The Great Waldo Pepper

Infobox Film
name = The Great Waldo Pepper


caption = Theatrical release poster
director = George Roy Hill
producer = George Roy Hill
writer = George Roy Hill
William Goldman
starring = Robert Redford
Bo Svenson
Bo Brundin
music = Henry Mancini
cinematography = Robert Surtees
editing = William Reynolds
distributor = Universal Pictures
released = March 13 1975
runtime = 107 minutes
country = flagicon|USA
language = English
budget = $5 million
gross = $20,642,922
imdb_id = 0073075

"The Great Waldo Pepper" is a 1975 drama film about a discontented pilot played by Robert Redford.

Plot

Waldo Pepper (Robert Redford) feels he has missed out on the glory of aerial combat in World War I after being made a flight instructor. When the fighting ends, Waldo has taken up barnstorming to make a living. He soon tangles with rival barnstormer Axel Olsson (Bo Svenson). The two eventually wind up flying for the traveling air show owned by Dillhoefer (Philip Bruns). In an effort to attract bigger crowds, Dillhoefer introduces several young ladies into the show, including Mary Beth (Susan Sarandon) and Patsy (Kelly Jean Peters). As the show moves from town to town, and the crew practices new stunts, they experience problems, errors, and crashes. As a result of the death of Mary Beth during a wing walking stunt, Waldo is grounded by a federal aviation inspector, a man from Waldo's past named Newt (Geoffrey Lewis). Waldo ultimately loses his pilot's license, but this doesn't stop him from flying for very long.

Under an alias, Waldo gets a job as a stunt pilot in a Hollywood film depicting the air battles of the Great War. Famous German air ace Ernst Kessler (Bo Brundin) has also been hired by the producers, as a consultant and to fly a Fokker Dr. I replica. The disillusioned, bitter and heavy drinking depiction of Kessler is based on the real German ace and stunt flier Ernst Udet. During filming of a famous wartime duel, though their fighters are unarmed, Waldo and Kessler begin dogfighting in deadly earnest, using their airplanes as weapons.

Production

Frank Tallman flew the air sequences using actual airplanes - not models.

This movie was filmed in Elgin, Texas.

Cast

*Robert Redford as Waldo Pepper
*Bo Svenson as Axel Olsson
*Bo Brundin as Ernst Kessler
*Susan Sarandon as Mary Beth
*Geoffrey Lewis as Newt
*Edward Hermann as Ezra Stiles
*Philip Bruns as Dillhoefer
*Roderick Cook as Werfel
*Kelly Jean Peters as Patsy
*Margot Kidder as Maude

External links

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