The Tuskegee Airmen
| The Tuskegee Airmen | |
|---|---|
DVD Cover art
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| Genre | Drama History War |
| Written by |
Paris Qualles Trey Ellis Ron Hutchinson Robert W. Williams T. S. Cook |
| Directed by | Robert Markowitz |
| Starring |
Laurence Fishburne Allen Payne Malcolm-Jamal Warner Courtney B. Vance Andre Braugher Christopher McDonald Daniel Hugh Kelly Mekhi Phifer John Lithgow Cuba Gooding Jr. |
| Music by | Lee Holdridge |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Frank Price Robert Williams (co-executive producer) |
| Producer(s) |
Bill Carraro Carol Bahoric (co-producer) |
| Cinematography | Ron Orieux |
| Editor(s) | David Beatty |
| Running time | 106 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
HBO Pictures Price Entertainment |
| Distributor | HBO |
| Release | |
| Original release | August 26, 1995 |
The Tuskegee Airmen is a 1995 HBO television movie based on the exploits of an actual groundbreaking unit, the first African American combat pilots in the United States Army Air Corps, that fought in World War II. The film was directed by Robert Markowitz and stars Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., John Lithgow, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
During World War II, Hannibal Lee (Laurence Fishburne), traveling by train to Tuskegee, Alabama, is joined by fellow flight cadet candidates Billy "Train" Roberts (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), Walter Peoples III (Allen Payne), and Lewis Johns (Mekhi Phifer). At the start of their training, they are met by Colonel Noel Rogers (Daniel Hugh Kelly), the commander of the base; Major Sherman Joy (Christopher McDonald), director of training; and First Lieutenant Glenn (Courtney B. Vance), liaison officer. The cadets are briefed by Rogers & Joy, both with their own views that set the tone for what the cadets would later face in training: Rogers has an optimistic view of the cadets, wanting the cadets to prove the naysayers wrong and letting them know how much of an honor it would be for the cadets to pass the training and earn their wings as aviators. Major Joy, however, reflects the views of most of white America's thoughts at the time, belittling the cadets and questioning whether or not they were up to the task. Afterward, Lt. Glenn told the cadets that he hoped they took note of the differing views of the two different officers. Later that evening, the cadets are chatting amongst themselves, and began to introduce themselves and what their college majors were (e.g. "Lewis Johns, English Literature"). It was during this time where Walter Peoples "guaranteed" that no one's name would be called above his on graduation day.
While the cadets begin their classes, Major Joy began his ploy to discredit the cadets. During a classroom session, Joy had them to retake the same flight exam they had to take to get into the program to begin with. Later, he takes Peoples on a flight after it is revealed that Peoples has a commercial pilot license. Joy takes the training aircraft, a PT-17, through very tricky and dangerous moves in order to try and break People's will, but the tactic didn't work-which seemed to frustrate Joy even more. Afterwards, Major Joy had to explain to Colonel Rogers on why he decided to give the retest and Joy's beliefs that some (if not all) of the cadets may have cheated to get in the program. Rogers informed Joy that no one scored less than a 95 on the retest, and scourned Joy about his tactics.
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