Review of Memphis Belle (1990) by Mark K — 03 Feb 2012

Despite taking many liberties with the reality of the actual plane and crew, Memphis Belle is a relatively good film with some good acting and tense situations. It was also a career starter for a number of young actors. The overall tone of the film is an optimistic view of the sheer heroism of simply flying in one of these bombers. They aren't really portraying one bomber crew, but it's more a composite of the many very young men that risked and gave their lives on these missions.

You can call the characters a bit stereotypical, because they are composites. However it takes nothing away from the story, which suggests that some of the veteran crews were pretty good at the teamwork necessary to survive; or at least be able to alter the odds a little more in their favor. Evidence of training and discipline did contribute to some crews surviving tough missions. read about actor Jimmy Stewart's career, and you can see that he was considered a 'lucky' commander.

The film, Memphis Belle captures some good drama on and off the ground. It hints at, but doesn't fully exploit the stress that these young men were under. Only the navigator is really a nervous wreck for most of the mission, but everyone has moments of terror in the film. The B-17 as an aircraft also gets good exposure here, even though they had only a handful of flying examples to CGI the vast squadrons that characterized the later war missions. The terrible randomness and helplessness on the missions comes off well. You can't help but wince at some of the scenes like the bomber chopped in half, and the desperate 'counting of the chutes' by the Belle's crew.

As a purely historical film, it has many flaws that others will no doubt pick at, but they're not fatal. It's never dull, and it's got an everyman character for most to sympathize with, whatever your background or temperment.