A blank screen. James Horner’s Rocketeer main theme, “Takeoff” begins.

Orange titles appear: “WALT DISNEY PICTURES”

More orange titles: “WALT DISNEY PICTURES PRESENTS”

Title: “IN ASSOCIATION WITH SILVER SCREEN PARTNERS IV”

Title: “A GORDON COMPANY PRODUCTION”

Title: “A JOE JOHNSTON FILM”

Main Title, in font: “THE ROCKETEER”

The screen splits, revealing opening hangar doors by the silhouettes of two mechanics: Goose and Skeets.

Two other mechanics are working on a red monoplane, the Brown Aircraft Company’s B-2 Racer “Miss Los Angeles” #33, parked on a gravel taxiway in the foreground. In the background is a dirt runway.

Title: “BILL CAMPBELL”

A close-up of the propeller, front cowling, and “snake eyes” dice nose art of a Gee Bee Model Z roll past the camera. Goose’s face is visible briefly as he pushes the Gee Bee out of the hangar.

Title: “ALAN ARKIN”

William Sanderson as Skeets
Don Pugsley as Goose

The Gee Bee Model Z continues to roll out of the hangar.

Title: “JENNIFER CONNELLY”

The port side of the Gee Bee is framed against the blue sky.

Title: “PAUL SORVINO”

An overhead view of the Gee Bee, displaying the number 4 on the left wing, and the aircraft’s identification, “NR77V” on the right wing. Skeets is pushing the left wing,  Another person is pushing the right wing. Malcolm is behind Skeets, and Goose has the tail. They pivot the Gee Bee to the right.

Title: “TERRY O’QUINN”

The view shifts in front of the port side of the Gee Bee. Behind the plane is the Bigelow Aeronautical Corp hangar, with an aircraft beacon on the roof. On the left side of the Bigelow Aeronautical Corp sign is the log for Curtiss Electric Propellers (“Feathering, Constant Speed, Selective Pitch” is the motto on the logo) and to the right of the sign is the logo of Pratt & Whitney’s “Dependable Engines.”

Parked to the left of the hangar is the 1929 Travel Air Model R “Mystery Ship.” To the right of the Gee Bee is the Brown Aircraft Company’s B-2 Racer “Miss Los Angeles” #33, seen in Minute 001.

Title: “ED LAUTER, JAMES HANDY”

Peevy is talking to pilot Cliff Secord: “Well, it’s your first time up, so don’t do anything interesting.”

“Who, me?” asks Cliff.

“Yeah, you!” replies Peevy, “And remember, she’s stalls out at about a hundred, so keep the airspeed up or else you’re going to be drifting around all over the sky.”

Title: “AND TIMOTHY DALTON”

The scene shifts to the front of Peevy and Secord.

“…and if the aileron starts to shimmy–” begins Peevy.

“Peevy,” says Cliff, “I have flown a plane or two in my life –”

“Not like this one, you haven’t!” replies Peevy. “This one, this one’s a handful! You sneeze in this thing, and you’ll end up upside-down in the bean field.” Cliff begins his pre-flight walk around, pausing at the tail to dig a piece of gum out of his mouth. He puts the chewed gum on the top of his tail rudder.

“That’s fresh paint, dammit!” shouts Peevy.

“Do you want me to crash?” asks Cliff.

“Chewing gum ain’t going to keep your butt up in the air,” replies Peevy. Cliff climbs into the cockpit, while Goose begins to attach the canopy to the Gee Bee. Peevy helps Secord strap himself in.

“You treat her nice, Clifford,” says Peevy, holding the canopy open, “she’s gonna take us all the way to the Nationals.”

In This Minute

William Sanderson as Skeets
Don Pugsley as Goose
Eddie Jones as Malcolm
Alan Arkin as Peevy
Bill Campbell as Cliff Secord

Tom Gire is one of the principals of Brand X Music, a major music composition house for feature and film trailer soundtracks.  He’s composed and arranged music from films as varied as Pirates of the Caribbean 2 to Transformers: Dark of the Moon. If you’ve seen a movie trailer for a major action feature film, Tom probably put the music you’re enjoying in it. Oh, and he’s also the fellow who created our amazing opening / closing themes!

Peevy is telling Clifford that if he treats the Gee Bee right, she’ll take them all the way to the Nationals.

“Let’s make some history,” says Cliff.

“Okay,” says Peevy, nodding his head as he closes the cockpit canopy.  The mechanics step away from the aircraft.

“Crank her up, Goose!” says Cliff.

Goose turns the propeller one half-revolution, then tells Cliff, “Make ‘er hot!”

“Hot and brakes!” replies Cliff. Goose pushes down hard on the propeller, and the engine engages. Cliff revs the engine and the plane begins to move forward under its own power. Peevy reaches over to the rudder and removes the “lucky gum” Cliff placed there earlier.

