The Characters

Rating: 8/10 (17 February 2005)

I found this movie very interesting because my family history has a lot to do with aviation. In fact, my Grandfather was good friends with Don Smith, who was the real Flight Engineer on the Spruce Gooses one and only flight.
I was surprised to hear from my mother who still speaks with Don that he was not contacted when they made this film. He sat in the seat where the movie showed Glen Odekirk sitting, who according to Don wasn't even on the flight that day. He would have been a good source of information, as he was assigned to the goose for more than 30 years after the flight and retired from Hughes Aircraft.
Instead they made things up as they saw fit to make the movie more appealing. According to Don, Howard didn't start going off the deep end until after the flight of the Goose. Which was also after the court battle he went through. Think about it, he was pretty far gone by this point in the movie to have bounced back so remarkably to stand up for himself the way he did.
They showed him involved with Icon Actresses that we all know and love today, but his true love during the time the movie was suppose to have taken place was an actress by the name of Jean Peters. That's not to say that he wasn't involved with Kate, Ava and others, but I guess making them the main woman in this movie made for a more successful movie, and the truth would have been too boring since most people wouldn't remember who Jean Peters was. I know I didn't!
When Hughes crashed the plane in real life he was knocked unconscious and was unable to get the cockpit open, but it was true that a uniformed man ran up to the burning plane and saved his life.
The only reason I gave this film an 8 was because of the personal interest I have. Otherwise, asside from some of the air scenes, the movie was boring and very out of sequence. A true blast to the Hughes legacy.