''X-15'' is a 1961 American
aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes airplane, fixed-wing and helicopter, rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as aerostat, lighter- ...
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- ...
that presents a
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a tradi ...
alized account of the
X-15
The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set spee ...
research
Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...
rocket aircraft
A rocket-powered aircraft or rocket plane is an aircraft that uses a rocket engine for propulsion, sometimes in addition to airbreathing jet engines. Rocket planes can achieve much higher speeds than similarly sized jet aircraft, but typicall ...
program, the test pilots who flew the aircraft, and the associated
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
community that supported the program. ''X-15'' starred
David McLean,
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and wa ...
,
James Gregory and
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and '' The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whi ...
(in her first feature film role). The film marked the
feature film directorial debut of
Richard Donner
Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American filmmaker whose notable works included some of the most financially-successful films during the New Hollywood era. According to film historian ...
, and was narrated by
James Stewart
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality ...
.
[Parish et al. 1977, p. 397.]
Plot
The experimental
North American X-15
The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set spee ...
program at
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is ...
involves test pilots: civilian Matt Powell (
David McLean), Lt. Col. Lee Brandon (
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and wa ...
) and Maj. Ernest Wilde (
Ralph Taeger
Ralph Taeger (July 30, 1936 – March 11, 2015) was an American actor who starred in three short-lived television series during the 1960s: '' Klondike'' (1960–61), ''Acapulco'' (1961) and ''Hondo'' (1967–68).
Biography
Ralph Taeger was born ...
). The cutting edge high-speed program is ramrodded by project chief Tom Deparma (
James Gregory) and US Air Force Col. Craig Brewster (
Kenneth Tobey
Kenneth Jesse Tobey (March 23, 1917 – December 22, 2002) was an extremely prolific American actor who performed in hundreds of productions during a career that spanned more than half a century, including his role as the star of the 1957-1 ...
). As the test pilots prepare for the planned launch of the rocket-powered aircraft from a
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
mother ship
A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft.
Examples include bombers converted to carry experimental airc ...
, they experience emotional and physical problems, which they share with their wives and sweethearts.
Test after test results in setbacks, including a near disaster when an engine explodes during a ground test and engulfs the X-15 and its pilot in flames, but finally the X-15 begins to set records in speed and altitude for a piloted aircraft. When the X-15 "flames out" on a high altitude run, after guiding the X-15 to a safe landing, saving Powell's life, Lt. Col. Brandon, flying a
chase aircraft
The Chase Aircraft Company, founded in 1943, was an American aircraft manufacturer, primarily constructing assault gliders and military transport aircraft. Lacking space for expansion, the company was purchased by Henry J. Kaiser in 1951. Plans ...
, is killed in a crash. Powell himself takes the X-15 into outer space for the final test.
Cast
As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):
["Credits: X-15 (1961)."](_blank)
''IMDb.'' Retrieved: November 2, 2011.
Production
Originally planned around the earlier NASA
Bell X-2
The Bell X-2 (nicknamed "Starbuster") was an X-plane research aircraft built to investigate flight characteristics in the Mach 2–3 range. The X-2 was a rocket-powered, swept-wing research aircraft developed jointly in 1945 by Bell Aircraft Co ...
program, writer/producer and later screenwriter, Tony Lazzarino shopped the project around
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
in 1958, appearing under several titles: ''Exit'', ''Time of Departure'' and ''Beyond the Unknown''. Lazzarino was successful in teaming with
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...
, who wanted to produce the film.
After approaching the USAF for stock footage of the X-2 flights, the
Pentagon
In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°.
A pentagon may be sim ...
made a recommendation that the newly introduced X-15 aircraft held out much more promise as a film subject. With $350,000 assigned for primary shooting, with an additional $72,500 for post-production work, by August 1960, pre-production had moved from Hope Enterprises (Hope's film company) to
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...
’s Essex Productions. After reviewing the initial draft screenplay, Pentagon suggestions clarified that the X-15 test program would be the focus for the upcoming production.
Pentagon assistance was largely responsible for the attention to detail and accurate portrayal of the NASA program.
["X-15: The Hollywood Version: Charles Bronson starred. The Pentagon had a few minor corrections."](_blank)
''airspacemag.com,'' August 1, 2007. Retrieved: November 4, 2011. Much of the principal photography for the film was undertaken at Edwards Air Force Base and the
NASA High-Speed Flight Station (now the Dryden Flight Research Center) in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, with the direct assistance of NASA, the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air 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 of the United States Army Si ...
and
North American Aviation
North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the ...
.
[Hardwick and Schnepf 1983, p. 63.] USAF Capt. Jay Hanks and NASA research pilot
Milton Orville Thompson
Milton Orville Thompson (May 4, 1926 – August 6, 1993), ( Lt Cmdr, USNR), better known as Milt Thompson, was an American naval officer, aviator, engineer, and NASA research pilot. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-1 ...
served as technical advisors on the film. Thompson himself later became an X-15 pilot.
The film featured carefully edited NASA footage of X-15 flights
intercut with original photography, with a minimum of special effects work using animation. In a pivotal scene of the chase aircraft crashing, ''X-15'' used US Air Force archival footage of the January 10, 1956, "
Sabre dance
"Sabre Dance", ''Suserov par''; russian: Танец с саблями, ''Tanets s sablyami'' is a Movement (music), movement in the final act of Aram Khachaturian's ballet ''Gayane (ballet), Gayane'' (1942), where the Ballet dancer, dancers dis ...
