The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell | English Full Movie | Drama Biography War 

I hope the prosecutor who did the cross examination lived long enough to see that most of the predictions made by Mitchell actually came true. To say he had foresight is an understatement.

This man was born 14 years after the Civil War; and was predicting the effects of modern air power/travel.. He was like a Sci-Fi author..

I was station in Hawaii and to learn the predictions Gen.Mitchell wrote and having visited Pearl Harbor many times,It blows my mind. Semper Fi.

This man,this soldier,Mitchell,was way ahead of his time,without doubt.He reminds me of Major General Smedley Butler' s " War is a Racket," which is so factually accurate and genuine and his book is easy to read and ALL Americans Need to read Major General Butler' s book!

I wonder if that prosecutor had any comment after December 7, 1941?

As an addendum, Billy Mitchell knew what the future of aviation would be like, in particular when he stated that anybody with any knowledge of the air knows that the speed of aircraft is almost unlimited, and depends only on technical developments that occur.

i had no idea that Billy Mitchell was so prescient as to foresee the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. The entirety of his viewpoint was correct. The whole of the trial was all about his audacity of questioning Army leadership. History has shown each of his points to be entirely correct.

A true American patriot he was right about the attack on Pearl Harbor a scant 18 years later it became history. He was also correct that one day planes would travel at 1000 MPH and fight in the stratosphere. He was a visionary when it came to air war he realized the importance of the airplane in future conflicts and that we were lagging behind the rest of the world. That became obvious again 18 years later when we had to go to war with inferior planes.

😮😮Ignorant, cowardly and corrupt officers destroyed Billy's career but NOT his Truth.

Who was right and who was wrong? Not bothered ......this is by far the best movie that I have ever seen on RU-vid!! Some very powerful performances from all involved. Many thanks for listing this

Great Movie! Being an Air Force vet, I didn't know about Billy Mitchell’s prediction on the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The actor who portrayed MacArthur has the looks spot on. It is not even necessary to identify him as being MacArthur.

He was spot on about pearl.

movies are made to lose oneself in the film excellent actors do this , in this film I forgot all my health problems for a few hours and I'm gratefull

General Mitchell was, at the very least, twenty years ahead of his time. It took the advent of the Second World War and the conduct of the Germans during the beginning of that war to prove the concepts of an integrated approach to war to validate General Mitchell and his theories. The colmenation of which was Pearl Harbor. Had the General Staff integrated his thought even in the mid thirties, Pearl Harbor need not have happened. Unfortunately, during the inter-war years, General Patton had the same and similar issues with the Armored Force, thus leaving us without adequate Armored Forces at the beginning of the Second World War.

I just noticed Rod Steiger in this movie. He is brilliant. Of course Gary Cooper is wonderful.

Wow, General Mitchel was prophetic !

Good movie. Held my interest from the beginning to the end.

In 1946, Mitchell was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Young Rod Steiger facing the great Gary Cooper... Amazing!

Unfortunately, men ahead of their time have almost always been done the same way. Especially in the military, where a lifetime of tradition, and expectations often cloud otherwise sound judgement.

Unlike America, Japanese Paid Very Careful Attention To What Billy Mitchell Did.

Thanks for taking this old guy to places he will never see give that little girl of yours a hug for us and stay safe.

actor playing macarthur hits the nail on the head.

It is tragic that seers must become martyrs to be truly heeded. Tradition is often teeming with mental bllindspots.

What an amazing performance by Rod Steiger!

I wonder what Gen. Mitchell's response would had been witness to seeing the SR71 in flight.

Beautifully executed. Terrific film. Love Cooper. Sad bout outcome but he stuck to his convictions to force airforce to make many changes to b prepared in the air. Love true stories ❤️

Back before Jeeps, when the Services used Dodge touring cars. That looks like Elizabeth Montgomery of Bewitched and Jack Lord of Hawaii Five-O. This appears to be an accurate portrayal of the services at the time.

Until Pearl Harbor the Navy believed the Battleship was the primary naval weapon. After Pearl Harbor they were obsolete, and both the Admiral and General in charge there were relieved. Few of our P-40s were even in the air, and they could have damaged the Japanese Naval Air Force significantly.

A young Rod Steiger,as the prosecutor,I only recognized him by his voice.

MacArthur, who was a long time friend of Mitchell’s supposedly voted not to convict but we all know how ambitious Dugout Doug was. I doubt he would jeopardize his career by going against the military.

Billy Mitchell was a better officer than most of them.

