''Captain Eddie'' is a 1945 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 ...

directed by

Lloyd Bacon Lloyd Francis Bacon (December 4, 1889 – November 15, 1955) was an American screen, stage, and vaudeville actor and film director. As a director, he made films in numerous genres, including westerns, musicals, comedies, gangster films, and c ...

, based on ''Seven Were Saved'' by "Eddie" Rickenbacker and Lt. James Whittaker's ''We Thought We Heard the Angels Sing''. The film stars

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was an American film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through t ...

and

Charles Bickford Charles Ambrose Bickford (January 1, 1891 – November 9, 1967) was an American actor known for supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' The Song of Bernadette'' (1943), '' The Fa ...

. ''Captain Eddie'' is a "biopic" of Rickenbacker, from his experiences as a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

to his later involvement as a pioneering figure in

civil aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, which can be both private and commercial. Most countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and ...

, and his iconic status as a business leader who was often at odds with labour unions and the government.

Plot

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, famed

pilot Eddie Rickenbacker (Fred MacMurray), while serving as a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

officer, is assigned to tour South Pacific bases. On October 21, 1942, his

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

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. From his childhood in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, marked by a passion for machinery and technology, the young man becomes a celebrated race car driver, although his mother Elise ( Mary Philips) and father William (Charles Bickford) have mixed feelings about his interest in cars, and eventually, aircraft. When war breaks out, Rickenbacker signs up and becomes a fighter pilot with the 94th Aero Squadron. By war's end, he has shot down more aircraft than any other American, becoming the American "ace-of-aces". After World War I, Rickenbacker marries his sweetheart Adelaide (Lynn Bari) and enters commercial aviation as an owner and great advocate for the fledgling airline industry. When war breaks out again, he is compelled to return to the military. Returning to the present predicament, he becomes the natural leader of the survivors. The ordeal leads to the death of one of the men from exposure, but Rickenbacker's ability to organize the dwindling supplies and keep up morale among the others, leads to their survival. After a three-week stay in a military hospital, Rickenbacker is able to complete his mission and is hailed as a true hero.

Cast

Production

Principal photography for ''Captain Eddie'' began in November 1944 and continued for three months on Fox's back-lot in Los Angeles. The film received cooperation of the United States Army Air Forces, primarily coming in the form of the loan of a B-17F from the AAF's First Motion Picture Unit in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

. Crash survivor Lt. James Whittaker was also temporarily assigned to the production to serve as a technical advisor. Scenes of the ditching were done in a studio water tank, using the mock-up fuselage of a B-17.Orriss 2013, p. 110. For the World War I aerial scenes, the flying aircraft included a SPAD S.VII, Thomas-Morse Scout,

Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny" is a series of biplanes built by the Glenn Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft ...

and a pair of Nieuport 28s. Aerial coordinator

Paul Mantz Albert Paul Mantz (August 2, 1903 – July 8, 1965) was an American air racing and movie stunt pilot and consultant from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1960s. He gained fame on two stages: Hollywood and in air races. Early years Ma ...

also loaned a Curtiss Pusher, flown from the Santa Rosa fairgrounds, serving as a pre-World War I airfield.

Reception

The world

premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

for ''Captain Eddie'' was held in Rickenbacker's hometown of Columbus, Ohio, attended by a select mixture of politicians and celebrities, including the actress

Carole Landis Carole Landis (born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste; January 1, 1919 – July 5, 1948) was an American actress and singer. She worked as a contract player for Twentieth Century-Fox in the 1940s. Her breakout role was as the female lead in the 1940 ...

. Family members were also in attendance. Reviews for the film were mixed, with most critics seeing it as a romanticized biography of a famous and controversial figure.

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

in his review for ''

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 ...

'' dismissed the effort as "not the story it promises to be" "... 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. And it is hardly the story to support the climax afforded by that experience on the raft." Later reviews echoed the contemporary thoughts about ''Captain Eddie''.

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

noted, "Routine aviation film doesn't do justice to exciting life of Eddie Rickenbacker; it's standard stuff."Maltin 2009, p. 210. The film was a box office flop.

Awards and honors

''Captain Eddie'' was nominated for the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

for Best Special Effects in 1946, losing out to ''

Wonder Man Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The character, wh ...

''."The 18th Academy Awards (1946) Nominees and Winners."
''oscars.org''. Retrieved: August 31, 2014.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Gans, Eric. ''Carole Landis: A Most Beautiful Girl''. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2008. . * Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Buff's Guide to Aviation Movies". ''Air Progress Aviation'', Vol. 7, No. 1, Spring 1983. * 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. . * Orriss, Bruce W. ''When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War I.'' Los Angeles: Aero Associates, 2013. . * Tranberg, Charles. ''Fred MacMurray: A Biography''. Albany, Georgia: Bear Manor Media, 2014. .

External links

* * {{Lloyd Bacon 1945 films 1940s biographical drama films American aviation films American biographical drama films American black-and-white films American films based on actual events Films directed by Lloyd Bacon Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge Films set in the 1910s Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s 20th Century Fox films World War I aviation films World War II aviation films 1945 drama films Biographical films about aviators 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language biographical drama films Drama films based on actual events