| The Tuskegee Airmen | |
|---|---|
DVD Cover art |
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| Directed by | Robert Markowitz |
| Written by | Paris Qualles Trey Ellis Ron Hutchinson Robert Williams T.S. Cook |
| Starring | Laurence Fishburne Allen Payne Malcolm-Jamal Warner Courtney B. Vance Andre Braugher Christopher McDonald Daniel Hugh Kelly Mekhi Phifer John Lithgow Cuba Gooding Jr. |
| Music by | Lee Holdridge |
| Release date(s) | 1995 |
| Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States |
The Tuskegee Airmen is a 1995 HBO television movie based on the exploits of an actual groundbreaking unit, the first African American combat pilots in the United States Army Air Force, that fought in World War II.
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During World War II, Hannibal Lee (Laurence Fishburne) in getting ready to leave for Tuskegee, Alabama, is joined by other African American men from different backgrounds. At the start of their training, they are met by Lt. Glenn (Courtney B. Vance), who joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and was credited with three kills. During training, Walter Peoples III (Allen Payne), who already has a pilot's license, disobeys orders to try to prove himself to the base commander but this results in disciplinary action, so to prevent being sent home in disgrace, he decides to commit suicide by crashing his aircraft. Another cadet and his instructor are killed when they fail to recover from a stall.
Later, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt arrives for an inspection. She chooses Lee to take her up in an airplane. The men are eventually deployed to North Africa, as part of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, though they are relegated to ground attack missions. During the campaign, Lee's flight encounters a group of Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Ignoring Lee's orders, Leroy Cappy (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) breaks formation and attacks, downing one of them. Another Bf 109 hits Cappy's fighter aircraft numerous times, causing a fire in the cockpit and fatally wounding him. Lee drives the enemy aircraft away, but Cappy crashes.
A congressional hearing of the House Armed Services Committee is convened in order to determine if the Tuskegee Airmen "experiment" should be allowed to continue. Charged with being incompetent, a medical study is used to claim that "Negroes are incapable of handling complex machinery." The hearing decides in the Tuskegee Airmen's favor, partly due to an inspirational speech by their commanding officer, Lt. Col. Benjamin O. Davis (Andre Braugher), and the 99th Pursuit Squadron joins two new squadrons out of Tuskegee to form the all-black 332nd Fighter Group.
The 332nd is deployed to Ramitelli, Italy to provide escort for Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, which are experiencing heavy losses. During this deployment, Lee and Billy Roberts (Cuba Gooding Jr.) sink a destroyer. Roberts is shot down, while Lee is promoted to captain and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. In their next mission, the Tuskegee Airmen are assigned to escort the bombers on a raid on Berlin. As time goes on, the group's reputation grows to the point that a bomber pilot specifically asks for them as escorts, even though he knows the pilots are black. He trusts the black pilots more than the white pilot escorts.
At the end, the film details the unit's accomplishments: 66 out of the 450 Tuskegee Airmen died in battle, they engaged and defeated Messerschmitt Me 262s, the first operational jet fighters, and they were awarded a total of 850 medals over the course of the war. The credits also note (inaccurately, but a common belief of the time) that the 332nd never lost a single bomber to enemy fire.
As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):[1]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Laurence Fishburne | Hannibal "Iowa" Lee Jr. |
| Allen Payne | Walter Peoples |
| Malcolm-Jamal Warner | Leroy Cappy |
| Courtney B. Vance | Lt. Glenn |
| Andre Braugher | Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. |
| Christopher McDonald | Maj. Sherman Joy |
| Daniel Hugh Kelly | Col. Rogers |
| John Lithgow | Sen. Conyers |
| Cuba Gooding Jr. | Billy "A-Train" Roberts |
| Mekhi Phifer | Lewis Johns |
| Vivica A. Fox | Charlene |
| Christopher Bevins | Young Hannibal |
A full cast and production crew list is too lengthy to include, see: IMDb profile.[1]
Robert W. Williams, a wartime pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force "Fighting 99th", the first African-American combat squadron out of Tuskegee Air Force base, wrote a manuscript years earlier, and worked with screenwriter T.S. Cook to create a screenplay originally intended for a feature film project. The plot combined fact and fiction to create an essentially historically accurate drama. Linking up with Frank Price, owner of Price Productions in 1985 finally gained some traction for the project and when financing was eventually obtained nearly 10 years later, Williams stayed on as co-executive producer and Price as executive producer.[2]
Originally intended as an Home Box Office made-for-TV project, (HBO) invested more into the production, a reputed $8.5 million (the largest investment in a telefilm project to date) striving for historical accuracy.[2] Although most of the lead characters were fictitious composites of real pilots, the inclusion of Eleanor Roosevelt and General Benjamin "B.O." Davis was based on actual events.[3] When First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited Tuskegee Army Air Field in 1941, she insisted on flying with Charles Alfred Anderson, the first African American to earn his pilot's license and the first flight instructor of the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) organized at the Tuskegee Institute. She had the photograph of her in a training aircraft with a black pilot at the controls widely circulated. Other than some difference in physical appearance and profile, Andre Braugher's portrayal of "B.O." Davis and his role as the commanding officer pointedly was an accurate depiction of the unit's first commander's personality and character.
