Demonstrations of classic military tactical procedures and excellent footage of vintage aircraft (like the rare B-36), combine here to give viewers a cold war primer on the Air Force's defense capabilities, circa 1955. Former World War II pilot James Stewart is called out of retirement to assist in the strengthening of the Strategic Air Command, the new bomber forces that are America's first line of defense against the Russian nuclear threat. Wife June Allyson sits at home and frets over her husband's devotion to duty, while Harry Morgan lends a hand on the aircraft. Through Stewart, director Anthony Mann takes us on an ersatz tour of the elite Air Force operations that safeguarded America at the time. Unless you're interested in the aircraft of the day or stateside propaganda techniques during the cold war, Strategic Air Command tends to be a bit of a yawner. -Mark Savary.

A wise-guy flyer, ready to steal his officer's girl, learns the meaning of discipline during a test flight. Filmed in cooperation with the U. S. Government at San Diego Naval Base.

Landmark films never lose the ozone-snap excitement of their special historic moment. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine was the first feature shot outdoors in three-strip Technicolor, and its exhilaration in forest and lake, mountain and cloud remains as fresh and privileged today as it must have been in 1936. Director Henry Hathaway, already a seasoned veteran, had a fine pictorial eye along with sturdy storytelling instincts; he knew just how to place his cast in dynamic settings without getting fussy about it (a talent still going strong 33 years later in True Grit). No one would mistake Trail for a great film, but it's abundantly enjoyable, and a model of golden-age craftsmanship. This was Hollywood's fifth version of John William Fox's novel about a long-running Appalachian feud and its interruption by modernity in the form of a mining engineer (Fred MacMurray). The very young MacMurray, Henry Fonda (the scrappingest of the Tolliver clan), and Sylvia Sidney (as the cousin he loves) form an appealing romantic triangle, while elders Beulah Bondi and Fred Stone (the Tollivers) and Robert Barrat (patriarch of the rival Falins) nurse generations' worth of sorrows. Nigel Bruce is droll as MacMurray's colleague, Spanky McFarland represents the Great Smokies chapter of the Little Rascals, and hillbilly Greek chorus Fuzzy Knight gets to sing two peerless ballads, "Twilight on the Trail" and "Melody from the Sky. " And if that eldest Falin boy seems familiar, add 20 years and a war bonnet and you've got The Searchers' Chief Scar, Henry Brandon (here Henry Kleinbach). -Richard T. Jameson.

A tale about a fatherless boy finding dramatically different father figures throughout a remarkable adventure, Treasure Island is an entertaining coming-of-age story, with themes of family, loyalty, friendship, trust, and honesty at its core. While Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure tale is popular film fare, it's never been done this well. Charlton Heston stars as Long John Silver and Christian Bale as plucky Jim Hawkins in this TNT production. Directed by Heston's son Fraser (who also directed the excellent family fare Alaska), the film remains faithful to the novel, and draws much of the spirit and excitement of the book. The action scenes are first-rate, and if the ship Hispaniola has never looked better or more authentic, no surprise: the ship is the original from 1962's Mutiny on the Bounty. The opening scenes are dark and rich, as they capture the period well, with careful attention to makeup (the teeth, the body grime!) and costuming. Oliver Reed and Christopher Lee are frighteningly effective as Capt. Billy Bones and Blind Pew, and the film's first half-hour is theirs. The tone shifts and lightens when Heston appears as the legendary pirate. Look for Pete Postlethwaite, Julian Glover, and Richard Johnson in wonderful supporting roles. [+]

Before creating their grand fantasy King Kong, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack took their cameras to Siam to put genuine wild jungle creatures on the screen in their part-adventure, part-documentary spectacle Chang. It was a smash hit upon its 1927 release and is still considered a classic of the genre, filled with sights that retain their power 70 years later. A loose story is constructed around the lives of a family living at the edge of the jungle in a hut raised high up on stilts. The father tracks the leopards killing his livestock while the children play with a veritable petting zoo of furry little pups and cubs. The filmmakers are at times condescending toward their tribal heroes ("We be mighty hunters, Kru," comments one warrior in an intertitle, as if their own language is but some pidgin dialect) and fill the film with goofy comic relief. Just forget the story and enjoy the sights: hunters building deadfalls and spring traps, a leopard charging through the woods, and the climactic elephant stampede. The images of the awesome beasts fording a river like a rampaging army while the villagers struggle to split the herd and save their village is astounding. The silent film is set to an original score by Bangkok composer Bruce Gaston and performed by the traditional Thailand orchestra Fong Naam. [+]

Lewis Milestone was Hollywood's premier director of war films (starting with his 1930 Academy Award winner All Quiet on the Western Front), and Edge of Darkness is among his finest. Warner Bros. ' biggest star Errol Flynn gets top billing, but his performance-remarkable for its unaccustomed sobriety-is only one admirable part of a strong ensemble. This underscores the theme of a remote Norwegian fishing village of 800 united selflessly in resistance to the 150 German troops garrisoned in their midst during World War II. Robert Rossen's screenplay is essentially a variation on the sturdy proletarian fables he'd been writing for Warners (the only outright unsympathetic Norwegian is the owner of the cannery!); every character in the large cast is sharply defined, taking his or her place in a nuanced allegory of the myriad ethical, political, and emotional tensions of occupation and resistance. But what blows you away-besides the dramatic subject matter, the unorthodox Norway setting, and the eruptions of stark violence and atrocity-is Milestone's powerful direction and ultra-kinetic visuals. A town meeting conducted in the guise of an evening church service, with townsfolk arguing and interacting while continuing to face forward in their pews, is a brilliant set-piece; and throughout the film there are startling uses of a zoom lens (virtually unheard-of at the time), especially in the explosive action climax. To cite only the most stellar performers, Walter Huston and Ruth Gordon play the town doctor and his wife, Judith Anderson is Flynn's sister (hating herself for loving "good German" Tonio Selwart), Ann Sheridan plays Flynn's love interest and fellow resistance leader, and Helmut Dantine rattles the rafters as the German commandant, bitter at being stranded in a backwater of the war. Terrific movie. -Richard T. [+]

Brandon de Wilde and Walter Brennan star in the simple-and simply charming-story of a Mississippi swamp boy's discovery of an unusual dog who steals his heart, based on James Street's novel. Year: 1956 Director: William A. Wellman Starring: Walter Brennan, Phil Harris, Brandon De Wilde.