When Hollywood Ruled the Skies

by Bruce W. Orriss

Looks at American aviation films made before, during, and after World War II, and provides cast, credits, and plot summary for each film

219 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1985

Reviews

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sort of coffee table book about Hollywood aviation movies from 1938 to 1980 that presented aspects of WWII (or prewar, anticipating the war for the films in the late 1930s. All black and white pictures, with a very short film synopsis and more on the planes used and the stunt pilots who flew them. Only one review per film, mostly The NY Times. I think you’d have to be more interested in aviation than I am to enjoy reading about how filmmakers made do with planes that were not quite what they were supposed to be or how the had to convert planes back to WWII colors and armament for films made in the 1950s and upward.