Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell, The (1955)

Shown for the first time on TCM in January, 2005, this Otto Preminger directed film tells the true (Oscar nominated) story of the successful World War I pilot & officer who predicted the future of air transportation and combat, even the events of Pearl Harbor and by whom, years before it was realized. With Gary Cooper in the title role, and a supporting cast which includes Charles Bickford as the Army General who refuses to take Mitchell’s advice (for political reasons?), Ralph Bellamy as the civilian lawyer who defends him in the trial, Jack Lord as a peer Navy Commander of a deathtrap & Zeppelin, Peter Graves & Darren McGavin as pilot Captains who work under Mitchell’s command, and Elizabeth Montgomery (in her film debut) as Lord’s wife. Rod Steiger appears in the last 20 minutes of the film as the Army’s substitute prosecutor in the General’s court-martial trial, brought about by Mitchell having insulted his superiors intentionally to get their attention and have his day in court.

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