Task Force (1949)

Task Force (1949) is a war film filmed in black-and-white with some Technicolor sequences about the development of U.S. aircraft carriers from the USS Langley (CV-1) to the USS Franklin (CV-13). Although Robert Montgomery was originally considered for the leading role, the film stars Gary Cooper, Jane Wyatt, Walter Brennan, Wayne Morris, Julie London and Jack Holt. Task Force was the only film Gary Cooper and Jane Wyatt made together, and was the last of the eight films Cooper and Walter Brennan made together. The U.S. Navy provided complete support in not only loaning naval vessels and facilities, but also allowed the use of archival footage of the development of naval air power.

Synopsis

As a 1917 graduate of the Naval Academy, Naval Aviator Jonathan L. "Scotty" Scott (Gary Cooper) spends 28 years, from 1921 to 1949, promoting U.S. Naval Aviation and the power of the aircraft carrier. During that period, he antagonizes powerful people in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Congress, and marries Mary Morgan (Jane Wyatt), the widow of a fellow flier who died in a crash during a carrier takeoff aboard the USS Langley. Throughout, Scott has the help and friendship of his mentor and superior officer, Pete Richard (Walter Brennan).

Actors