''Here Come the Jets'' is a 1959 American

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Gene Fowler, Jr. and written by Louis Vittes. The

API An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...

, the

B picture A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

unit of

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

was involved. ''Here Come the Jets'' stars Steve Brodie,

Lyn Thomas Lyn Thomas (born Jacqueline Thomas; 1929–2004) was an American stage, television and film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of ...

, Mark Dana,

John Doucette John Arthur Doucette (January 21, 1921 – August 16, 1994) was an American character actor who performed in more than 280 film and television productions between 1941 and 1987. A man of stocky build who possessed a deep, rich voice, he p ...

Jean Carson Jean Leete Carson (February 28, 1923 – November 2, 2005) was an American stage, film and television actress best known for her work on the classic 1960s sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'' as one of the " fun girls". Early life Carson was bor ...

and

Carleton Young Captain Carleton Scott Young (October 21, 1905 – November 7, 1994) was an American character actor who was known for his deep voice. Early years Born in Fulton, Oswego, New York, Young was the second and only surviving child of Sta ...

Plot

Ex-

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

pilot, and now an alcoholic, James Logan ( Steve Brodie) resorts to pawning his Distinguished Service Medal awarded in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. to raise money for his next drink. Jailed for disorderly conduct, after a fight at a seedy nightclub, his arrest makes headlines. His friend, Ted Wallack (Mark Dana), heads up the test pilot program at the Harrison Air Craft Company, and offers Jim a job. Randall (

), the no-nonsense head of engineering is wary of Logan and his drinking. Getting lodging at a boarding house owned by Jean Carter (

), Logan soon ends up back at a bar where he accidentally spills his drink on Joyce Matthews (

) who later turns up as the head of the plant's medical department, who will oversee a battery of physical and psychological exams. As the prototype Harrison airliner nears completion, Logan trains in a flight simulator but the sound of the raring engines causes him to panic. He tries to resign but Randall refuses to accept his resignation, assigning him to be Ted's co-pilot. Company president Burton (

) wants Logan to be fired as he is too controversial but Randall refuses. The night before the

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alw ...

, at the local restaurant, Logan is greeted by "Logan's Loonies," his old squadron from the war. His former friend, Steve Henley

Joe Turkel Joseph Turkel (July 15, 1927 – June 27, 2022) was an American character actor who starred in film and television during the Golden Age Era in the 1950s and 1960s. He is known for his roles in Stanley Kubrick's films '' The Killing'', ''Paths ...

can not forget what he called "ditching the fight" in Korea and starts a fight. Logan is shaken and is not sure he will be able to go through with the flight. On the day of the test flight, Randall orders Logan to take the controls from Ted, telling him that "Logan's Loonies" saved his son's life in Korea, and he feels bound to give him a second chance. Encouraged by Randall, Logan confidently takes the controls and safely lands the aircraft.

Cast

* Steve Brodie as James Logan *

as Joyce Matthews *Mark Dana as Ted Wallack *

as Randall *

as Jean Carter *

as Burton *

as Steve Henley (as Joseph Turkel) * I. Stanford Jolley as Bartender *Gloria Moreland as B-Girl *

Vikki Dougan Vikki Dougan (born Edith Tooker, January 1, 1929) is an American former model and actress. Early Years Dougan was born in Brooklyn. Her mother was a librarian and her father was an insurance salesman. Her father left the family when Dougan was ...

as Blonde *B.B. Hughes as Stripper *

Walter Maslow Walter Maslow (born January 16, 1928) is an American film, stage and television actor. Life and career Maslow was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 16, 1928. After high school, he served for two years in the United States Navy, performin ...

as Joe

Production

Originally director Gene Fowler, Jr. intended to collaborate with Louis Vittes on the screenplay. Principal photography on ''Here Come the Jets'' started on January 19, 1959. Additional filming took place from mid-late February 1959. As a

B film A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

, a great deal of reliance was on stock footage of the new Boeing 707 airliner.

Reception

The film was released in June 1959."Overview: Here Come the Jets (1959)."
''TCM.com''. Retrieved: May 20, 2019."Overview: Here Come the Jets."
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' (NYTimes.com). Retrieved: May 20, 2019.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Paris, Michael. ''From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema''. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1995. . * Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. .

External links

* * {{tcmdb title, 77839, Here Come the Jets 1959 films 20th Century Fox films American drama films 1959 drama films Films directed by Gene Fowler Jr. American aviation films Films scored by Paul Dunlap 1950s English-language films 1950s American films