Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Robert J. Maxwell The 1957 cars are just -- well -- swell! Natalie Wood gets to drive a creamy yellow Ford convertible and Efron Zimbalist has a snazzy scarlet sports model. Why it could turn you green with envy -- seafoam green.The rest of the movie is a disappointment. Nothing seems quite right; it's all a little cockeyed. The plot: Zimbalist is an Air Force officer and Malden is the best flight engineer that ever existed. Malden is devoted to the USAF but his family, especially his daughter, Wood, want him to retire and take a job where he'll wear a suit and tie and "be somebody important." Well, there's a conflict right there.On top of that, Zimbalist has a reputation as a ladies' man and becomes seriously interested in Natalie Wood -- as who wouldn't? -- and Malden dislikes Zimbalist intensely and does everything but move mountains to end the romance, even though it's as innocent a romance as 1957 demanded.I don't know exactly what went wrong. The USAF/CEO problem is hackneyed. I mean, after all, that was a sub plot in just about every military movie John Wayne ever made -- career versus marriage and a settled existence. I should add that the settled existence as represented here is utterly bourgeois and materialistic, a spiritless void of apricot carpets and sparkling kitchens. Yukk.The Zimbalist/Malden conflict is botched from the beginning. In Korea, years earlier, Zimbalist endangered the field by insisting that his F-86 be repaired at night, requiring the turning on of lights and consequently "visitors" from the other side. After Zimbalist's take off, a crewman is killed by strafing. Throughout the movie, for six years, Malden believes (mistakenly) that Zimbalist forced the take off because of a hot date in Tokyo. So Malden certainly doesn't want a guy like Zimbalist courting his daughter, probably uttering hoarse, goaty cries while humping her in the back seat of his crimson convertible. The problem with this plot is that the movie shows us Malden as disliking Zimbalist BEFORE the lethal event. And the clumsy writing gives us no reason for the animus.The acting is as dull as the furniture except for Malden. Malden overacts. Every word is shouted. If he's supposed to be nervous, we watch a manic episode. The direction is careless. At the end, with Malden in a hospital bed, Natalie Wood must apologize to him for being bratty and demanding. It's her scene, and it's a long one. And the director, Gordon Douglas, doesn't allow her to build up to sobs. The whole SCENE has her in a torrent of remorseful tears, making the episode not just tedious but embarrassing.The scenes of flight are pedestrian. No sense is given of life within that thin aluminum tube at 40,000 feet. We don't get a sense of the layout. The flight deck is a mock up as are the other two sets. Leonard Rosenman's score matches the quality of the film itself -- lacking courage, vigor, and veracity.Despite these weaknesses, I'm sure the production had the eager cooperation of both Boeing and the USAF. It's practically a recruitment film.

MartinHafer I am NOT being negative when I say that "Bombers B-52" is a propaganda piece. Not all propaganda is necessarily evil and the film clearly is a giant recruiting film for the US Air Force. It features their new B-52 bomber and is intended as a publicity piece. However, he's the odd part...the film is also, at times, a bit like a soap opera. While the general plot is a lot like the superior "Strategic Air Command" where a man struggles to decide whether to stay on active duty or move to the private sector, there is the soapy element because the man with this struggle (Karl Malden) is under the impression that his Commanding Officer (Efram Zimbalest) is a playboy trying to wood Malden's daughter (Natalie Wood). Of course, it's all just a misunderstanding that could EASILY be explained away, but most of the film Malden and Zimbalest grunt and do their macho posturing instead of just talking. This makes an otherwise decent film a bit clichéd. During a few sequences, you really wish they'd have edited out the schmaltz and theatrics! It's a shame, as the air sequences are very nice (with a few amazing aerial shots of the bomber from above in mid-flight) and the film is a decent historical look into the Cold War.A few things to note in the film: The interesting ejection sequence--it really opened my eyes about the way a crew would leave the plane if there was an emergency as well as the low flyover in Egypt--which surely would have resulted in the Egyptians shooting at the plane as well as an international incident!

trimmerb1234 Disappointing compared to for example The Hunters and rather in the manner of the made for TV programming sponsored by large corporations in the 1950's and '60's seamlessly wholesome, moderate and reassuringly affirmative of worthy values - of patriotism, of the decency of the military, of family, of duty and of hard work being its own reward. The aerial photography lacked the supreme vividness of The Hunters. Also the B52 was not as photogenic or exciting as the F86 - similarly Karl Malden compared to The Hunters star hero Robert Mitchum. Nevertheless the script called on Malden to do what he does supremely well - play the decent simple unglamourous man. The two women play very conventional roles - supportive nice looking wife, pretty, innocent and well-behaved daughter. Other women are simply described as "blonds" or "brunettes" - enough said. The greatest object of passion was the new B52 - the "biggest, fastest, highest flying, longest range bomber in the world" - passion which in movie terms sounds cheesy but in reality the chance of working on the best, the latest, fastest, most advanced etc etc is the lure which captures and retains the most skilled designers and engineers worldwide.

eaglejet98 Fantastic wide screen, technicolor close-up images of one of the world's greatest long range nuclear bombers, the B-52. Fantastic wide screen, technicolor close-up images of one of the world's greatest actresses, Natalie Wood. ...and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. gets to ride both of 'em. Is this a great movie, or what?