Air Cadet

The plot is predictable, especially considering the film is, for all intents and purposes, a recruiting film. It's also a thinly veiled rework of the earlier Berne Lay script, "I Wanted Wings." As a matter of fact, the barracks interior scenes at Randolph AFB, early in the film, utilize the same sets used for the aforementioned 1941 classic. The neat thing is the combination of aircraft and "actors" - the T-33 two-seat jet trainers are some of the earliest models, prior to the installation of ejection seats. There is also a liberal sprinkling of single-seat F-80s used throughout as well. For the flight gear aficionado, the pilots wear the first production "hard hats," the P-1 helmet. Among the actors are actual USAF personnel. Future Mercury 7 astronaut Gus Grissom is mentioned in the IMDb listing as a cast member, but I'm going to have to watch it again to pick him out. More recognizable for me was Col. Leon Gray - he gives a speech to the new jet students about the sophistication of their aircraft, how it will "talk" to them. Gray was a highly decorated WWII veteran who flew photo reconnaissance P-38 Lightnings in the European theater. He went on to command one of the first P-80 squadrons at March Field, then took command of the first RF-80 (reconnaissance version of the Shoioting Star) wing in the USAF.

If you're an early jet nut, this movie is a "must have" in your collection.

The United States Air Force was only 5 years old when Air Cadet was made. Shortly after the Air Force would be fighting its first war in Korea as a separate service.

The film was dated by 1954 when the Air Force Academy was founded in Colorado Springs by act of Congress. Until then what you see here is how pilots were made.

Air Cadet follows the story of four enlistees Robert Arthur, Richard Long, Alex Nicol and James Best and their time in training. The main plot line involves Richard Long and his infatuation with the separated wife of his training officer Gail Russell. Said training officer Stephen McNally isn't quite ready to let Russell go and therein lies the plot.

Aviation buffs will like the training scenes with the latest in planes in 1951. The aerial shooting is well done and nicely integrated into the story.

Rock Hudson is in this film as an upper classman whomakes our cadets especially Robert Arthur jump. Alex Nicol was the most interesting character, a veteran infantryman from World War II who wants a taste of the glamour that pilots had in the last war. I wish we had more of him.

I'm sure Air Cadet was a fine tool for recruitment for the newest of our Armed Services.

It's 53 years old, it's a B movie, it's unashamed propaganda for the USAF - and I loved it. This movie is in my opinion a minor classic and a real piece of history. There's no definite 'plot' to the film, but it's the story of a group of USAF cadets going through flying training in the (very) early years of the jet engine. I really enjoyed it & all the actors showed the enthusiasm of young men at the beginning of their careers. If I was 21 again and transported back to 1951 I couldn't think of a better choice. It was really interesting to see "museum piece" airplanes brand new and the subject of such awe from the cadets and the photography throughout was as crisp as if it'd been filmed yesterday. It was also one of Rock Hudson's earliest movies and, it's so obvious why he later became a star. 'Air Cadets' certainly didn't win any Oscars but it's MUCH more realistic than the ridiculous 'Top Gun' and well worth watching.

This could almost be a training/recruitment exercise for the US Air Force as we follow the rather contrived relationship between "Maj. Page" (Stephen McNally), his independently-minded student "Ross" (Richard Long) and his estranged wife and new friend of his amorous young pupil "Janet" (Gail Russell). There is some fine aerial photography here, early jet aircraft put through their paces - bit the story and acting are very disjointed. It can't quite decide whether it's about the science, the disciplined training or the romance - and as a result it all rather misfires leaving us with a rather dull experience. It does give us the briefest of illustrations as to just how green some of these would-be pilots were - best exemplified by Alex Nicol's barely started shaving "Joe", but the rivalry between the two leading roles is too manufactured and Russell injects little by way of charisma into her role before a conclusion that I felt distinctly predictable - and sentimental. Maybe worth a watch for the planes - and an early outing for Rock Hudson, but not for much else, sorry.

If you love aviation, you'll appreciate all that Air Cadet offers. It's well acted, beautifully produced, and vastly more realistic than most military flying films.

The aircraft, flight instruction, and training facilities are all historically accurate and take place at the training bases actually named because this movie was produced with the full cooperation of the U. S. Air Force.

The plot is only minimally hokey as it largely sidesteps the Hollywood clichés that make so many films of the era unwatchable. The main characters have depth, complexity, and credible motivations. No spoilers here, but the protagonist isn't entirely good / right and his antagonist isn't entirely bad / wrong. In short, the film realistically represents the human element in flight training.

The Lockheed F-80 and T-33 are stars in their own right. Two versions of the same first-generation USAF jet, the former is the single-seat fighter version and the latter a two-seat trainer.

The greatest treat of all is the in-flight photography.

It's utterly superb and -- a rarity in aviation films -- is perfectly choreographed to match the storyline. A great deal of planning, coordination, and astonishingly precise flying creates a spectacular look at the USAF's "early blowtorch era."

I suspect this film's undeservedly the low IMDb rating reflects viewer expectations of over-the-top drama and cliché-ridden hyperbole rather than something relatively realistic. It truly deserves to stand alongside I Wanted Wings before it.