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Plot

Pilot No. 5 is an oddly liberal-minded film to come from conservative old MGM. Franchot Tone plays an army pilot stationed in Java who volunteers for a suicide mission. He is chosen from five possible Allied candidates, hence the title. We learn via flashback just why Tone holds his life at so low a price; among his less pleasant reminiscences are his brief association with a demagogic Southern governor, blatantly based on Huey Long. Pilot No. 5 served to introduce Gene Kelly in a supporting role--as a nasty, pugnacious young jerk.
MPAA Rating:
Genre(s):
Action,Drama,War
Run Time:
70min.
Distributor(s):
MGM
Director(s):
Themes:
War in the Sky,Suicide
Tone:
Downbeat,Reflective
Keywords:
Fascism,Japan,Southerner,accident,aerial,against-all-odds,aircraft-carrier,army,barnstorming,candidate,career,carrier,crash,death,enemy,flashback,flight,flying,friendship,governor,group,kamikaze,lawyer,mission [quest],nasty,plans,public,reminiscence,revolution,suicide,suicide-mission,volunteer,war