During WW1 Billy grounded the American air force when it rained - although the Germans took to the air with good affect! I liked Elizabeth Montgomery in the film!

This country was great because we had men like these out there.

The cast was exceptional: Gary Cooper Charles Bickford Ralph Bellany Rod Steiger Elizabeth Montgomery Jack Lord Peter Graves Darren Mcgavin

It really takes someone like Mitchell to explain what it takes and what is needed as a flyer to all his superiors who have never flown. It just takes one with backbone and vision and caring for the demise of his men to go up against everyone and go public about it just to be heard as men kept dying in those outdated planes. Mitchell was not on the side of disobedience nor on the side of obedience but on the side of his own integrity where after speaking his truth he was able to look at the man in the mirror.

19th century foot soldiers not knowing the importance of airpower

Winona, if u would research Gen Mitchell s life youd see he didnt need the glory or publicity. His whole life was one of honor. And self saccrifice and love of country. He wouldnt destroy his career for grand standing.

Steiger was always a ham. The rest of the cast are acting even keeled and playing it straight.

Excellent movie. I knew much about Billy Mitchell, and this movie was riveting all the way through.

This movie just goes to show that somethings never change, liberal thinking in a conservative world, keep the status quo.

58:45 Elizabeth Montgomery!!! Is she looking cute at 22 years old.... And in tears....

The sentence of total loss pay was changed to half pay by the President. In addition Gen. Douglas MacAuthur had voted Not Guilty. However it didn't matter, Mitchell resigned. The guilty verdict was the correct one, no question about that. Mitchell should have resigned from the Army in protest and then stated his very strong opinions about the Army Brass and system. As it was the effect was the same either way. Mitchell's court martial was no great tragedy or injustice but it did promote military aviation.

I remember this movie - it’s very good .

@CHixon Yes, that is Elizabeth Montgomery and Jack Lord in the picture before they gained fame on their respective TV series. And the services are portrayed as they actually were, especially before the Air Force became a separate service in 1947 when it was under the jurisdiction of the Army as the Army Air Corps, and the services were re-organized under the department of Defense that year. 1947 was also the year the sound barrier was broken by Chuck Yeager in the Bell X-1. How a propos, wouldn't you say so?!!!

Wow genius Billy Mitchell.

This Army Movie was well done for Billy Mitchell trial

Mitchell was a great man a patriot ahead of his time.

Billy Mitchell showed the world and US military slapped him in the face for it! Side note a future admiral Yamamoto was there when he was sinking all those battleships!

Rod stiger. Now thats good acting. He nailed it.

What Col Mitchell did was bring about an American Air Force

Pearl Harbour settled the " Big Naval Gun" issue once and for all!

Prosecutors are trouble. Spiteful, too much spiteful power given to them.

Outstanding movie. Thanx for sharing 👏

Billy Mitchell was a hero. The Mitchell bomber named after him. And Jimmy Doolittle flew with him.

The prosecutor was played by Rod Seger. He played Napoleon brillantly in the movie 'Waterloo'.

Good old fashioned military movie. Thank you.

So goes the tragic history of prophets.

great movie, great cast and great tiomkin score to make it even better

Interesting/informative/entertaining. Without Rod Steiger's astonishingly brilliant court room performance. Cooper never would've been able to act out his encore performance ending the final court room scene. And that's a fact!!! No rebuttals allowed!!! 😉

Luv it Captain Rickenbacker, luv his guitars,man, the British invasion!

This is a great story

I wonder if Billy Mitchell ever met his doppelganger Sargeant York.

The high and mighty of the Day sure cost the unesscary loss of then lives and the near future 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

This great film was a testimony to how backwards USA was at that time, JV

One of America's greatest heroes 🏅

I'm glad this film got done back in '55. It would never get done today because it was discovered in recent years that Mitchell was a racist. He could've saved the galaxy and if he had ONE racist statement or viewpoint even MAYBE to his credit, he'd be DONE.

WHATA PERFORMANCE!! (…lolol)

Great movie thank you 🤩🤩🤩💖💖

Finally, a period movie with period costumes. It’s tiresome to see bouffant hairdos and 1950s and later garb on the characters in movies that take place in the first half of the 20th century! Attention to detail is important. It’s foolish to spend a fortune on accurate military equipment for a movie and than to costume actors inappropriately. One movie I once watched was at least a third of the way done before I recognized what decade it was supposed to take place in. The idea still has relevance, albeit in other ways than air power. I wonder how many viewers took note of those who would later rise to prominence from their tv shows. Elizabeth Montgomery; “Bewitched” Darin McGavin; “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” Jack Lord; “Hawaii Five-O” Another commenter mentioned another well known TV actor, but declined to give the person’s name and I am unfamiliar with tv show mentioned.

