Don't Believe the Hype

Brilliant and touching

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

This 1976 TV movie, not surprisingly, is not as good as "Amelia" (2009), and it is a bit too long, but it does a decent job. The TV movie tries to cover more of the famous flyer's life than "Amelia" does, and so one may learn some additional information from the older movie, especially about Earhart's childhood. The acting in the TV movie is pretty good, and the airplane scenes are better than you might expect from a TV movie of the time.Interestingly, the TV movie portrays George Putnam in a less flattering light than the 2009 movie (with the Richard Gere role being played here by John Forsythe of "Dynasty" and "Charlie's Angels" fame). Also, the TV movie replaces "Amelia's" focus on secondary male lead of Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor) with flying instructor Paul Mantz (Stephen Macht). I've written more about the 2009 movie on my website (www.chimesfreedom.com). I'm not sure which movie is more accurate about the personal relationships, but if you're looking to watch an interesting movie, I'd recommend "Amelia" over the TV movie. But if you're curious about learning more after watching that movie, check out this movie too.

Saw this years ago on television and was impressed by it, probably because it violated the usual dim stereotype of Amelia Earhardt, first woman to fly the Atlantic. Well, she was, but she was cargo. The two-engined airplane was flown by two men. This production at least gives us some unalloyed details of her life outside of that initial, celebrated voyage.What is projected most strongly is her eagerness to fly. She loves it. She does it "for the fun of it." Even if it involves some humiliation, like having to pose for luggage ads or having some reporter pimp her as the new woman.Quite a bit of time is spent on Earhardt's off stage life -- her open marriage to her business manager, the sub rosa romance with Paul Mantz, who was famous in his own right.It's not a very demanding flick. There's little ambiguity. Amelia Earhardt wants to fly. And she's inner directed, with some kind of internal gyroscope. The men in her life either obstruct her -- they're drunks or coerce her into a loveless marriage -- or they're dashing Rhett Butler types, like Stephen Macht as Paul Mantz. The spunky, sassy Earhardt rejects a formulaic swain who is dull and reliable and traditional in his values.You won't learn too much about flying. It's not like Billy Wilder's "The Spirit of St. Lous." But the flying scenes are grand, conveying the exhilaration of being suspended in air. The musical score is out of a TV situation comedy. But -- a plus for the script -- she's not made into SUPERGIRL. It's made clear that she isn't the best pilot or navigator in the world.Those touches of humanity give her disappearance over the Pacific more impact. The director should be applauded for avoiding the conventional last few hours of Earhardt and her unreliable navigator trying to find Howland Island, a bit of land in the middle of nowhere. There are no anguished expressions, no tears, no hysterical shouts. The U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Itasca is listening for the two voyagers on the radio and the mistakes are all on the side of the travelers. That's not a weakness. It humanizes Earhardt and her companion and make the story more tragic.

Outstanding biography teaming John Forsythe and Susan Clark in the title roles of the producer, twice married, who took a chance and married the famous aviator.Both give tremendous performances and this was certainly one of Forsyth's greatest triumphs in his professional career. He sure came a long way from "Bachelor Father."Clark has the right spirit and is consumed in passion for her desire to fly early on in life. She makes a complex character come alive in a totally mesmerizing performance. This woman was certainly ahead of her time with regard to her ideas about the roles of women in life and in particular marriage.With a wonderful supporting cast, this film is memorable. It dealt correctly with her tragic disappearance in 1937 since we never knew exactly what happened. Did she see something that imperial Japan didn't want her to see and pay for it with her life? No one shall ever know.

My memory spanning 23 years recalls Susan Clark doing fairly well in this bio of Amelia Earhart. In as much as I haven't seen a rerun of this film, and I have seen other bio films about Amelia, I cannot comment much more except I thought it pretty good at the time. I'll try to follow my own advice and try to see this one again. I gave it an 8.