Malcolm walks along with the Gee Bee next to the left wing.

Title: “COSTUME DESIGNER MARILYN VANCE-STRAKER”

Skeets, Goose, and a third airfield hand wave from behind the Gee Bee as  Cliff turns the aircraft onto the runway.  Skeets turns his head away as the prop blast catches them.

Title: “MUSIC COMPOSED BY JAMES HORNER”

The scene changes to a view of  structures alongside the main runway of Chaplin Field. Wooden oil derrick stand in the bean field. Hangar No. 1 shelters a biplane with two onlookers. To the right of Hangar 1 is a white high-wing monoplane. At right is Bigelow’s hangar, with onlookers in the control tower. The Gee Bee taxis from the right to the left of the screen.

Title: “CO-PRODUCER DAVE STEVENS”

The scene changes again to the end of the runway, as Cliff  steers his craft to pivot for take-off.

Title: “EDITED BY ARTHUR SCHMIDT”

Title: “PRODUCTION DESIGNER JIM BISSELL”

Scene changes again, as the camera looks down the length of the runway. On the left are the Chaplain Field hangars and a large red and white racing pylon. To the right of the field are the air race viewing stands. The Gee Bee closes toward the camera in the center of the screen.

Title: “DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY HIRO NARITA”

The Gee Bee slows to turn around.

Title: “EXECUTIVE PRODUCER LARRY FRANCO”

In This Minute

William Sanderson as Skeets
Don Pugsley as Goose
Eddie Jones as Malcolm
Alan Arkin as Peevy
Bill Campbell as Cliff Secord

Brian Fies is a writer and cartoonist who created the award-winning graphic novels Mom’s Cancer and Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow, as well as the Eisner Award-nominated webcomic The Last Mechanical Monster. He’s been a newspaper reporter, environmental chemist, science writer, husband, and dad to twin girls.  Just like The Rocketeer, he lives in California.

Cliff is ready for the maiden flight of the Gee Bee, now poised at the end of the runway.

Title: “EXECUTIVE PRODUCER LARRY FRANCO”

There is a swirl of dust as Cliff lines up the Gee Bee to take off.

Title: “BASED ON THE GRAPHIC NOVEL ‘THE ROCKETEER’ CREATED BY DAVE STEVENS”

In the cockpit of the Gee Bee, Cliff kisses his thumb, then presses his thumb to a picture of Jenny Blake, taped onto his dashboard.  The picture is inscribed “Love from your ‘Lady Luck’ ” with the name “Jenny” written inside a heart.

Skeets, Goose, and Peevy watch from the grandstands side of the runway.

A close-up of Cliff’s eyes as he adjusts his goggles.

Another close-up of Cliff’s hand, grasping the control stick.

A view looking aft on the Gee Bee, with Cliff ensconced inside the plexiglas canopy.

A close-up of Cliff’s left hand, as he eases the throttle forward.

The RPM gauge revs to 1800.

A close-up from starboard as the Gee Bee has first motion down the runway.

A close-up of the Gee Bee’s wheels as the plane moves forward. A wooden oil derrick stands in the distance.

A wide view from the end of the runway as the Gee Bee accelerates.

Another close-up of Cliff, from the viewpoint of the Gee Bee’s engine.

A wide shot of the Gee Bee as it approaches take-off speed.

Title: “STORY BY DANNY BILSON & PAUL DE MEO & WILLIAM DEAR”

As the Gee Bee passes the camera, the tail wheel lifts off the ground.

Another front-on close-up of Cliff, as the plane is about to leave the ground.

The aircraft passes by the three mechanics, as they stare intently at the take off.

A chase plane shot of the Gee Bee, as it rises into the air.

Another view of the mechanics. Peevy smiles, hesitantly.

A wide shot of the Gee Bee, as it rapidly ascends in the distance. The music score has a crescendo.

Close-up of Cliff in the Gee Bee, smiling as he banks the plane left over the beanfield.

In This Minute

William Sanderson as Skeets
Don Pugsley as Goose
Eddie Jones as Malcolm
Alan Arkin as Peevy
Bill Campbell as Cliff Secord

In the far distance, the Gee Bee circles Chaplin Field.

Title: “PRODUCED BY LAWRENCE GORDON, CHARLES GORDON AND LLOYD LEVIN”

The camera tracks with the Gee Bee as it passes behind the air race pylon. Two monoplanes seen earlier are parked near the hangars, next to Peevy’s brown Model T truck.

Peevy watches the Gee Bee in the distance, as Goose and Skeets laugh and talk to each other behind him.

Cliff lines the Gee Bee up on the runway and begins a low pass.

A close-up of Cliff as he shouts inside his canopy, “Hey, watch this, Peevy!” He gives a thumbs-up to the mechanics as he passes by them over the runway at about a three-foot altitude. The mechanics cheer as he passes.  Peevy returns the thumbs-up enthusiastically.