Yes - His facial expressions were the same as Napoleon in Waterloo.

A very good film.

MacAurther is not wearing his first Medal of Honor.

"I believe that in the future, whoever holds Alaska holds the world.'' Billy Mitchell. And Putin has been telling the world that ''Alaska is ours.'' -July 2022. US Army Airborne troops stationed in Alaska have been on notice for some time now.

This movie largely gets it right. Mitchell WAS guilty as charged. In the Military - you are simply not allowed to criticize your superiors in rank. That is called Insubordination - in that you are not subordinating yourself to those of higher rank. The reason for that - is that if they are allowed to do it - everyone below any commander - is going to argue with them - and all the people below them will be argued with. Everyone tends to think that THEY know what should be done and everyone should be doing things THEIR way. That's just how people are. So - the Commanders make decisions - and while they may be eager for input from those below them - once they have made a decision - they don't want to be argued with about it. Mitchell did what he did - because of all the people the US Government was getting killed. The Real Culprits here were the American People whose elected representatives wouldn't spend the money to keep from sending their young men up in death traps. The Aircraft listed - were old and worn out - which was the reason they were cheap. Of course -when these aircraft were new - they had a high death toll in just training even then. There were newer, better aircraft available - but - they weren't as cheap as these worn out WWI aircraft. As to Air Ships - they just were not safe in all types of weather. They were giant surfaces that strong winds could severely act on. That is the reason they aren't used today. They just killed to many people and were given up on. What they use today - are Blimps - that are inflated to be used and deflated when not in use. The Commercial versions of these craft - don't fly from one city to the next - they are disassembled into trucks and driven there. If the weather is good - they fly - if the weather is bad - it's back in the box. As to Pearl Harbor, it's situation was well known and the US Navy conducted routine practice attacks on it from it's own aircraft carriers during the 1930's. The real problem with Pearl Harbor - on 12/7/41 - was the American Military was unprepared. Short and Kimmel were the ones responsible for defending it and they failed. There is a vast difference between a War Time and a Peace Time Military. This difference would cost the US throughout 1942 as the incompetent dead wood got a lot of people killed - and then were removed from command. After that the good officers rose in rank along with newer officers - all of whom were subject to the unforgiving nature of war. Where Mitchell was wrong - as were the other Air Power Advocates - was NOT in the importance of Air Power but in how it should be organized and how decisive it was. The Air Power Advocates - had the idea that Air Power could do everything - *_BY ITSELF_* . To them - Aircraft were not tools used by the Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard - but - something that should only be used by an Air Force that would command all aircraft everywhere. Every nation that succumbed to that idea paid for it. Aircraft could be used just by themselves - or - in combination with land and sea forces. By themselves - an Air Force was appropriate - but when used in support of land or sea systems - the dominant force should be the land or sea forces they were *_Supporting_* . To this day - the United States Air Force - dose not really want to do Ground Support - but - they won't let the Army have any fixed wing aircraft - so the Army can only use Helicopters. This is a relic of the old days of the Air Power Advocates. Again - Mitchell, Harris and Douhet - all believed - that the Aircraft could win a war - *_BY THEMSELVES_* . No Army - No Navy - just The Air Force - would win the war. Their belief was that Air Power would destroy the enemy's factories and they couldn't produce weapons to fight with - and so - would surrender. That has NEVER happened. You have ALWAYS had to put Boots On The Ground - to beat an enemy. Just trying to do it with Airplanes - they can hang on forever. In Vietnam and Desert Storm - Allied Air Power was completely dominant - but - they enemy could not be defeated - unless - they sent in the ground troops. They didn't do that to North Vietnam - so they lost - but when they did to it to Iraq - they won. .

Elizabeth Montgomery was bewitching in that role. 😉 👃

For the record, MacArthur was made to sit on the court-martial, and was one of those who voted to oppose pronouncement of guilt onto Billy Mitchell. He and Billy Mitchell were the only men in that courtroom who knew what was going to happen in the future, as in the case of Pearl Harbor, especially when both of them had spent time in the Philippines and the Far East in general. And I agree with some of the commentaries made by others here in that most of the other members of the tribunal were vindictive toward Billy Mitchell, and committed a travesty by allowing the court-martial to take place, concerning themselves with self-interest and self-service only instead of the good and interest of the country, and they were slow to change to anything that would be of advancement to the military because they thought that matters related to aviation might put them out of a job. And I agree, also, that the actor playing the prosecutor was certainly a ham. As for the B-25, that came out either during the late 30s or early 40s, and that was when the Army made the decision to name it after Billy Mitchell after they had gone through their guilt trip of what was done to him.

