The Movie "The Hunters" (1958)

[davparlr]

I just watched the movie "The Hunters", a movie about F-86 fighter operations out of Korea. Very similar to "The Bridges at Toko Ri", including some romantic mishmash. I think Bridges was the better of the two, mainly because the Oriskany provides a better backdrop than K-13 Suwan Korean airbase. Shipboard operations aboard a carrier are always hectic and exciting. However, Hunters did have the beautiful and impressive F-86 engaging in Aerial combat with pseudo Mig15s (in 1958 there were no real Mig15s available in the Western world so F-84Fs were use instead). Bridges did not have that problem as the pudgy but interesting F9Fs did not really play in the air-to-air role. There was a really good mock combat between two F-86s showing some excellent extended and close trail flying. Also some combat flying including some great low level flying. Of course the a scene of an F-86 crashing while landing was the famous F-100 Sabre dance video. I don't think the ending flying sequence was believable. Also shown was a nice shot of a C-54 taxiing in. The C-54 is the unsung hero of the first confrontation of the cold war, the Berlin Airlift. There is also a scene of some C-119 flying boxcars performing a parachute drop. All in all, well worth watching,

 

[Airframes]

Coincidence - I'd seen this movie back in the early 1960's, and wanted to see it again, so watched it 'online' just a couple of weeks ago.
Some good air to to footage, as you say.

 

[Barrett]

The movie is loosely based on the novel by F-86 pilot & MiG killer James Salter, who became a literary figure after leaving the USAF (he was West Point, IIRC.) The movie script is quite a bit different from the book but I'll not spoil the surprise for those who want to read it. One of the technical advisors was the late Col. Ralph Parr (4th Wing double ace) who thought that Mitchum did a good job of portraying a professional fighter pilot. The hotrod kid Ed Pell was based on Jim Low, who was bagged by a MiG-21 in Vietnam.

 

[mikewint]

Like Terry I looked this up on line and watched it yesterday. Pretty much typical script. Triumphal music for the Good Guys (us) and the Bad Guys all in black. Silly love scenes. Two pilots who crash perfectly good F-86s to save one pilot neither one really cared for and our nobel Hero who leaves at the end. But yea, good F-86 and MiG scenes