The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)

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The incomparable Gary Cooper (Cloak and Dagger, High Noon) portrays a controversial American hero in this electrifying true story of the most sensational military trial in U.S. history. It is the end of WWI—and the birth of aerial warfare. Though airplanes had only been used for reconnaissance, Brigadier General Billy Mitchell has foreseen their deadly power and importance in future combat as bombers and fighter planes. But his superiors in the Army Air Service are blind to his prophecy and when Mitchell begins to campaign to build an armed air force against their will, they brand him a traitor and summon him for court-martial. Although the Army attempts to cover up the trial, it becomes an explosive media event that explores the self-serving incompetence of the military and how one man’s vision can serve to shape history. Featuring first-class direction by Otto Preminger (Anatomy of a Murder, Rosebud) and a star-studded cast with Charles Bickford, Ralph Bellamy, Rod Steiger, Elizabeth Montgomery, Jack Lord, Peter Graves, Darren McGavin and Fred Clark.