Just noticed this – if you look at the Wikipedia entry for the A-12 Oxcart – predecessor to the SR-17 Blackbird – you will see that it says the original test pilot was Bissell and the test pilot of the first SR-71 was a Gilliland in 1964. Now if you are as familiar with the 1964 film 633 Squadron as I am (see my Questionnaire for Cliff Robertson – Cliff’s Response blog for 24 November 2010) you will know very well that Roy Grant’s navigator for one mission is a Bissell and that another pilot is called Gillibrand. Could this be coincidence? It seems even less likely when you realise that the director Walter Grauman was a combat crewman in a B-25 during WWII and mad-keen on aircraft. I wonder if he knew all about the Oxcart programme even then?
I am continuing with the final edit and spell-check of Too Bright the Sun so that I can publish in July.
If you’ve watched the popular war movie, you’ve probably asked one of two questions:
Did Cliff Robertson die in 633 Squadron? Did Roy Grant die in 633 Squadron?
Cliff Robertson in 633 Squadron
Well, I asked Cliff Robertson while he was alive, and the answer is in this post!
This post has been copied from the original post on my old blog (now deleted – see Reference Note at end of page). It would be a shame to lose it. Cliff, who played Roy Grant in 633 Squadron, was nice enough to reply by letter to a questionnaire I sent him about 633 Squadron. Below is my original letter. (Please note, Cliff did not answer all questions and here I have left the response blank.)
Note:Cliff Robertson died in 2011, but I have left the post in its original form.
Click ‘Continue reading’ below if you want to skip this section to his answers.
Dear Mr Robertson,
633 Squadron is the film in which I first saw you and made me a fan of yours. Ever since then I have sought out any film with you in it and recently, at last, I managed to see Charly (which I have never seen scheduled in England on TV).
633 Squadron has always been a very popular movie in England: filmed at Bovingdon airfield, it was regularly shown on TV during my childhood and is my favourite film. Today I think the film has entered the national psyche and is even the subject of contemporary adverts. The theme music is one of the best-loved pieces of music here and for myself, I never tire of watching your performance as the laconic Roy Grant. I think, more than any other film (certainly on flying or war), it has come to represent the best, something fundamental, about the British character. Many fans would love to know more about the film and about your part: you only have to look at the posts on youtube alongside excerpts (illegal I am sure) of the movie to see how popular it is, and yet you have been almost silent on it. Please Cliff, would you be so kind as to try and find time to answer the following questions for your fans in England (I cannot speak for Wales, Ireland and Scotland but I am sure they feel the same).
A movie and aviation buff. Continue reading “Questions I asked Cliff Robertson about 633 Squadron in 2010”→
While on holiday in Spain I had one of those really pleasant serendipitous TV experiences that mark out my TV-watching career. My second or third post on this blog was about the films 633 Squadron and the original Wicker Man, both shown back to back just before New Year’s Day. While I didn’t anticipate these, I often do find myself wishing for films and then, sure enough, within days, they appear on TV.
I had just returned from the beach, had a sleep, had a pizza and loads of chocolate (as you do on holiday), put my feet up on the sofa and started scanning the channels for something to watch. It was about 9.55pm, Telecinco news ends, and most films start around about then. I flicked the channels and saw what looked like a parade in ancient Egypt. I thought, ‘Hmm, dodgy Spanish history programme’ because the colour was like Cinerama or something but no! It actually was the 1955 film Land of the Pharaohs. Only days before, just after I had arrived in Spain, I had lain on the bed and remembered this film. I thought, ‘What I really fancy right now is watching that old Pharaoh film. Been a long time since I saw it’. And now here it was. Continue reading “Big Boots and Land of the Pharaohs”→
Occult, Sci-fi & Military 