Screaming Eagles

Tom Tryon ("Texas John Slaughter")

Jan Merlin ("The Rough Riders")

Martin Milner ("Route 66", "Adam-12")

Jacqueline Beer ("77 Sunset Strip")

Paul Burke ("Naked City", "12 O'Clock High")

Pat Conway ("Tombstone Territory")

Robert Blake ("The Richard Boone Show", "Baretta")

The director was Harvard educated Charles F. Haas. Haas' best film was "Platinum High School" with Mickey Rooney, Terry Moore, Dan Duryea, Yvette Mimieux, Richard Jaeckel, and Elisha Cook, Jr. The film was a reworking of "Bad Day at Black Rock". Haas also directed "Showdown at Abilene" with future TV stars Jock Mahoney ("Yancy Derringer"), Grant Williams ("Hawaiian Eye"), and David Janssen ("Richard Diamond"). And Haas directed 4 films highlighting the talents of Mamie Van Doren.

Haas later directed episodes of "Route 66", "77 Sunset Strip", "Alfred Hitchcock Hour", and "The Outer Limits". Haas used Richard Jaeckel again in his "Alfred Hitchcock Hour" and Grant Williams in one of his "Outer Limits". Inger Stevens starred in Haas' "Route 66" and "Alfred Hitchcock Hour."

Haas died in 2011 at the age of 97.

Co-screenwriter David Lang went on to write episodes of "Maverick", "Cheyenne", "Have Gun - Will Travel", "Wanted: Dead or Alive", "The Rebel", and "Tombstone Territory".

Robert Presnell, Jr., the other screenwriter, wrote episodes of "Twilight Zone", "The Eleventh Hour", "Mr. Novak", and "Banacek". He was married for 40 years to Marsha Hunt ("Raw Deal").

The story for "Screaming Eagles" was by two-time Oscar nominee Virginia Kellogg ("White Heat", "Caged").

As a movie, as a story, this flops. Such a terribly performed and written movie. It's as though someone woke up, said, "hey, let's do a tribute for D-Day, we will feature a unit from the 101st, and who do we have hanging around the studio?" Then, a secretary walks out the door, finds a few folks loafing about and points out, "You, you, you, and you all. Wanna make a movie? Here's your lines, now go do it." And, in one day it was done. Oh, let's add some WW2 footage to the stock, backlot scenery for realism. Just a poorly done movie in all regards. The whole Tom Tyron chomping on a cigar is right out of a comic book.

Tom Tryon's first movie. He is over the top as being the most unlikeable soldier in the 101st Division. Some 20 miles behind German lines on Day-D minus 12 hours they are casually taking prisioners. They encounter a tri-lingual French woman for sweet talking the Germans who let them pass thru to the American lines in the North. It's all highly improbable. The bad attitude shown by Private Mason (Tryon) should have gotten him transfered into a less critical position. I think of all the unlikely things in this movie, the fact that no one beats the stuffing out of Mason is the most unusual thing about the movie. Another strange thing about this movie, is that the unit doesn't accomplish its mission, you get reminded at the end what they were supposed to do in the first place.

One interesting thing about watching multi-character movies is the increased chance of spotting future stars. War movies are good for doing that especially. In this movie, several minor actors became bigger stars. Another highlight of this movie are the use of script devices that add energy to the plot. Imagine being blind behind enemy lines. Or become frustrated with language barriers to the point of using creativity to overcome that hindrance. It is worth a look.

Filmed on a sound stage for the most part. If Saving Private Ryan is a 10 star, this pitiful movie gets 1 star. They lost me when the Lieutenant came in the quonset hut wearing a shiny leather A-2 jacket. The replacements showing up in dress uniforms. I will give them credit for the double buttoned cargo pocketed paratrooper jackets. But in real life these troopers shaved their heads except for a mohawk, and the pitiful Lt had long blonde hair. No wonder audiences gave up films for television in the 1950s.