Imagine that, admitting evidence to the court AFTER it has been used during cross-examination.

Anyone having commanded soldiers must admit that Gen Mitchell's final statement in court proved he was a leader of great men. Drumming him out of uninform, can not take that fact away... It would be interesting to see how history judged that final prosecuter. I will have to research him. My first step will be to find out his name, as just watching this movie for the twentieth time in my 60 plus years, i cant seem to remember it...

I'd like to know what Pershing had to say on his deathbed in 1948 after Pearl Harbor occurred, and after the Air Force became a separate service and the sound barrier was broken in 1947. I would hope that he had put in a good word for Billy Mitchell, and recanted on certain things regarding him, in particular, of having forced him to go through that court-martial. And Admiral Sims was spot on when he testified that the whole matter on aviation in the military was a clash between men who love to fly and those who don't. We know how the prosecutors and those who sat on the tribunal stood on flying, and the majority of those in the military tend to be phlegmatic and retarded when it comes to the utilization of progressive developments in the world of science and invention. There are those who somehow think that if something new and/or progressive comes along and is adopted that they'll be put out of a job if that should happen.

Interesting historical note regarding the prosecutor: "In 1943, the FBI investigated Gullion for his role in forming an extra-military organization known as the SGs which was intended "to save America from FDR, radical labor, the Communists, the Jews, and the colored race." However, within months, his poor health and age were cited for the major general's retirement in 1944. - Wikipedia entry on A. Gullion

Lt Col White is the actor who played the immortal Flint in Star Trek

He was found "guilty" because the Army then were too full of old foggiest. They had to be weeded out in retirement that the passing of changing times did, thank goodness:)

Really eerie to see Samantha the Witch married to McGarrett of Five 0! (Yes; I REALIZE they're just actors playing different characters, all right???)

Mitchell was right!

Well i didn't know that. He either predicted japans attack on pearl harbour or gave them the idea which they carried out. So he was either a brilliant tactitian or betrayed his country. Depends on which way you look at it dont it. ?

The navy should name the next Ford class carrier after this man. Otherwise, things just aren't right. He injured himself to protect his subordinates. An act uncommon among human beings.

Unfortunately, the American military remains unable to modernize its strategies for a changing world. The only response remains more money for generals and admirals. The USMC is the only exception, trim and fit.

Good movie, good movie, I enjoyed it.🎉

The Japanese paid attention to Billy Mitchell's military experiment whereas our military was behind the times.

The problem with Mitchells exercise sinking those ships from the air was that they were stationary. They were undefended. They had no damage control crews. What does that prove? When would all those conditions ever exist in actual combat? The aircraft (and bombs) OF THE TIME weren't really up to it (Not Mitchells fault, he WAS a visionary) Given the developments in aviation between 1923 and 1941 I can't see ANY relevance in a comparison between those tests and the attack on Pearl Harbour. Thats like criticising the US military of 1945 for not having the equipment used in Vietnam in 1963. (Both are 18 years difference)

@mikechevreaux7607 You saw the Japanese admiral there next to General Guthrie when the battleship Ostfriesland was sunk. He certainly took cues from Billy Mitchell there, and informed the Japanese naval upper echelons. Billy Mitchell predicted Pearl Harbor would happen in 1923, and on December 7th, 1941, well, you know the story.

The movie takes liberties with the facts, in order to place emphasis on the intolerance, obstinance, and ignorance of army brass. For example his squadron bombed and sank several ships before they bombed and sank the unsinkable German ship. What they did do, did it well, was show Mitchell's courage in standing up for his beliefs he promoted the idea of paratroopers. Pearl Harbor will fall prey to air attack from the Japanese in 1947 a special act of Congress promoted him to the rank of Major General, retroactive to the date of his death in 1936.

Ok,then when did the military decide that they would name a bomber after Mitchell?

Great movie, but the advertisements are horribly abysmal.

Gary Cooper was 54 when he made this film, and he sure looks old for a pilot. But the film is worth watching.

Besides the rain or else are you getting water to fill the pond is there a creek or spring

The cars are so cool.

Fred Clark was an enjoyable actor.