The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)

The Great Waldo Pepper (1975) (DVD) (*)

$25.99

Language Selections:
Dutch ( Subtitles )
English ( Mono )
English ( Subtitles )
German ( Mono )
German ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Germany ( PAL/Region 2&4 )

Running Time:
103 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1975 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
George Roy Hill

Written By:
George Roy Hill
William Goldman

Actors:
Robert Redford ..... Waldo Pepper
Bo Svenson ..... Axel Olsson
Bo Brundin ..... Ernst Kessler
Susan Sarandon ..... Mary Beth
Geoffrey Lewis ..... Newt
Edward Herrmann ..... Ezra Stiles
Philip Bruns ..... Dillhoefer
Roderick Cook ..... Werfel
Kelly Jean Peters ..... Patsy
Margot Kidder ..... Maude
Scott Newman ..... Duke
James S. Appleby ..... Ace
Patrick W. Henderson Jr. ..... Scooter
James N. Harrell ..... Farmer (as James Harrell)
Elma Aicklen ..... Farmer's Wife

Synopsis:

Waldo Pepper was a World War I flight trainer. Waldo believes the honor of the best WWI fighter pilot goes to German Ernst Kessler, although Waldo's flight commander Newt believes that if Waldo had entered the war earlier and had got the flight time, he would have proved himself to be the best. In the post-war era, Waldo, self-coined as the "Great Waldo Pepper", has like many war pilots resorted to barnstorming to make a living. Instead of the penny-ante flights he provides to adoring fans, Waldo wants to join Dillhoefer's flying circus. Dillhoefer will only let him join if he can prove he can perform a death defying feat that his audiences crave to see. He decides to join forces with sometimes rival pilot, Axel Olsson, to come up with such a stunt. Another possibility, with the help of plane designer Ezra Stiles, his girlfriend Maude's brother, is to complete the first ever outside loop. But when the defying part of death defying comes close to not happening, Waldo's livelihood is jeopardized. He may have to reinvent himself if that livelihood is no longer a possibility. An unexpected source may allow Waldo to show if he really was and is the greatest.

Robert Redford plays Waldo Pepper, a former World War I pilot who exaggerates his accomplishments in order to impress the rabble. After a brief rivalry with air-show entrepreneur Axel Olsson (Bo Svenson), Pepper teams with Axel to barnstorm all over the Midwest. Ambitious Mary Beth (Susan Sarandon) insists on performing a wingwalking act in the show, but during the first performance she 'freezes up' and falls to her death. As a result, Pepper and Olsson lose their permit to perform. Pepper can't even get a job in 'legitimate' aviation because it's been regulated beyond recognition in the postwar years. In desperation, Pepper gets a job as a movie stunt pilot. On the set, he meets the film's technical advisor: former German ace Ernst Kessler (Bo Brundin), a man whom Pepper has been claiming falsely to have fought during the war, thereby advancing his own reputation. He is as disillusioned with civilian life as Pepper is, and ignoring the entreaties of the film's director, stages a genuine dogfight (sans live ammo) with his old 'opponent'. The film ends with both men proving to themselves what they'd failed to prove during the war. The Great Waldo Pepper represented the third filmic collaboration between star Robert Redford and director George Roy Hill.

A biplane pilot who had missed flying in WWI takes up barnstorming and later a movie career in his quest for the glory he had missed, eventually getting a chance to prove himself in a film depicting the dogfights in the Great War.

This product was added to our catalog on Monday 22 May, 2017.