Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident (1976) (TV)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Delbert Mann

Writers:

Curt Gentry (book)
Francis Gary Powers (book)

Release Date:

29 September 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The story of Francis Gary Powers, a U-2 pilot for the CIA who was shot down in his spy plane over Russia, captured and imprisoned. |

Plot Keywords:

Spy Mission | Cold War | Airplane Shot Down | Based On Book | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Lee Majors	...	Francis Gary Powers
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Oliver Powers
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Rudenko
Brooke Bundy	...	Barbara Powers
William Daniels	...	Bissell
James Gregory	...	James Donovan
Marcel Hillaire	...	Charles DeGalle
Alf Kjellin	...	Ivan Vasilev
Biff McGuire	...	John McCone
Jim McMullan	...	Robert F. Kennedy
David Opatoshu	...	Grinev
Charles Robinson	...	Wheatley (as Charles Knox Robinson)
Lew Ayres	...	Allen Dulles
Katharine Bard	...	Ida Powers
James Flavin	...	President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L

Company:

Charles Fries Productions

Trivia:

Final appearance of veteran character actor James Flavin.

A better topic for a 1970s movie than most.

This was an interesting little movie that talked about the U-2 incident that took place in May 1960. Lee Majors was certainly not the Six Million Dollar Man here. If his acting did not convince us that he was Francis Gary Powers, his haircut in prison (which really looked like vintage Soviet) did. Noah Beery Jr., who played Powers' dad, was also quite effective.

Maybe the movie isn't exactly a prestigious production, but it is certainly a watchable and interesting one. The producers deserve credit for producing something that is based on a historical event that was an important one in the Cold War era, instead of something that is trashy. It is definitely worth watching.