced with the full cooperation of the U. S. Air Force.
The plot is only minimally hokey as it largely sidesteps the Hollywood clichés that make so many films of the era unwatchable. The main characters have depth, complexity, and credible motivations. No spoilers here, but the protagonist isn't entirely good / right and his antagonist isn't entirely bad / wrong. In short, the film realistically represents the human element in flight training.
The Lockheed F-80 and T-33 are stars in their own right. Two versions of the same first-generation USAF jet, the former is the single-seat fighter version and the latter a two-seat trainer.
The greatest treat of all is the in-flight photography.
It's utterly superb and -- a rarity in aviation films -- is perfectly choreographed to match the storyline. A great deal of planning, coordination, and astonishingly precise flying creates a spectacular look at the USAF's "early blowtorch era."
I suspect this film's undeservedly the low IMDb rating reflects viewer expectations of over-the-top drama and cliché-ridden hyperbole rather than something relatively realistic. It truly deserves to stand alongside I Wanted Wings before it.
helpful•00
- bluejay52-902-637854
- Dec 8, 2022
Details
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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