A close-up of Cliff smiling in the cockpit.

“National air races, next stop, Peevy!” shouts Goose, as he pats Peevy on the back. Skeets also pats Peevy on the back.

The Gee Bee climbs into the sky in the far distance.

Title: “DIRECTED BY JOE JOHNSTON”

Sunlight shines through the canopy as Cliff turns left over the bean field.

A port-side view of the Gee Bee over the rolling California hills

Title: “LOS ANGELES 1938”

The opening theme ends, punctuated by Lenny, shooting a machine gun from the rumble seat of a 1934 Ford V8 convertible. He is being chased by an LAPD black-and-white patrol car (a 1937 Dodge Touring Sedan) and an unmarked FBI vehicle (a 1938 Ford Deluxe).

Wilmer, driving the getaway car, turns to look back at the police car chasing him. In the passenger seat is a large case with the words “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY” etched in gold letters on the top side of the case.

Lenny continues to fire at the police car as the three vehicles race down a rutted dirt road.

In the FBI vehicle, Agents Fitch and Wooly try to see past the LAPD sedan in front of them. Fitch, in the passenger seat, fires his revolver at the getaway car.

“Hey, Fitch!” says Wooly, “Are you trying to save on ammo? Nail ’em!”

“I can’t get a clean shot!” shouts Fitch. “I wish that-”

In This Minute

William Sanderson as Skeets
Don Pugsley as Goose
Eddie Jones as Malcolm
Alan Arkin as Peevy
Bill Campbell as Cliff Secord
Tommy J. Huff as Lenny
Max Grodénchik as Wilmer
Ed Lauter as Fitch
James Handy as Wooly

FBI Agents Wooly and Fitch are chasing a getaway car driven by Wilmer, while Lenny shoots at them with a machine gun from the getaway car’s rumble seat. An LAPD patrol car is between the FBI agents and the getaway car.

“I wish that black-and-white would get out of the way!” shouts Fitch, as he tries to aim at Lenny.  Lenny shoots the tire of the LAPD car, which blows out, putting the car into a ditch.

With no obstructions now, Lenny begins firing directly at the FBI car directly behind. Four huge bullet holes appear in the FBI car’s windshield.

“Be careful what you wish for!” shouts Wooly. Fitch fires two shots at the getaway car.

Wilmer, in the driver’s seat of the getaway car, ducks as he’s driving. His cap gets shot off, and he ducks lower. Looking in the rear-view mirror, the mirror suddenly splinters as one of Fitch’s bullets strikes.

The mysterious case with “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY” on it continues to bounce on the passenger seat.

Wilmer turns off the road from Encino, misses the turn for Van Nuys, and winds up driving across a bean field.  The FBI agents follow close behind.

Just then, Cliff in the Gee Bee clears the tree line next to the bean field. He notices the activity of the two cars below him.

Lenny, in the rumble seat, notices the Gee Bee and aims at it with his machine gun.  He fires at the plane as it passes, striking the engine cowling. The engine noise suddenly becomes erratic.

Cliff looks down at the yellow control stick, and tries to fight the erratic motion of the aircraft.  The Gee Bee rolls left and right. A plume of blue smoke trails the aircraft as it loses altitude.

Meanwhile, the getaway car and the FBI vehicle continue their chase on the road to Chaplin Field. Lenny continues to fire wildly at the FBI pursuers.

Back in the sky, the Gee Bee is spewing oil all over the cowling and canopy. Engine noise is down to an idle.

On the ground, the car chase continues. Wooly is having a difficult time driving, as the windshield is almost completely destroyed by bullet holes.

“This is the third car in a month,” says Fitch. “Hoover’s gonna be spitting nails!”

“Ah, the heck with Hoover!” replies Wooly.

Overhead, the situation is deteriorating for the Gee Bee.  Thick blue plumes of smoke are pouring from the engine, and oil is completely obstructing Cliff’s view through the canopy.

In This Minute

Bill Campbell as Cliff Secord
Tommy J. Huff as Lenny
Max Grodénchik as Wilmer
Ed Lauter as Fitch
James Handy as Wooly

Cliff punches a hole through his oil coated canopy. He suddenly sees what looks like an oncoming biplane, but it’s only the top of a billboard advertising Neville Chinclair in “Wings of Honor,” produced by Lawrence Franco and directed by Volmar Fidgge.

Secord does his best to wipe the grime off his goggles as he heads for the runway at Chaplin Field.

Meanwhile, Lenny continues to shoot at the FBI agents while Wilmer drives the getaway car. Wilmer turns off the road into a wooded stretch of land. Wooly turns sharply to the right, attempting to drive ahead of them. Fitch leans across Wooly, attempting to shoot through Wooly’s open window.

“There he is!” shouts Fitch. Wooly pushes Fitch away.

