The Court-martial of Billy Mitchell
Based on the true story of an aviation pioneer who risked a court martial through his belief in the power of flight.
The following statement regarding the story appears after the opening credits: 'The First World War had just ended in total victory for the United States and its Allies. Now war was a thing of the past, America disbanded its army and sank its navy. Its air force was still an unwanted child. In 1921 off the coast of Virginia, the high command of the army and navy gathered to consider a revolutionary experiment.'
Cast & credits
Cast
- Billy Mitchell Gary Cooper
- General James Guthrie Charles Bickford
- Congressman Frank R. Reid Ralph Bellamy
- Major Allan Guillion Rod Steiger
- Margaret Lansdowne Elizabeth Montgomery
- Colonel Moreland Fred Clark
- Colonel Herbert A. White James Daly
- Commander Zachary Lansdowne Jack Lord
- Captain Elliott, pilot in crash Peter Graves
- Russ Peters Darren Mcgavin
- Admiral Gage Robert F. Simon
- Senator Fullerton Charles Dingle
- General Douglas MacArthur Dayton Lummis
- Captain Eddie Rickenbacker Tom Mckee
- Major Carl Spaatz Stephen Roberts
- General John J. Pershing Herbert Heyes
- Major H.H. Arnold Robert Brubaker
- Fiorello LaGuardia Phil Arnold
- President Calvin Coolidge Ian Wolfe
- Admiral Williams S. Sims Will Wright
- [Stu Stewart] Steve Holland
- [Yip Ryan] Adam Kennedy
- [Ted Adams] Manning Ross
- [General Pershing's aide] Carleton Young
- [civilian stenographer] Griff Barnett
- [court judge] Edward Keane
- [court judge] Charlie Hughes
- [court judge] John Maxwell
- [court judge] Ewing Mitchell
- [sergeant major] Max Wagner
- [sergeant] Richard Bayer
- [court reporter] Jack Perrin
- [Howard Millikan, reporter] Gregory Walcott
- [Carl Tuttle, reporter] Robert B. Williams
- [reporter] Charles Chaplin Jr.
- [reporter] Joel Smith
- [reporter] Al Page
- [reporter] Lars Hansen
- [reporter] George Mayon
- [reporter] Jordan Shelley
- [reporter] Fred Perce
- [reporter] William Fox
- [reporter] Mike Lally
- [reporter] Cy Malis
- [photographer] Bernard Sell
- [Mrs Sturgis, Reid's secretary] Edna Holland
- [chairman of committee] Howard Smith
- [commandant at Fort Sam Houston] William Forrest
- [Tom, major] Frank Wilcox
- [officer] Bill Henry
- [officer] Peter Adams
- [officer] Abbas Abdullah
- [Italian officer] Mario Cimino
- [Japanese officer] William Yokota
- [congressman] Robert Bice
- [congressman] Marshall Bradford
- [singer] Jack Maggio
- [singer] David Daniels
- [major] Charles Keane
- [major] T. O'sullivan
- [captain] Joe Haworth
- [captain] J. Mckay
- [military policeman in court] Allen Marston
- [civilian] Danny Dowling
- [African-American receptionist] John Marriott
- [clerk] G. Albert Smith
- [.] Hal Rand
Credits
Direction
- Director Otto Preminger
- 2nd Unit Director Russell Saunders
- Assistant Director Jack Mcedwards
- [Screenplay Supervisor] Alma D. Young
Production
- © United States Pictures
- A United States Pictures Production United States Pictures
- Presents Warner Bros.
- Production Milton Sperling
Writing
- Story and Screenplay by Milton Sperling
- Story and Screenplay by Emmet Lavery
- [Contributing Writer] Ben Hecht
- [Contributing Writer] Dalton Trumbo
- [Contributing Writer] Michael Wilson
Photography
- Director of Photography Sam Leavitt
Special Effects
- Special Effects H.F. Koenekamp
Editing
- Film Editor Folmer Blangsted
Design
- Art Director Malcolm Bert
- Set Decorations William L. Kuehl
Costumes
- Costumes Design Howard Shoup
Make-up
- Make-up Supervisor Gordon Bau
Music
- Music Composer/Conductor Dimitri Tiomkin
Sound
- Sound Stanley Jones
- Sound System RCA Sound System
Stunts
- [Stunts] Ron Burke
- [Stand-in for Gary Cooper] Slim Talbot
Consultant
- Technical Adviser Douglas Keeney
- [Planes Supplied by] Paul Mantz
- [Consultant] St. Clair
- [Consultant] John P. Oliver
- [Consultant] Betsy Landowne Caswell