The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

George Roy Hill

Writers:

George Roy Hill (story)
William Goldman (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 March 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

Robert Redford Takes to the Skies in This Rousing Adventure

Plot:

A biplane pilot who had missed flying in WWI takes up barnstorming and later a movie career in his quest for the glory he had missed...

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | Barnstorming | Biplane | WWI | Circus

Cast

Robert Redford	...	Waldo Pepper
Bo Svenson	...	Axel Olsson
Bo Brundin	...	Ernst Kessler
Susan Sarandon	...	Mary Beth
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Newt
Edward Herrmann	...	Ezra Stiles
Philip Bruns	...	Dillhoefer
Roderick Cook	...	Werfel
Kelly Jean Peters	...	Patsy
Margot Kidder	...	Maude
Scott Newman	...	Duke
James S. Appleby	...	Ace
Patrick W. Henderson Jr.	...	Scooter
James N. Harrell	...	Farmer (as James Harrell)
Elma Aicklen	...	Farmer's Wife

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Elgin, Texas, USA

Company:

Jennings Lang

Trivia:

When Waldo is recounting his fight with Kessler at the start of the movie, he mentions that his guns jammed and Kessler, seeing that he was helpless, saluted then flew away. This actually happened to Ernst Udet (on whom Kessler is based) when flying against the French ace Georges Guynemer in 1917, only it was Udet (at that time inexperienced) who had the jam and Guynemer (a high scoring ace) who let him go.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Waldo is refueling his plane from the can delivered to him by the little boy, his hand is seen resting for some time on what would presumably be a very hot exhaust pipe.

Quotes:

Axel Olsson: Guess who's still alive...
[shouts]
Axel Olsson: Me!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Leonard Nimoy Demonstrates the Magnavision Videodisc Player (1981) (V)

Great For People Who Love These Old Planes

Anybody who likes old airplanes, stunt flying or just plain adventure and an interesting story should like this early Robert Redford film.

Redford plays the "The Great Waldo Pepper" as he barnstorms from place to place in the early 1900s. You see some wonderful bi-planes and the interesting characters who flew them. The most flamboyant person in this story is "Axel Olsson," played by Bo Svenson. He and Redford are intense competitors and the competition between the two is fun to witness, especially with humor thrown into the mix.

This film is noted for sporting a very young and beautiful Susan Sarandon who makes a very memorable exit from the film! Except for an excessive amount of usages of the Lord's name in vain, this would have been an excellent family film. Other actors whose names you might recognize in here are Edward Herrman, Georffrey Lewis and Margot Kidder.