Memphis Belle is a 1990 film directed by Michael Caton-Jones and written by Monte Merrick, starring Matthew Modine and Eric Stoltz and introducing Harry Connick Jr. in his screen debut. It is a fictionalization of the 1943 documentary Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress by director William Wyler, about the 25th and last mission of an American B-17 bomber, the Memphis Belle, which was based in England during World War II. The 1990 version was produced by Wyler's daughter Catherine and dedicated to her father.
Plot
Memphis Belle depicts the day leading up to the crew's final mission, as well as the mission itself. The B-17 is named "Memphis Belle" after pilot Dennis Dearborn's girlfriend back home in the States, who is not depicted in the film other than in a black and white photograph kept on the pilot's console.
The crew of the 'Belle have completed 24 missions of the 25 in their tour of duty. Lt. Colonel Bruce Derringer (John Lithgow) has arrived at their base in England to meet the crew and plan out the massive PR tour that the crew will embark upon after they complete final mission in their tour.
In their 25th mission, the 10-man crew is to bomb a factory in Bremen. At first, the flight is delayed because of clouds above the target, but finally they become airborne. Several of the crew feel sure that their luck has run out and that they will not survive this mission. This is perhaps no more fiercely than by Eugene McVey, one of the waist gunners, who finds his patron saint medal cast out of the Memphis Belle during flight by Jack Bocci, the other waist gunner, after Eugene plays a practical joke on him. Danny Daly (Eric Stoltz), the radio operator, then gives Eugene his lucky rubberband to calm down his panicking crewmate.
The lead plane in the formation and its successor are shot down on the way to the target in Bremen (in one case, killing all crew aboard), and the Memphis Belle reaches the target as the head of the bomb group. Upon reaching the target, it is found to be obscured by smoke and clouds. Dennis makes the call to go around for another pass, as he remembered from the pre-flight briefing that there was a school nearby the target. During the go-around, several more B-17s are lost to fighters and ground fire. On the second pass, the target is visible, and the bomb group drop their bombs and head for home.
Several problems occur on the return flight which cause the crew to bond like never before. A close call with an attacking enemy fighter makes Eugene think that Jack has been wounded. When Eugene tells Jack that he was worried for him, Jack reveals that he had only palmed Eugene's medal earlier, and returns it to him. Even Luke Sinclair, the hotshot co-pilot, comes to respect the authority of Dennis, the pilot.
During the mission, there is a scene at the Memphis Belle's airbase between Col. Harriman and Lt. Col. Derringer. The latter sees the former as a cold commander, insensitive to everything except military strategy and bureaucracy, comparable to Luke's feelings of Dennis. Harriman, out of anger, eventually forces Derringer to read a drawer full of replies from families of deceased airmen. Derringer comes to realize the burden that Harriman faces, of sending young men on missions knowing that many will never return.
In the return flight, Danny is critically wounded by enemy fire. Val Kozlowski (Billy Zane), the bombardier, is forced to confess that he has, in fact, very little medical school training in spite of what he claimed previously. He suggests that Danny be parachuted out of the plane (to be treated by the Germans in a hospital). Val finds the courage to treat Danny anyway, and Danny remains aboard the Belle.
An engine fire forces the Memphis Belle to abdicate the position as formation lead, and the aircraft is taken into a rapid dive in order to extinguish the fire. At the last second, the fire is finally extinguished and the bomber continues towards home, alone.
At the base in England, all hands are watching for the return of the bombers. One by one, they return, with no sign of the Memphis Belle. The crowd waits, looking in the direction that the Belle would approach. As the base commander turns to go (along with the rest of the base personnel), he takes one last look - and spots the Belle on final approach.
On approach, the crew finds that one landing gear does not extend (just like a fatal accident at the beginning of the movie). Crew members go to lower the wheel - and one nearly falls out of the bomb bay after stepping on the bomb bay door. Several take their turns at the hand crank, frantically spinning the crank to lower the wheel until the gear locks into position seconds before touch-down.
The entire crew survives and gains a new respect for each other. The movie was dedicated to all the brave young men who flew and fought in the largest continual air conflict in history, whatever their nationality.
Historical Accuracy
With the exception of the aircraft names and the basic premise (that of the first plane to survive its tour of duty in the air war over Europe), this film is fiction based on fact. The characters are composites, the names are not those of the real crew of the Memphis Belle and the incidents shown are taken from many missions. The final, 25th mission of the real Belle was to Kiel, Germany, but with a substitute crew, before being flown back to the United States.
The aircraft which portrayed the Belle was UK based B-17G "Sally B" which is operated by B-17 Preservation Ltd. The original Memphis Belle was an earlier B-17F model, so Sally B's chin gun turret was removed for the film and replaced afterwards. Codes and nose art were continually changed to portray other B-17s, such as "C-Cup" and "Baby Ruth". In the final sequences the aircraft wore the markings of the "Memphis Belle" herself as she returned from her last mission. The aircraft was repainted to closely match the original Memphis Belle, the same markings are still worn today. (The plane's paint scheme in the film was deliberately inaccurate to avoid any legal problems with duplicating the earlier scheme.)
The American fighters which escorted the Memphis Belle in the movie were P-51 Mustangs, which were not yet operational at the time of the actual Memphis Belle's last mission. The Mustangs were used since few P-47 Thunderbolts - the primary escort fighter at the time of the mission - were airworthy when the movie was filmed. The escorts' running low on fuel and turning back short of the target area was a major issue for the P-47, but not for the P-51.
The film was filmed at the non-operational RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire, England with some scenes shot at the Imperial War Museum Duxford. All the extras for the film were obtained from auditions held in the area, and included current and former members of the Royal Air Force.
During the filming one B-17 crashed and burned.
Trivia
The voice over of the grieving Father was sampled in Alex Silvi's 1995 House track 'Atomic'.
Soundtrack
"The Chestnut Tree", written by Tommie Connor, Jimmy Kennedy and Hamilton Kennedy appears in the movie but not on the soundtrack album. In one scene in the film, Sgt. Clay Busby (Harry Connick, Jr.), performs part of an upbeat version of "Danny Boy" - sadly this rendition is not found on the soundtrack album. A slower version of "Danny Boy", performed by Mark Williamson, appears instead.[1] The film score, by George Fenton, was nominated for a BAFTA award for Best Original Film Score in 1991.
The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, CTS Studios, and Angel Studios in London, England.[2] Included is Glenn Miller and His Orchestra performing "I Know Why (And So Do You)".
Track listing
- "Londonderry Air" / "Front Titles: Memphis Belle" (traditional / George Fenton) - 3:50
- "Green Eyes" (Nilo Menendez, Eddie Rivera, Eddie Woods) - 3:25
- "Flying Home" (Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Sydney Robin) - 2:57
- "The Steel Lady" (Fenton) - 1:44
- "Prepare For Take Off" ("Amazing Grace") (traditional) - 2:39
- "The Final Mission" (Fenton) - 3:51
- "With Deep Regret..." (Fenton) - 2:02
- "I Know Why (And So Do You)" (Mack Gordon, Harry Warren) - 2:55 - performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
- "The Bomb Run" (Fenton) - 1:30
- "Limping Home" (Fenton) - 2:25
- "Crippled Belle: The Landing" (Fenton) - 3:26
- "Resolution" (Fenton) - 1:06
- "Memphis Belle" (End Title Suite) (Fenton) - 7:37
- "Danny Boy" (Theme from Memphis Belle) (Frederic E. Weatherly) - 3:20 - performed by Mark Williamson
Main cast
References
External links
