Jimmy Stewart, Curtis LeMay, and the Selling of the Strategic Air Command

In 1955, Paramount Pictures released one of their tentpole VistaVision epics, Strategic Air Command, starring James Stewart and directed by his longtime collaborator, Anthony Mann. Strategic Air Command is peak, high-resolution, widescreen 1950s propaganda at its finest, and while not a great film (David and I argue about that aspect too!), its time and place in the building of the mythology of Curtis LeMay's US Air Force bombing arm offers a fascinating insight into the mindset of both LeMay and Jimmy Stewart.David, the host of The Cold War channel on YouTube, joins me to bring our long-running Bluesky debate about this film to the channel and look at a film that had US military cooperation at a level that would make Michael Bay and Tom Cruise green with envy.Check out The Cold War channel on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheColdWarTVFollow David on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/coldwarhost.bsky.social-----------------------------------------------------🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow-----------------------------------------------------✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials!Website: https://pimaair.org/https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpacehttps://www.instagram.com/pimaairhttps://x.com/pimaairhttps://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseumCheck out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/👕Get your aviation on with 909 Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/-----------------------------------------------------The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International-----------------------------------------------------0:00 B-36 Takes Center Stage5:25 Plot of a Propaganda Classic12:13 LeMay Behind the Film23:07 SAC’s Cold War Mission31:24 LeMay’s Human Factor36:27 From Hero to Ripper42:42 Bombers, Missiles, and Madness51:32 The Missing LeMay Biography54:10 Weird Subplots and Standout Scenes1:00:43 What’s Next for The Cold War? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.