Flick Friday: Captain Eddie 1945
Seventy-five years ago, today, the drama film Captain Eddie was released. Directed by Lloyd Bacon and produced by Winfield Sheehan, it starred Fred MacMurray, Lynn Bari, Charles Bickford, Thomas Mitchell and Lloyd Nolan. Based on Seven Came Through (by Eddie Rickenbacker) and We Thought We Heard The Angels Sing (by James Whittaker), John Tucker Battle wrote/adapted the screenplay. A biopic of Rickenbacker, it reflects his experiences as a flying ace during World War I to his later involvement as a pioneering figure in civil aviation.
In World War II, while serving as a United States Army Air Forces officer, famed World War I pilot Eddie Rickenbacker (Fred MacMurray) is assigned to tour South Pacific bases. On October 21, 1942, his Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress has to ditch at sea, forcing Rickenbacker, pilot Lt. James Whittaker (Lloyd Nolan), co-pilot Capt. Bill Cherry (Richard Crane) and other crew members to survive for 19 days on a tiny rubber raft. While awaiting their rescue, Rickenbacker recalls his other adventures that have highlighted a remarkable life.
Full Synopsis (TCM)
Review:
It seems as though someone is kidding…kidding in more ways than one. For Captain Eddie, which came yesterday to the Roxy, is not the story it promises to be of Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, ace of World War I and commercial airline executive who holds some rather rigid social views. Nor is it precisely the saga of the middle-aged flier who was lost at sea two years ago in the South Pacific and spent three harrowing weeks on a raft. It is just another sentimental comedy about a kid who jumped off the barn in his youthful passion for flying and courted his girl in a merry Oldsmobile. [This] is not the story of Rickenbacker…not the significant story, anyhow.
Bosley Crowther
The New York Times
August 9, 1945
Trivia Bits:
♦ Crash survivor Lt. James Whittaker was […] temporarily assigned to the production to serve as a technical advisor.
♦ The film’s premiere was held in Rickenbacker’s hometown of Columbus, Ohio. In attendance were politicians and celebrities, including Carole Landis, as well as family members.
Nomination:
♡ Best Special Effects (Academy Awards 1946)
I can’t find a trailer to the movie on YouTube but, the entire movie appears to be uploaded in Russia. ~Vic
June 20, 2020 at 12:13 AM
Thomas Mitchell was in EVERYTHING back then…he was a great character actor.
Looks like a cool movie. I like survivor movies like this.
June 20, 2020 at 12:20 AM
During my reading, I saw where the movie flopped. It was panned quite a bit. Even Leonard Maltin wasn’t exactly kind.
June 20, 2020 at 12:25 AM
Wow. They had a great story to work with. I love when they are stranded on an island or raft.
Wasn’t there a young girl in the 60s that was in a raft for days? I believe her parents were killed.
June 20, 2020 at 12:56 AM
You got me. I’m drawing a blank.
June 20, 2020 at 1:00 AM
Terry Jo Duperrault
tragic story about her parents…she is still alive now.
June 20, 2020 at 2:09 AM
I’ll have to look her up. Not a clue…
June 20, 2020 at 2:24 AM
I think you would like the story…it sounds like something you would do a post on.
June 20, 2020 at 3:24 PM
Um, DAMN. I just read about it. Truly, I had no idea… I’ve never heard of it. Now I know where the idea for Dead Calm came from (written in 1963) that introduced us to Nicole Kidman.
Holy crap, Max. Julian Harvey apparently had a knack for killing people for insurance.
A post is doable. November 12 lands on a Thursday. I will have to calendar that.
June 20, 2020 at 3:30 PM
I thought you would like it. Yea he was terrible. That girl was very lucky to survive…I have to wonder why she was allowed to live…he probably thought she would die and would have if she wasn’t spotted.
Sometimes I plan a post that far out…on July 12 i’m reposting an old one of mine on Skylab….when it fell.
June 20, 2020 at 5:13 PM
The Wiki page had a couple of speculations on why she survived. And, speaking of, there was no listing of the event for November 12 so, I created an account and added it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_12
And, this is from her book:
https://www.rd.com/true-stories/survival/orphaned-on-the-ocean-the-unbelievable-story-of-terry-jo-duperrault/
June 20, 2020 at 5:20 PM
That is cool…I’ve never edited Wiki before.
I’ll read that about her book. I forgot how I found out and why. It looks really interesting. She had to be scared to death on that raft.
June 20, 2020 at 6:43 PM
Thanks for the intro. I was completely clueless. And, here I am, the history buff.
I edited Wiki, like 12, 13 years ago when I had my other blog. I don’t remember what I edited nor do I remember what my account name was. So, I started over.
Can you imagine??? Eleven years old and your entire family has been murdered. And, she kept enough of her wits to get the cork boat. I would need copious amounts of therapy, some hypnosis and lots of alcohol. Just…damn…
June 20, 2020 at 6:45 PM
I’m trying to remember where I got it. I was probably searching for “Ghost Ships”…that is my best guess.
No I would want plenty of drugs. Forget the boat just seeing what she did was bad enough.
June 20, 2020 at 6:49 PM
Rabbit hole, huh?
June 20, 2020 at 6:50 PM
Oh yes! Sometimes as you know for hours.
June 20, 2020 at 6:55 PM
I. Am. Familiar. *facepalm*
June 20, 2020 at 6:57 PM
I love it though….I get totally into it.
June 20, 2020 at 7:48 PM
*sigh* My dumbass forgets to eat. Only the call of nature rattles my focus. 🙄
June 20, 2020 at 7:49 PM
LOL….that IS getting into it…I know what you mean though. I wish we got paid for it.
June 21, 2020 at 3:01 AM
A-men, brother Max!
June 21, 2020 at 3:04 AM
Lol… lookout for my 1st post tomorrow… a pic of my dad and me in 75… he has that 70s look down
June 21, 2020 at 3:55 AM
Gotcha. Heading for night-night…
June 20, 2020 at 4:52 AM
That sounds like the type of movie my mum would be watching on a Sunday afternoon. Miss those.