''Bombers B-52'' (released in the UK as ''No Sleep till Dawn'')Leverence 1974, pp. 233–234. is a 1957 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

produced by

Richard Whorf Richard Whorf (June 4, 1906 – December 14, 1966) was an American actor, writer and film director. Life and acting career Whorf was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts to Harry and Sarah (née Lee) Whorf. His older brother was linguist Benjamin ...

and directed by Gordon Douglas. The film stars

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...

and

Karl Malden Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009) was an American stage, movie and television actor who first achieved acclaim in the original Broadway productions of Arthur Miller's '' All My Sons'' and Tennessee Will ...

, and co-stars Marsha Hunt and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. It was adapted from a Sam Rolfe story by screenwriter Irving Wallace. Leonard Rosenman composed the score. The film's storyline is focused on the introduction of the

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic aircraft, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the ...

bomber by the U.S.

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

(SAC) in the 1950s. A respected and highly experienced

master sergeant A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Israel Defense Forces The (abbreviated "", master sergeant) is a non-commissioned officer () rank in the Israel Defense Force ...

must choose between continuing his career in the Air Force and accepting a job in the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

that would pay him three times his military salary.

Plot

The Strategic Air Command is about to introduce the B-52 Stratofortress bomber as its primary manned strategic weapon. Stationed at Castle Air Force Base,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, with the 329th Bomb Squadron, 20-year

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

(USAF) veteran MSgt. Chuck Brennan dislikes his commanding officer, the "hotshot" Lt. Col. Jim Herlihy. Brennan has not trusted Herlihy since an incident in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. This career-long problem interferes with flight operations and aircraft support. When Herlihy starts dating Brennan's daughter Lois, tensions grow. Brennan demands his daughter break off the relationship. Brennan, Herlihy, and others try to solve all the technical problems that plague the introduction of the B-52. On one top-secret test flight to Africa, after being refueled in mid-air, a control panel short-circuits, causing a fire. Herlihy orders everyone to bail out and ejects Brennan when he refuses to leave the bomber. After safely landing the burning aircraft at Castle AFB, Herlihy sends out search parties, who manage to recover all of the crew except for Brennan. Following a hunch, Herlihy eventually finds his chief aircraft mechanic, who is severely injured, and airlifts him by helicopter from remote back country to the base hospital. While recovering, Brennan realizes that he was wrong about Herlihy, who risked his life to bring him home. He accepts that his daughter and his commanding officer should now reunite. Eventually, Brennan also has to choose between a high-paying civilian job and his US Air Force career. When told that his discharge papers are ready to sign, he decides to continue the career he loves in the USAF.

Cast

as Lois Brennan *

as MSgt. Chuck V. Brennan * Marsha Hunt as Edith Brennan * Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Lt. Col. Jim Herlihy * Don Kelly as MSgt. Darren McKine * Nelson Leigh as Brig. Gen. Wayne Acton * Robert Nichols as Wilbur "Brooklyn" Stuart * Ray Montgomery as Barnes * Robert Hover as Simpson (as Bob Hover) * Juanita Moore as Clarissa

Production

''Bombers B-52'' was filmed with the full cooperation of the United States Air Force at

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

and March Air Force Bases in California, where examples of

Boeing B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long- range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft ...

bombers, North American F-86 Sabre fighters, and B-52s were based. During production, Natalie Wood was named "Sweetheart of Castle Air Force Base". The first choice for the starring role was

Tab Hunter Tab Hunter (born Arthur Andrew Kelm; July 11, 1931 – July 8, 2018) was an American actor, singer, film producer, and author. Known for his blond hair and clean-cut good looks, Hunter starred in more than forty films. During the 1950s and 1960s ...

, who subsequently turned it down because he was tired of playing military roles. Writer Irving Wallace wrote a "racy" screenplay; one of the working titles was ''No Sleep till Dawn'' (which was used as the title for the film's UK release). The screenplay was later the subject of a 1980s exposé of sexual innuendo by film historian Hal Erickson.Fristoe, Roger.
Article: Bombers B-52
" ''

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

.''

Reception

Reviews of ''Bombers B-52'' mainly focused on the aerial scenes, which during the Cold War era projected a near-propaganda effort, using many period aircraft to depict the era faithfully. The review in ''The New York Times'' was mildly laudatory, describing it as a "frank tribute to Air Force nuclear power, laced together with a familiar service feud ... Irving Wallace's dialogue is excellent. Furthermore, his unpretentious scenario is credible and persuasive in training sequences and especially in the hearth scenes"."'Bombers B-52'; Film at Paramount Stars Karl Malden."
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

,'' November 23, 1957. The performances of the leads was also considered "natural". Overall, ''The New York Times'' critic thought "'Bombers B-52' is not errific but it could have been much, much worse". ''Variety'' gushed that it was "magnificently mounted, with breathtaking scenes of the new B-52s", while ''Time'' magazine more aptly characterized ''Bombers B-52'' as a "$1,400,000 want ad for Air Force technicians". In other reviews, the dichotomy of 19-year-old Natalie Wood being courted by 40-year-old Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was noted, as well as the attempt to portray a contemporary, if tepid, love story.

Comic book adaptation

Dell Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...

Four Color ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', is an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...

#831 (September 1957)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Hunter, Tab and Eddie Muller. ''Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star.'' New York: Algonquin Books, 2005. . * Leverence, John. ''Irving Wallace: A Writer's Profile''. Bowling Green, Ohio: Popular Press 1, 1974. . * Maltin, Leonard. ''Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2009''. New York: New American Library, 2009 (originally published as ''TV Movies'', then ''Leonard Maltin’s Movie & Video Guide''), First edition 1969, published annually since 1988. .

External links

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Bombers B-52 movie trailer
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YouTube.com
{{Gordon Douglas 1957 films 1957 romantic drama films CinemaScope films American romantic drama films American aviation films Cold War aviation films Films scored by Leonard Rosenman Films directed by Gordon Douglas Films set in California Films shot in California Warner Bros. films Films about the United States Air Force Films adapted into comics 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language romantic drama films