The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell

Otto Preminger (1955)

100min

U Certificate

Review

Our Score

by Tom Hutchinson

This true-life courtroom drama is given enormous impact by director Otto Preminger and his Oscar-nominated writers, Milton Sperling and Emmet Lavery. The film is based on events in 1925, when US Army general Mitchell (played by Gary Cooper) dared to question bureaucracy and argue for a separate Air Force. He also predicted that America and Japan would one day go to war, years before Pearl Harbor. Cooper's languid sincerity makes its mark, but it's Rod Steiger, arriving late on the scene as a venomous prosecutor, who gets all the best lines.

Summary

In the 1920s, an American colonel accuses the war department of criminal negligence for denying the air force the funding it needs - but the powers-that-be still regard aircraft as an irrelevant part of the military, and respond by putting him on trial. Courtroom drama, starring Gary Cooper and Rod Steiger, with Ralph Bellamy and Elizabeth Montgomery.

Cast & Crew

Col Billy Mitchell Gary Cooper

Maj Allan Guillion Rod Steiger

Congressman Frank R Reid Ralph Bellamy

Margaret Lansdowne Elizabeth Montgomery

Admiral Gage Peter Graves

Gen Jimmy Guthrie Charles Bickford

Lt Cdr Zachary Lansdowne Jack Lord

Capt Russ Peters Darren McGavin

Director Otto Preminger

Other Information

Language: EnglishColourAvailable on: video

Drama

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Otto Preminger (1955)

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