The Great Waldo Pepper

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George Roy Hill directs. Robert Surtees behind the camera. Henry Mancini scores. William Reynolds cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.
• 251 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 3Directed by George Roy Hill, shot by Robert Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Henry Mancini. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor William Reynolds shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Robert Redford and Bo Svenson and Bo Brundin carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "The second greatest flyer in the world.".
• 8IMDB entry: tt0073075 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 9Classified under 10 themes, including "world war i", "aerial combat", "red baron", "biplane".

The technical file

Cinematography

Robert Surtees

Original score

Henry Mancini

Editing

William Reynolds

Costume design

Edith Head

Makeup / hair

Fred C. Blau Jr.

Runtime

108 min · 1h 48m

Status

Released

Budget

$5,000,000

Box office

$20,642,922

Return

413% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG

IMDB

The Great Waldo Pepper (1975) ↗

Also by

George Roy Hill

• 
  The Sting

  1973 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

  1969 · ★ 7.6
• 
  Playhouse 90

  1956 · ★ 7.5
• 
  A Little Romance

  1979 · ★ 6.9
• 
  Thoroughly Modern Millie

  1967 · ★ 6.8
• 
  Slap Shot

  1977 · ★ 6.8

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  The Great Waldo Pepper (1975) - Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Patrick E. Abe2016-09-21
  ★ 6/10

  Former World War I pilot Waldo Pepper barnstorms across rural America, giving 5 minute rides to skeptical townsfolk. Clearly the people behind this project love aviation and capture the feel of the post-World-War-I era when "the sky's the limit" was literally true. The downside of early aviation is shown via the ups and downs of "Doc Dilhoefer's Flying Circus," where a novice wing walker freezes in place. The long arm of the FAA catches up to Waldo because "it's time that aviation got civilized." With limited opportunities after being grounded for life, Waldo finds salvation at the movies, where danger is ever-present in the rickety, worn-out planes and fatal stunts for the camera. An old nemesis that Waldo missed meeting over France, Ernst Kessler (Ernst Udet?), arrives for the next project--the epic three vs. one dogfight. With the FAA closing in, Waldo's days in the air are numbered, though he's in better shape than the down-at-heels Kessler. Waldo and Kessler leave their parachutes behind as the cameras roll; this aerial ballet is going to be a battle! 7/10

  Read full review ↓
• Wuchak2024-09-28
  ★ 7/10

  The daredevil barnstormers of the 1920s with Robert Redford and Bo Svenson Two former pilots of WW1 team-up to entertain people in middle America with increasingly risky aerial maneuvers. Susan Sarandon plays a woman who joins the team while Margot Kidder appears as the protagonist’s on-again, off-again girlfriend. Geoffrey Lewis is also on hand as an inspector of the newly formed Air Commerce. "The Great Waldo Pepper" (1975) is a tribute to the men & women who risked their lives to entertain people in ‘flying circuses’ in the ’20s through the early ’30s. By the time of this particular story, competition amongst stunt fliers resulted in progressively dangerous tricks, as well as highly publicized accidents, which led to hampering safety regulations and the demise of barnstorming. The tone mixes life-or-death drama with amusing bits. There are a couple of shocking sequences that some critics have interpreted as ‘coldhearted,’ but they just reflect those times. Even if you were a female who joined the team, you’re one of the boys and they all knew the risks. Sudden deaths, while unfortunate, didn’t change the fact that it was part of how these people made a living. And the show must go on, as they say. Speaking of which, if you’re familiar with movies like “The Blue Max,” “Flyboys” and “The Red Baron,” this is what some of the surviving flying aces were doing after the war. It runs 1 hour, 47 minutes, and was mostly shot in and around Elgin, Texas (which is just east of Austin), and Piru, California (which is a 50-minute drive northwest of Los Angeles). Studio stuff was done at Universal Studios. GRADE: B-/B

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Universal Pictures

  US

Key crew

• Sound RecordistDennis C. Salcedo
• StuntsBob Harris
• SoundRonald Pierce
• StuntsErik Cord
• Stunts'Wild' Bill Mock
• StuntsAudrey Saunders
• StuntsDean Smith
• SoundRobert J. Miller
• Special EffectsBruce Wolke
• StuntsMickey Gilbert
• StuntsJohn Moio
• Makeup ArtistFred C. Blau Jr.
• Sound MixerMelvin M. Metcalfe Sr.
• HairdresserLorraine Roberson
• StuntsJohn Kazian
• StuntsPaul Stader
• StuntsBuff Brady
• Assistant DirectorCheryl Downey
• Assistant DirectorScott U. Adam
• StuntsJames S. Appleby
• StuntsFrank L. Pine
• StuntsArt Scholl
• StuntsHoward Curtis
• Effects SupervisorBen McMahan

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• world war i
• aerial combat
• red baron
• biplane
• flying ace
• barnstorming
• fighter ace
• stunt pilot
• the red baron
• airplane pilot

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1975-03-13PG

Also known as

International titles

• Tollkühne FliegerDE