Page 7 - Aerotech News and Review, April 20 2018

HOLLYWOOD, from 6
bat veterans back into stateside military life and so- ciety as a whole.
Toward the Unknown started production with a different working title and, in fact, it was the name by which UK audiences knew the film as Brink of Hell. That title was an attempt to define Bond’s character and his mental state. However, producer William Holden felt that a different title, that also tied into the technical aspect of flight test, would draw a U.S. audience who, during the time of the Cold War, were looking for clues to American mili- tary projects.
Sure, we know that movies are for entertainment, and we also know that today a trip to the theater can also be a lecture on worldly things, but back in the 1950s, those messages were sharing the screen with some pretty cool aircraft in amazing locations! We romantics who embrace those golden years of flight test at Edwards will see the different types of
Courtesy photograph Warner Bros. publicity for the movie Toward the Unknown.
Courtesy photograph
A souvenir lighter from the movie Toward the Unknown engraved with cinematographer Hal Rosson’s name, and William Holder’s signature.
aircraft, rattle off designations num- bers, pick out airframe modifications in this film and be content with a two- hour history lesson live on the screen. Heck, when this film was made in the winter of 1955, I was less than a year old, but my Dad was out there work- ing at Douglas. As a youngster, I could ID B-66s, D-588s and the Stiletto and felt the warm glow of knowing my Dad was on those projects! And even
Courtesy photograph
Warner Bros. publicity for the movie Toward the Unknown.
back then, a serious movie always had room for a character like Lt. Sweeney who, in later years, seemed to me to be the Air Force’s answer to Pvt. Gomer Pyle.
One last bit of trivia is that the character Maj. Joe Craven was played by a then-unknown military vet- eran/actor who would entertain us for years to come on the big and little screen. You probably remember him best from The Great Escape or The Rockford
Files, but Toward the Unknown was James Garner’s first on-screen acting job!
So there you go, a different look at a classic Ed- wards movie that is still as enjoyable to many of us today as it was back when it was released. Edwards has so many neat story lines still to be told and we celebrate those that just happened to find their way on to the big screen for all of us to see!
Until next time, Bob out ...
April 20, 2018
Aerotech News and Review
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