" crash of a
North American F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...
flown by Lt. Barty R. Brooks. Another critical scene involved the X-15-3 being destroyed on the test stand when the rocket engine exploded, using stock footage of the accident.
A archived letter from NASA Armstrong (then Dryden) to the movie producers, reviewing the script prior to production, had recommended a different scenario for a fatal X-15 accident. It cited maximum risk as beginning reentry from space with the X-15 at an inappropriate orientation. That situation actually occurred several years later on
X-15 Flight 3-65-97, November 15, 1967, in the rebuilt X-15-3, when pilot
Mike Adams experienced a hypersonic spin on reentry. The result was final destruction of the #3 X-15 and the only X-15 pilot fatality. The probable cause was pilot vertigo while in space.
Aircraft used in the production
*
Boeing NB-52A Stratofortress (carrier/mother ship)
*
Lockheed F-104A Starfighter ("Chase 1" , chase aircraft)
*
North American X-15
The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set spee ...
(research aircraft)
*
North American F-100F Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of US ...
("Chase 2" , chase aircraft)
*
Piasecki H-21 Work Horse ("Rescue NASA 1" , rescue helicopter)
Release
Home media
After its initial successful introduction, ''X-15'' quickly faded from movie screens, and was unable to gain much traction from foreign releases. Rarely shown on television, with its first airing only in 1979, the film was released briefly in VHS in 1983 and was released on DVD in 2004.
Reception
Critical response
Released just as the actual rocket aircraft was making headlines in breaking speed and altitude records and reaching the upper edges of the stratosphere, ''X-15'' was critically reviewed, receiving praise for its authenticity. Following its premiere in Washington, D.C., ''The Washington Evening Star'' raved, "Whatever its serious scientific intentions, the X-15 is an almost unbelievable screen spectacular."
Considered a realistic look at the lives of the X-15 pilots and the efforts to fly into space, the review in ''
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 ...
'' commented that it was "A surprisingly appealing and sensible low-budget picture—a semi-documentary with some harmless fictional embroidery ..." Most reviews centered on the accurate portrayal of the U.S. space effort, but disparaged the tepid romantic storyline, even suggesting that the film should have been made as a documentary.
Despite generally favorable reviews, ''Variety'' sounded a cautious note, calling it "a rather dubious prospect. Much too technically involved for the layman—at times, it resembles a training film more than popular entertainment."
[Godwin 2001, p. 384.]
In a more recent appraisal of the film, reviewer Glenn Erickson confronted the two critical failings of the film, emphasizing that Donner's direction resulted in an insipid portrait while short-cutting production values also led to an unsatisfying result. Erickson states clearly, "X-15 plays like a bland Air Force Audio Visual Services film that turned into a feature. One of the film's producers was Frank Sinatra, and actor Brad Dexter was at this time sort of a producer wheeler-dealer as well. The film may have started as a government publicity effort, as the idea that the X-15 program is in trouble with the press and Washington is given more attention than anything else in the movie." Even for aviation aficionados, the film is a failure because the production is an "anamorphic movie with an aspect ratio of 2:35. All the original "docu" shots of the real jets and rockets were photographed at the standard narrow 1:37." The jarring back-and-forth between a standard widescreen format and NASA footage that is stretched and distorted relegates the film to a curiosity. Only the USAF crash scene footage retains the
Panavision anamorphic format, although careful review shows that the aircraft involved is not the chase aircraft.
Other response
Mary Tyler Moore mentioned the film during an appearance on
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...
's radio talk show, ''Let's Talk to Lucy''. "...I've only really done one picture, and I wouldn't even call that a picture. It was one of those low-budget wonders that was shot in two weeks, and better forgotten altogether. It was a picture called X-15. They weren't quite sure if it was a training film or a melodrama, you know."
Let's Talk to Lucy: Mary Tyler Moore
posted November 4, 2021.
See also
* List of American films of 1961
A list of American films released in 1961.
__TOC__
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
A–B
C–I
J–R
S–Z
See also
* 1961 in the United States
External links
1961 filmsat the Internet Movie Database
* List of 1961 box office number-one fi ...
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* Ethell, Jeffrey L. "At the Threshold of Space." ''Air and Space magazine,'' October/November 1993.
* Evans, Alun. ''Brassey's Guide to War Films''. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. .
*
* Finn, Margaret L
''Mary Tyler Moore.''
New York: Chelsea House, 1996. .
* Godwin, Robert, ed. ''X-15: The NASA Mission Reports''. Burlington, Ontario: Apogee Books, 2001. .
* Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Buff's Guide to Aviation Movies". ''Air Progress Aviation,'' Vol. 7, No. 1, Spring 1983.
* Parish, James Robert, Don E. Stanke and Michael R. Pitts. ''The All-Americans''. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1977. .
* Thompson, Milton O. ''At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program.'' Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 1992. .
* Von Gunden, Kenneth
''Flights of Fancy: The Great Fantasy Films''.
Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1989. .
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:X-15 (Film)
1961 films
1961 drama films
1961 directorial debut films
1960s American films
American aviation films
American drama films
1960s English-language films
Films about astronauts
Films about test pilots
Films about the United States Air Force
Films directed by Richard Donner
Films scored by Nathan Scott
United Artists films