00:08Hello, Ben Mankiewicz with you on TCM as we wrap up night three with star of the month,
00:13Gary Cooper. We're presenting a lineup of Cooper's movies every Wednesday night in June.
00:18So far tonight, Coop's been a United States Marshal, a doctor, and a farming Quaker.
00:24Up next, he suits up for the U.S. Navy from Warner Brothers in 1949, Task Force.
00:30Coop plays a naval officer, a fictional character, Jonathan Scott, who sees the future of warfare after the First World
00:37War.
00:38The open seas will become battlefields, Scott believes, and the aircraft carrier is the future of combat at sea.
00:44The Navy brass, though, is in no hurry to embrace the dangers inherent to landing a plane on a carrier's
00:51tiny 65-foot runway.
00:53Over the next two decades, Scott works to convince military leaders and politicians to develop and deploy aircraft carriers.
01:02After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the aircraft carrier became an essential part of the American military's
01:10ability to conduct maritime operations.
01:13Task Force was written and directed by Delmer Davies, who used real and harrowing World War II battle footage.
01:20And don't go trying to adjust your television either.
01:22Most of the film is in black and white, with the final 20 minutes transitioning to color to incorporate Technicolor
01:29newsreel footage.
01:30During the making of task force, Cooper and several cast members came close to becoming casualties themselves.
01:37While shooting scenes on an active naval aircraft carrier conducting training, a robot target plane was hit by shells.
01:45The plane burst into flames and headed straight toward Cooper and the crew.
01:50They dove for cover.
01:52They avoided tragedy when the plane skimmed over where they had been filming and plunged into the ocean.
01:59Cooper, who missed out serving in World War II due to his age and health, finally and unexpectedly had a
02:07compelling war story to tell.
02:08From 1949, also with Jane Wyatt, Walter Brennan, and Julie London.
02:13Task Force.
02:16Have a drink, help from country.
02:23Así de bzw.
02:24Good afternoon.
02:24Good afternoon.
02:25Get out 청utherford.
02:25Are you having a drink?
02:25No but I want the drink cafeteria.