“Get out of the way!” yells Wooly. “I can’t see!”

“Keep driving!” shouts Fitch.  The FBI car swerves between trees.

“Get off me!” shouts Wooly.

“You’re ruining my shot!” replies Fitch, as Wooly struggles to steer the car. Wooly drives the car between to trees, trapping the vehicle and its passengers inside.

Meanwhile, Wilmer drives his getaway car through a wooden fence.

Overhead, Cliff struggles with the Gee Bee.

Wilmer, now on the Chaplin Field property, aims his car at one of the empty hangars.

Above, Cliff checks his instruments. The temperature gauge shows his engine is above 105° C. The engine begins to stutter.

Now entering Cliff and Peevy’s hangar, Wilmer drives his car past the JN-1 biplane, the “The Fearless Freep.” Screeching to a halt, Wilmer grabs the case from the passenger side and exits the vehicle.

“Let’s go, Lenny!” says Wilmer, shutting the car door. “We can’t get caught with–” Lenny looks in the rumble seat, only to find Lenny’s inert body.

“Lousy feds,” says Wilmer.  He hears an approaching vehicle, and sees that the FBI car is still pursuing him. Wilmer glances around, and spots an Hoover cannister vacuum cleaner.

Meanwhile, Cliff is desperately trying to line up on final approach to the runway. The engine is throttling wildly.  Malcolm, Goose, Skeets, Peevy, and another mechanic rise from the bleacher stands. All look concerned.

“Something ain’t right,” says Peevy.

Cliff continues to wrestle the plane into a controlled descent.

Meanwhile, Wilmer attempts to cram the Hoover into the case. He removes the hose and closes the case tight.

In This Minute

William Sanderson as Skeets
Don Pugsley as Goose
Eddie Jones as Malcolm
Alan Arkin as Peevy
Bill Campbell as Cliff Secord
Tommy J. Huff as Lenny
Max Grodénchik as Wilmer
Ed Lauter as Fitch
James Handy as Wooly

Wilmer closes the lid on the Hoover vacuum cleaner that he’s put in the “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY” case.

Meanwhile, Cliff continues to struggle with the crippled Gee Bee, as he makes his way back to the runway.

Wilmer puts the case with the vacuum cleaner in the rumble seat, on top of Lenny’s body. “Sorry, Lenny!” says Wilmer.

Outside, police sirens wail. The FBI car draws closer to the hangar. Wilmer jumps back into the getaway car.

Cliff is on final approach.

Wilmer  pulls out of the Bigelow hangar, with the FBI car close behind. The FBI car is belching smoke and slows to a halt.

Cliff, fighting with the controls, his face covered in engine oil, banks the plane sharply to line up with the runway.  Through the broken canopy, he spots the two vehicles right in his path on the runway. He’s sinking too fast to gain lift, and the engine is near idle.

Fitch pulls out his revolver and adopts a shooting stance next to his car. “He’s getting away!” shouts Wooly. Fitch fires at the fleeing Wilmer.

Wilmer takes a bullet in the right shoulder. He winces, then notices the Gee Bee coming straight at him.

Cliff sees the car, but it’s too late to avoid a collision.

Wilmer leaps from the moving car and rolls into the grass next to the runway. The getaway car keeps rolling shearing off the Gee Bee’s right wheel assembly.  Cliff sets the plane down on its left wheel, then lowers the right wing, smashing the propeller into the dirt. There’s a sea of sparks and flame as the Gee Bee skids along the clay surface of the runway.

Meanwhile, the driverless getaway car heads straight for a Ford truck with the word GAS written on a tank.

The Gee Bee, now a smoking wreck, continues its slide along the runway.

The getaway car smashes into the gas truck in a huge fireball.

Flames shoot out of the Gee Bee’s engine cowling as the craft comes to a halt in front of the control tower. Cliff fights to unlock the canopy. “Get off!” he shouts.

Goose, Skeets, Malcolm, and Peevy run toward the Gee Bee. Goose sprays the cockpit with a fire extinguisher.

“Get him out! Hit the latch!” shouts Peevy. The canopy opens, and Cliff struggles to get out.

“Get the hell out of there, Cliff!” shouts Malcolm. Cliff runs away from the Gee Bee, but then turns around to retrieve Jenny’s picture from the dashboard. “Where are you going?” asks Peevy as Cliff runs back. “Cliff!” shouts Peevy.

After saving the picture, Cliff steps away and looks at the ruins of the Gee Bee.

“Are you alright?” asks Peevy.

In This Minute

William Sanderson as Skeets
Don Pugsley as Goose
Eddie Jones as Malcolm
Alan Arkin as Peevy
Bill Campbell as Cliff Secord
Tommy J. Huff as Lenny
Max Grodénchik as Wilmer
Ed Lauter as Fitch
James Handy as Wooly