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The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
8/25
8/25:
Here's something interesting from Robert Redford and George Roy Hill: The Great Waldo Pepper.
The story isn't particularly strong, but that's okay. The fun comes from watching guys emulating what stunt
pilots did for real during the 20's: daredevil acrobatics and performing things on the wing. According to an
article entitled "Barnstorming History" in Southern Biplane Adventures:
"It just so happened that a number of aircraft had also been de-commissioned after the war and amongst them was
a large stock of Curtiss JN-4 'Jennys.' Despite a production cost of $5,000, Jennys were being sold as cheaply
as $200 with many of the ex-airmen creating the demand. The Jennys were light, simple aircraft that could be
easily maintained and landed almost anywhere, importantly in close proximity to a barn. This is one possible
explanation for the name Barnstorming."
Among the pilots was Charles Lindbergh before he became famous. They would regularly give anybody a ride for
mere fifteen minutes in exchange of payment or room and board. Flying circuses were formed as well. Believe it
or not, women and black people found employment this way. After a while, regulations came which caused the whole
thing to cease for the most part due to increasingly dangerous tricks in the form of one-upmanship. Also, the
government simply stopped selling Jennys.
Back to The Great Waldo Pepper, the aerial photography is well-done. If you want to see more of the same
with similar planes, I recommend Hell's Angels,
The Blue Max, and
Von Richthofen and Brown. How the characters, played by Robert
Redford, Bo Svenson, and others, lived their life reminds me of
The Gypsy Moths. The best performance comes from Bo Brundin as Ernst
Kessler, and the funniest is when Susan Sarandon's character died by falling off the plane after strongly
insisting her name be billed above everybody's.
All in all, The Great Waldo Pepper is a good historical insight into what went on in America during
the 20's.