| Title | Amazing Stores: The Mission |
| Studio | Amblin Entertainment |
| Date of Original Broadcasts | 1985 |
| Producer | Steven Spielberg |
| Actors | Kevin Costner, Kiefer Sutherland, Casey Siemaszko, Anthony LaPaglia |
| B-17 Coordinator | Bruce Orriss, Jim Appleby |
| B-17 Filming Locations | None |
B-17s Identified
None (studio mockup)
The TV Episode...
Now, this doesn't really qualify as a B-17 movie because, technically, there were no actual B-17s used in the production. However, there is just too much fun to be had in taking a closer look at this TV episode of Amazing Stories to just not do it. Apologies on the front end to guys, specifically Bruce Orriss and Jim Appleby, who stood by and cringed at what they were putting on film, but grinned all the way to the bank. And they got to work with Spielberg, no less.
In a nutshell, the plot revolves around a B-17 crew going on a bombing mission, number 25 I believe. The ball turret gunner is an endearing chap as, indeed, all of the other crewmember are. But the endearing ball turret gunner's ball turret gets jammed by combat damage and he is stuck in the turret. And, whatsmore, it looks like he is a goner because the landing gear of the B-17 is also jammed up and the airplane will have to make a belly landing back at the base. Well, this gunner guy is a pretty good artist and he was sending out pretty good vibes on this day, because he drew and then imagined a pair of big cartoon tires on cartoon landing gears and darned if that B-17 doesn't actually land on the cartoon landing gear, saving all including the endearing and pretty versatile ball turret gunner. After the airplane is parked, everyone gets out and are, frankly, pretty amazed by the story.
Not sure where you can really go after putting a plot summary like that down on paper. However, Bruce Orriss provided some details about his involvement in the episode:
I had been contacted by some of the Spielberg people (who I had worked with before) regarding an episode they wanted to do for Amazing Stories called The Mission starring Kevin Costner. They wanted a B-17 mock-up which I did not have but I told them I knew of a wreck in Arizona (the Urbana A bomb wreck)and I would be willing to go down there to check it out/photo it, etc and come back with report...which I did. They said it was far too bad for their time frame they had to build a B-17 so they decided to build a mock-up of their own and asked if I could outfit...which I said I could do. I had gathered quite a bit of B-17 material over the years...supplying much of it to the USAF Museum restorations (Dover, Pima, Barksdale, etc.) along with some of the private owners. I gathered all of this together and also bought additional parts from my old friend and mentor Arnold Kolb. This is what we supplied to the movie folks and they took it from there. Once the show was over we brought back all the parts to the shop and soon after was contracted to work on the Memphis Belle film...for which we had to again clean up all the parts, add more inventory and ship same to England for use in the mock-up the studio built there.
And viewing the scenes in the B-17 mockup, there are a lot of nice touches showing the hand of someone who cares about a measure of reality, even if everyone else boarded the train to fantasy.
What else can you say? Maybe that old Steven might have asleep at the wheel when he approved the plot line. Wait, he wrote it. Maybe the director? No, Spielberg directed it. Blame the producer...er, no... Reality, phone home.
Anecdotal
- The whole series was a Twilight Zone wannabe but it was episodes like this that made it a not-gonnabe.
- Most of the scenes showing the airplane were dark and misty...for good reason.
- Noted composer John Williams did the music. When Spielberg calls....
- Many people sincerely enjoyed this episode, which is actually a personal concern of mine.
Buy this TV Show!
- Available through Amazon.com
Links
Acknowledgements
- Bruce Orriss
One of the ground scenes showing the exterior of the mock-up with the name of Friendly Persuasion and nose art added.
The airplane commander (Kevin Costner) about the "buck up" the crew for the mission, having to turn away a hapless new crewman in place of the veteran gunner who wants to go on the mission so badly....whatever.
Sharing a friendly moment on the way to Germany, with Kiefer explaining to his friend about looking for a new agent when he gets done today.
Yep, its tea time on high, with the gang sharing another friendly moment.
The bomb bay on this model B-17 was a bit roomier than most of the other versions. Here, the bombardier is checking everything twice.
We always thought the hole in the Plexiglas nose was to allow the bombardier to clean the glass in front of the bombsight but it appears you could also stick a 0.50 through it. Note, however, that the mockup did have a real nose glass assembly.
Kevin and copilot having a bad moment, what with the airplane on fire and all. Note the real throttle quadrant, do doubt courtesy of Mr. Orriss.
The damaged ball turret and otherwise doomed gunner. That baby is jammed tight but methinks it is a real ball turret. All right...
One of the external views of the B-17, a 91st Bomb Group airplane from the markings. Trusty old triangle "A" shows up everywhere.
Folks back then were a lot smaller than they are today, before we found out we are all obese. I would say this proves you can, actually, get eight men standing side by side across a B-17 cockpit. They are all a bit concerned (emoting, we call it) because their ball turret gunner buddy is doomed.
Turns out that on the day they fitted everyone with flying gear, only the "extra-large" glasses were left in the box.
What can one say?
What can one say? Whooo boy.