Alex Nicol

German raider, using various disguises, forces British ship to surrender. Story told from German point of view. In 1941, the British Admiralty is worried about the large number of Allied ships being destroyed in the Pacific Ocean by a mysterious enemy vessel. Initially, British Admiral Russell suspects that a German submarine is the culprit. However, the few revealed pieces of the mystery point to a German Navy surface warship.The British don't know it yet but the enemy ship in question is the German raider Atlantis commanded by Captain Rogge.His success in sneaking upon unsuspecting enemy vessels is due in large part on Atlantis' ability to disguise itself in a benign, non-combatant, neutral ship.To achieve this ruse, the Atlantis uses props, camouflage, paint, fake foreign flags and even theatrical costumes for its crew to make itself appear something it's not.When Atlantis is close to its prey, it reveals its true identity and opens fire sinking the duped victim. Finally realizing the truth, Admiral Russell decides to set traps in order to persuade Atlantis to reveal its position to a task-force of British warships laying in ambush.But first, Admiral Russell must gain Atlantis' confidence by pretending he's sending his messages from the German Navy High Command.It won't be easy, since the German Navy uses a Flower Grid Code Map to arrange contacts between its various ships. A game of cat and mouse begins. —nufs68

Thinking that his fighting days are over, Robert "Dutch" Holland (James Stewart) had become a successful third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, only to be recalled into the newly-formed Strategic Air Command. Set in 1955, when the Cold War is rapidly heating up, SAC has been formed to provide the ultimate deterrent to World War III. By building up a powerful force of nuclear-armed bombers and keeping them on a war-ready status at all times, SAC's leader, Gen. Hawkes (Frank Lovejoy) hopes to keep the "enemy" from starting another devastating conflict. Unfortunately, he is forced to recall reserve pilots and crew from their private lives in order to fill his needs. Holland, promoted to Lt. Colonel, grudgingly accepts the assignment, along with some other equally unhappy airmen, many of whom are old acquaintances from bomber missions flown over Tokyo in 1945. Holland's wife Sally (June Allyson) is less than pleased with the turn their life has taken, and isn't happy about her husband being sent out on dangerous missions when there isn't even a war going on. Also, she soon discovers that she's pregnant, and though she tries to support her husband's efforts to do his job, Holland is soon torn between his sense of duty to his men and country, and his responsibilities to his wife and family. Holland flies missions in the massive B-36 "Peacemaker" bomber, a plane that can take off from its base in Texas and fly non-stop to Alaska and back while carrying a crew of a dozen men and more destructive power than a thousand WW-2 bombers. Over the next few months, Holland helps form SAC into a tightly run, well oiled machine, but it means long stretches away from Sally; she's come to dread the sound of the phone ringing, fearing it will be terrible news about Dutch. Holland is flying a cold-weather test mission over Greenland at -40 degrees when his plane's fuel tank seals fail, and the fuel sloshing around in the left wing starts a fire. Nothing they can do will extinguish it, and Holland orders the crew to bail out. Realizing he's too low to bail out himself, he rides the big plane down to a belly landing on the snow, and spends days trapped in the plane's wreck before rescue arrives. Meanwhile, Sally has given birth, and is overjoyed to hear that her husband is alive with only a twisted shoulder for an injury. Returning to duty, Holland is shown the newest addition to SAC's inventory: the futuristic B-47 Stratojet, a sleek, swept-wing jet plane that looks like nothing Dutch has ever seen before. Gen. Hawkes wants Col. Holland to head up the new Stratojet bomber force, but Sally has different plans. Wrangling an opportunity from Dutch's old boss with the Cardinals that she knows he will take, he can finally leave the Air Force behind. Joyfully presenting this to Dutch that night, she is dismayed to see that he has been thinking about his duty to SAC, and has decided to stay. He tries to explain his reasons, his belief that he's doing something far more important than he's ever done, his desire to serve his country and protect his family by staving off war, but Sally is heartbroken, and Dutch must leave on yet another mission. Still bothered by his shoulder injury, Holland leads a massive deployment of the entire wing to Japan, a tremendous undertaking designed leave no doubt in an enemy's mind about what SAC can accomplish. It will also stretch SAC to its limits, and push everyone to the breaking point. Sally tries to speak to her husband one last time before he takes off, but she's too late. Flying non-stop to their base in Japan, Dutch keeps track of all his planes and people, and manages to get everyone there safely, but when it's his turn to land the field is socked in with fog, and Dutch can barely move his right arm. With the help of his co-pilot, he manages a hair-raising blind landing, and collapses from exhaustion. Grounded by his shoulder, Gen. Hawkes is finally forced to release Holland from the Air Force. But before he leaves, he tells Dutch just how much good he has done for SAC. The example he set for his men, staying in even when he had every reason to leave, has done more good for the force than he can imagine. Sally is overjoyed that she's got her husband back at last, and Holland leaves, knowing he has done his duty.

Newcomer Will Lockhart defies the local cattle baron and his sadistic son by working for one of his oldest rivals. Mysterious Will Lockhart delivers supplies to storekeeper Barbara Waggoman at Coronado, an isolated town in Apache country. Before long, he's tangled with Dave Waggoman, vicious son of autocratic rancher Alec and cousin of sweet Barbara. But he sticks around town, his presence a catalyst for changes in people's lives, searching for someone he doesn't know...who's been selling rifles to the Apaches. —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu> Will Lockhart (James Stewart) arrives in the isolated town of Coronado with a delivery of supplies from Laramie. He has actually come to the town to look for information on who sold repeating rifles to a tribe of Apaches, who used them to kill many cavalry soldiers, including Lockhart's brother. The attack took place on the far edges of the sprawling Barb Ranch, owned by Alec Waggoman (Donald Crisp). Waggoman is losing his eyesight and is plagued by dreams of his son, Dave (Alex Nicol) being killed by a stranger. Waggoman knows Dave is reckless and immature and relies on foreman Vic Hansbro (Arthur Kennedy) to keep Dave in line. Dave causes trouble when, after a misunderstanding, he kills Lockhart's mules and burns his wagons. Waggoman agrees to compensate Lockhart, but Lockhart stays in town to further investigate the rifle sale. After another altercation between Lockhart and Dave where both men shoot the other in the hand, Lockhart discovers that Dave and Vic are behind the rifle sale. Later on, Vic is forced to kill Dave in self-defense and allows Waggoman to believe that Lockhart killed Dave. But Lockhart is determined to see the truth about everything be revealed. —Patrick Depew