Fighter Squadron (1948)

Henry Hull ("Gen. McCready") is determined to find new ways to attack the Nazi air bases and support the impending D-Day landings, but is fresh out of ideas. One of his squadron commanders "Brick" (John Rodney) has some plans, though - but that necessitates the promotion of "Ed" (Edmond O'Brien) into a job that most think him unsuited for. He's an undisciplined character who thinks the rules are for someone else. Can he mend his ways and take charge of his squadron at this crucial time of the war? There's plenty of internal squabbling, rivalries, soul-searching, sabre-rattling and a slew of black cats - but, essentially this is really a post-war feel-good feature for domestic audiences with little actual jeopardy to what limited plot there is. It features plenty of exciting airborne actuality to keep it moving and the last fifteen minutes make the rest of this plodding wartime drama worth watching. It's curious that there are no women here at all to temper the testosterone!