The Rocketeer
The Rocketeer is a 1991 American period superhero film from Walt Disney Pictures, produced by Charles Gordon, Lawrence Gordon, and Lloyd Levin, directed by Joe Johnston, that stars Bill Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino, and Tiny Ron Taylor. The film is based upon the character of the same name created by Rocketeer comic book artist and writer Dave Stevens.
Set in 1938 Los Angeles, California, "The Rocketeer" tells the story of stunt pilot Cliff Secord who stumbles upon a hidden rocket powered jet pack that he thereafter uses to fly without the need of an aircraft. His heroic deeds soon attract the attention of Howard Hughes and the FBI, who are hunting for the missing jet pack, as well as the Nazi operatives that stole it from Hughes.
Development for "The Rocketeer" started as far back as 1983, when Stevens sold the film rights. Steve Miner and William Dear considered directing "The Rocketeer" before Johnston signed on. Screenwriters Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo had creative differences with Disney, which caused the film to languish in development hell. The studio also intended to change the trademark helmet design; Disney CEO Michael Eisner wanted a straight NASA-type helmet, but Johnston convinced the studio otherwise. Johnston also had to convince Disney to let him cast unknown actor Billy Campbell in the lead role. Filming for "The Rocketeer" lasted from September 19, 1990 to January 22, 1991. The visual effects sequences were created and designed by Industrial Light & Magic, and were supervised by animation director Wes Takahashi.
The film was released on June 21, 1991, and received positive reviews from critics[ Plans for "Rocketeer" sequels were abandoned after the film was a disappointment at the box office, grossing a relatively modest $46 million on a $35 million budget. However, a TV series based on the movie premiered on Disney Junior in November 2019.
Plot
In 1938 Los Angeles, two gangsters in Eddie Valentine's gang steal a rocket pack from Howard Hughes. During their escape from the authorities that ends up on an airfield, one gangster is shot to death, the getaway driver hides the rocket pack, and stunt pilot Cliff Secord's "Gee Bee racer" is destroyed in the resulting auto-airplane accident, crippling his career. Cliff and airplane mechanic Peevy later find the rocket pack hidden in a biplane cockpit. Movie star Neville Sinclair had hired Valentine's gang to steal the rocket pack, and he sends his monstrous, yet skilled henchman Lothar to question the injured getaway driver, who tells him about his hiding the rocket pack at the airfield.
Cliff's girlfriend is aspiring actress Jenny Blake, who has a bit part in Sinclair's latest swashbuckling film, but recent events begin to drive a wedge in their relationship. Sinclair overhears Cliff attempting to tell Jenny about the rocket pack, so he invites her to dinner. Afterward, at a local air show, Cliff uses the rocket pack (and Peevy's newly designed face-hiding finned helmet) to rescue his elderly friend Malcolm, who is piloting the over-aged biplane. The newsreel press and Valentine's gangsters all see him from the airshow audience, whereupon "The Rocketeer" becomes a media sensation, but also sets Sinclair and the FBI on Cliff's tail.
Sinclair sends Lothar to Cliff and Peevy's home to find the rocket pack. The FBI arrives, but Cliff and Peevy escape while Lothar steals the rocket pack's detailed schematics drawn up by Peevy. Later, at the airfield diner, Cliff and Peevy are trapped by several Valentine mobsters; they learn about Jenny's date with Sinclair, and the actor's involvement in the hunt for the rocket pack. The diner patrons overpower the gangsters, while a bullet ricochet punctures the rocket pack's fuel tank, which Peevy temporarily patches with Cliff's chewing gum. Cliff proceeds to the South Seas Club, where he tells Jenny about his new rocket-powered alter ego. The Valentine gang arrives, and Jenny is kidnapped by Sinclair in the ensuing melée.
At Sinclair's home, Jenny discovers that Sinclair is a Nazi secret agent and knocks him out, but is soon re-captured and forced to leave a message for Cliff to bring the rocket pack to the Griffith Observatory in exchange for her life. Just before he is arrested by the FBI and taken to Hughes and Peevy, Cliff hides the rocket pack. Hughes explains that his rocket pack is a prototype, similar to one that Nazi scientists have, up to now, been unsuccessful in developing; he shows them a horrifying propaganda film that reveals the scope of the Nazis' plans, depicting an army of flying soldiers invading the United States. The FBI agents mention that they are tracking a Nazi spy in Hollywood, whom Cliff realizes must be Sinclair. When Hughes demands the return of the rocket pack, Cliff explains that he needs it to rescue Jenny; he escapes (using a scale model prototype of the 'Spruce Goose' as a glider), but inadvertently leaves behind a clue to where he is headed.
Cliff flies to the rendezvous, where Sinclair demands that Cliff give him the rocket pack. Cliff divulges to the mobsters that the actor is a Nazi; Valentine's gang turn their weapons on Sinclair and Lothar, but Sinclair summons sixty heavily armed Nazi S.A. stormtroopers hidden at the observatory. The Nazi rigid airship Luxembourg (under the guise of a peace mission) appears overhead to evacuate Sinclair. FBI agents suddenly announce their presence, having secretly surrounded the area; they and the mobsters join forces to battle the Nazis. Sinclair and Lothar escape, dragging Jenny with them aboard the airship.
Cliff flies to and boards the airship, but during the ensuing showdown, Jenny accidentally sets the bridge on fire with a flare gun. Sinclair holds Jenny hostage, forcing Cliff to give him the rocket pack, but not before he secretly removes the chewing gum patch, allowing fuel to leak near the rocket pack's exhaust. Sinclair dons the rocket pack and flies off, but before he can escape successfully, the leaked fuel causes the rocket pack to catch on fire, causing Sinclair to plummet to his death on fire near the Hollywood / HOLLYWOODLAND sign; the resulting explosion destroys the "LAND" part of the sign. Lothar is engulfed in flames as the airship explodes, but Cliff and Jenny are rescued at the last moment by Hughes and Peevy flying an autogyro.
Hughes later presents Cliff with a brand-new Gee Bee air racer and a fresh pack of Beemans gum. As Hughes leaves, Jenny returns Peevy's rocket pack blueprints, which she found in Sinclair's home; Peevy decides that, with some modifications, he can build an even better one.
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