The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell

A real court martial: in 1925 General Billy Mitchell of the United States Army was tried for insubordination after saying openly that the air service was being neglected and that pilots were dying needlessly. Mitchell had been arguing the same thing for years: aircraft were the future of war and the army and navy could not see it. After the crew of an airship died in a crash he made a statement to the press, and the court martial became unavoidable. What makes the film interesting is that it shows him as right and impossible: he is telling the truth and saying it in a way the army cannot accept. The trial is staged not as a search for truth but as an institution defending itself. Gary Cooper plays Mitchell; Rod Steiger appears as prosecuting counsel and his cross-examination is the hardest section in the film. Otto Preminger directed. Mitchell was convicted and left the army; his reputation was restored long after his death and he is now counted among the founding figures of American air power. A solid choice for anyone who likes courtroom drama and films drawn from record. For a viewer expecting action it happens almost entirely inside a hall.