Amelia Earhart (film)
The first dramatization of Amelia Earhart's life.
The 1976 TV film Amelia Earhart, directed by George Schaefer from a script by Carol Sobieski, stars Susan Clark as the famed aviator and John Forsythe as her husband, George P. Putnam. It was the first dramatization of Earhart's life, premiering on NBC Monday Night at the Movies on October 25, 1976.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Biographical drama
- Writer
- Carol Sobieski
- Director
- George Schaefer
- Starring
- Susan Clark
- John Forsythe
- Stephen Macht
- Jane Wyatt
- Music
- David Shire
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Producer
- George Eckstein
Facts from the source article.
Plot
In 1907, nine-year-old Amelia Earhart lives on a Kansas farm and builds a play aircraft with her sister Pidge. During World War I in 1917, she is a college student working in a doctor's office and decides to become a nurse. While on a break with a coworker on a rooftop, she sees an aircraft and rekindles her childhood interest in aviation. In 1924, she and her mother drive cross-country from Los Angeles to Boston in an open roadster, arguing along the way. In Boston, she has an on-and-off relationship with a young man and works at a children's orphanage, using her savings to fund flying. That same year, she pilots her Avro Avian biplane coast-to-coast, and locals recognize her from the transatlantic flight. Unsatisfied with being a passenger, she wants to solo the Atlantic. She marries George Putnam in a quasi arranged or open marriage, and his wealth allows her to buy a red Lockheed Vega for the solo flight. She departs Newfoundland on May 20, 1932, the fifth anniversary of Lindbergh's flight. Her marriage to Putnam, who had been her publicist, and her record flights bring international fame. She develops a close bond with Putnam's son David. With help from Paul Mantz, she plans a round-the-world attempt in 1937. Her disappearance with navigator Fred Noonan during the last stage leads to a massive fruitless search, cementing her as an aviation icon.
Production
The film dramatizes Earhart's life but refuses to speculate on the cause of her disappearance, though the existing clues are presented in full. One departure from the historical record is portraying stunt pilot Paul Mantz as her purported lover, a long-standing unsubstantiated rumor. Principal photography took place at Camarillo Airport, California, with aerial sequences flown by aerobatic pilot Art Scholl and Frank Tallman of Tallmantz Aviation. A de Havilland Moth substituted for the Avro Avian, and a Lockheed 12A appeared as Earhart's Lockheed Model 10 Electra.
Reception
Interest in Earhart's story, especially with the 2009 film Amelia, led reviewers to recall earlier portrayals. Rosalind Russell played an Earhart-esque flier in 1943's Flight for Freedom, and Diane Keaton starred in the 1994 TNT movie Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight. Susan Clark's performance compared favorably among the Earhart movies. The film was nominated for 1977 Emmy awards: William H. Tuntke and Richard Friedman for Outstanding Art Direction or Scenic Design, Susan Clark for Outstanding Lead Actress, and Susan Oliver for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress. It was also nominated for the 1977 Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Made for TV. The film screened at the AFI/Los Angeles International Film Festival from June 18 to July 2, 1992.
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