Location shooting took place at Fort Chaffee, right outside of Fort Smith, Arkansas. The barracks had been used in the filming of Biloxi Blues (1988), another wartime story. The principal photography also utilized locations at Juliette, Georgia, Muskogee, Oklahoma as well as studio work in Los Angeles, California. A collection of period aircraft including North American T-6 Texans and North American P-51 Mustangs were representative of the many types flown by the Tuskegee Airmen. A small number of authentic P-51 fighter aircraft in appropriate "red tail" colors was employed in the aerial sequences.
In addition, a limited number of period gun-ciné films were also used[2], as were sequences from the films, Memphis Belle (1990) and Battle of Britain (1969). The producers also borrowed a technique used in Memphis Belle by using cutout silhouettes of aircraft to make it appear that there were more aircraft parked at the various airfields. One example of period dialogue that was faithful to the times was Hannibal Lee Jr. (another fictitious composite) singing: "Straighten up..." finished by Billy Roberts (fictional character): "...and fly right." (The catchphrase was derived from the 1944 top-40 hit record, "Straighten Up and Fly Right" by The King Cole Trio led by Nat King Cole.)[4][N 1]
Although originally released on cable, the HBO feature was shown on multiple repeats and eventually was released as a limited feature in selected theaters. In 2001, a home video/DVD version was also released in both formats. The transfer was done in 1.78:1 aspect ratio, which exactly fills a 16x9 display, and is anamorphically enhanced.[5]
Although shortcomings were noted by critics generally focusing on clichéd dialogue ("They were our country's best defense...and its greatest glory." was the hackneyed tagline) and slow, stagy scenes, however, the overall impression by the public was nearly universally favorable. An excellent ensemble cast that was balanced by the use of realistic aerial footage were often cited as significant. The main theme of racial discrimination was also an emotional touchstone for many audience members. The Tuskegee Airmen rather than being "preachy" depicted the real-life struggles of the black airmen and is considered a resource in many educational programs based on the Black American experience.[6]
Besides the character of Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., played by Andre Braugher, no other actual real-life Tuskegee airmen were portrayed in this film. All the other featured Tuskegee airmen characters, were fictional.
The character Lewis Johns (Mekhi Phifer) recites "Strange Fruit" to his fellow recruits in their barracks at one point in the movie to describe lynchings that took part, especially in the south in the early 20th century. "Strange Fruit" is a 1939 song sung by Billie Holiday which in turn was inspired by a 1936 poem by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish teacher in the Bronx, after he witnessed the lynchings of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Marion, Indiana in that year.
The claim at the end of the film that the 332nd never lost a single bomber to enemy action is a source of historical controversy This statement was repeated for many years, and not challenged because of the esteem of the Tuskegee Airmen, however, Air Force records and eyewitness accounts later showed that at least 25 bombers were lost to enemy fire. This was still a far cry from the hundreds of bombers lost to enemy fire under escort of their white counterparts. [7][8]
The Tuskegee Airmen won the 1996 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Editing in the Miniseries or Movie category. The telefilm was also nominated in a variety of other technical categories including sound, mixing, editing and casting. Both Laurence Fishburne and Andre Braugher were nominated for Outstanding Leading and Supporting Actor, respectively in a Miniseries or a Special.
At the 1996 Image Awards, The Tuskegee Airmen won as Outstanding Television Movie or Mini-Series while Fishburne won as Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series. Cuba Gooding Jr. along with Braugher were further nominated as supporting actors.
Fishburne was also nominated for the 1996 Golden Globe in the Best Television Actor - Miniseries or Movie category, despite the fact many thought he was too old and mature (Fishburne was entering his late thirties), to portray a green and naive character entering into his early 20s.[9]
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