Debuting in 1991, and based on Dan Steven’s comic series, The Rocketeer was a movie ahead of its time. It came out at a time when comic book movies were few and far between, and for the most part, were aimed only at kids. Sure, there are standouts, Richard Donner‘s Superman and Tim Burton’s Batman had both been successful in their own rights, but they had a much more extensive comic following. The same can’t be said for The Rocketeer. Sadly, it went largely overlooked when it debuted 30 years ago.
And that, dear reader, is a shame! It has a wonderful cast. There are exciting action sequences. Great humor. Stirring music. And a plot filled with danger, adventure, and a patriotic streak 2 miles wide that sticks to the theme of the source material. Most importantly, it has a sense of humor! Had it been made today, it could easily have fallen into the ranks of the MCU. (It also doesn’t hurt that it was directed by Joe Johnston, who would later go on to helm “Captain America: The First Avenger.“)
The characters themselves are fairly stock, but that is as it should be given the 1930s pulp serial styling of the original comics. There is Cliff Secord, the earnest young pilot who wants to make a name for himself, played by a charmingly handsome Billy Campbell. He is an idealist and a patriot but not afraid to get his hands dirty when the need arises. Jenny Blake is a wide-eyed young woman who wants to be an actress and is the object of Cliff’s affections. Jenny is brought to life with the perfect amount of youthful innocence and just a hint of dark-eyed vamp by Jennifer Connelly. Alan Arkin rounds out the trio as “Peevy” Peabody, playing the part of Cliff’s best friend, mechanic, or conscious depending on what the scene requires.
Now, we all know that a film is only as good as its villain, and boy-howdy, do we get a doosey in this one! Meet Neville Sinclair; a Hollywood star-of-stars. Handsome, charming, English, and so much a stand-in for Errol Flynn that they practically reshoot the climax of his 1938 Robin Hood just to introduce him. Sinclair (played to scenery-chewing perfection by Timothy Dalton), we soon discover is actually a double agent. A spy for – dun-dun-DUH- the NAZIS! (Joe Johnston… I’m telling you, he has a type).
Working for Sinclair is Paul Sorvino’s Eddie Valentine; a head mafioso perfectly straight out of Central Casting. A hood with a conscience who earnestly exclaims, “I may not make an honest buck, but I’m 100% American. I don’t work for no two-bit Nazi.”
Rounding out Sinclair’s group of baddies is thug and hitman Lothar. Lothar, played by “Tiny” Ron Taylor in Dick Tracy-levels of facial prosthetics, is Sinclair’s muscle. Along the lines of Odd-Job, Jaws, or Joel Schumacker’s Bane, Lothar is sent in when it’s time to break people in half (in the case of this movie…literally).
From here, the plot is fairly straightforward and hits all the major comic-book movie markers. It is 1938. Cliff and Peevy discover the rocket pack in their workshop – it having been stashed there by some of Eddie’s men at the end of a car chase. The two decide to keep the rocket hidden. That is, until Cliff is forced to use it to save a friend and fellow pilot from a tragic accident during an airshow. Cliff is now The Rocketeer.
With the secret of the rocket now out in the open (and in the papers), Neville Sinclair attempts to seduce Jenny as a way to get to Cliff, using his Hollywood status to woo the would-be starlet. The plan almost works as Cliff is drawn into the trap, but he manages to escape. At the last minute, however, Neville seizes Jenny, dosing her with chloroform, and takes her off to his mansion.
Now at Sinclair’s mansion, Jenny once again buffs off his advances and, during a futile attempt at escaping, discovers that Neville Sinclair is actually a Nazi agent. Meanwhile, Cliff and Peevy are arrested by the FBI and taken to see Howard Hughes – the famous aviator and man who designed the rocket pack in the first place. They argue over the rocket pack – Hughes and the feds want it back, while Cliff needs it as ransom to save Jenny. Some heroic antics ensue and Cliff escapes on the wings of a model of the Spruce Goose, causing an inspired Hughes to exclaim “she will fly!”
The showdown begins at the LA Observatory where Sinclair is outed to his mob cronies as in fact being a Nazi. His henchmen turn on him, but not before he can summon the aid of hidden Nazi soldiers who have arrived (on a zeppelin, of course) to ensure that Sinclair makes it out of the country with the rocket.
There is much heroic to do and Cliff, leaving the feds and the mob working together against the Nazi scum, flies up to the airship to confront Sinclair and save Jenny.
Cliff goes through the few soldiers crewing the airship before finally reaching Sinclair, who is holding Jenny at gunpoint. Without any other options, Cliff exchanges the rocket for Jenny. Neville straps on the rocket – while unbeknownst to him has been damaged in some earlier fighting – and takes off. However, only moments after leaving the airship, the damaged rocket fails and explodes. Jenny and Cliff kiss, the good guys have won, and all is right in the world again.
I love this movie. It’s exciting. It’s silly. It’s fun. It’s campy. And that’s exactly what it’s supposed to be. It is perfect pulp.
Sadly, when it comes to loving this movie, I seem to have been in the minority. While critically it did ok, it underperformed at the box office. Unlike the earlier Batman or Superman films, there wasn’t enough of a comic fan base to attract the audiences that the studios wanted. Its poor performance doused any hopes for the intended sequels.
Rewatching the movie for this article, I was struck by the themes and the style: Good vs Evil, the Stock-but-appropriate characters, the overflowing patriotism, the Nazis. All kidding aside, it really does feel like Joe Johnston’s first draft of “Captain America.”
This is also a movie that just meant a lot to me. I remember as a kid I made my own Rocketeer costume. It consisted of a brown jacket, a rollerblading wrist guard as the activation glove, and a plastic “Ghostbusters” Proton Pack that I would wear upside down as my rocket pack. Thus outfitted, I’d “fly” up and down the street fighting Nazis, doing daring dos, and being every bit the American Hero I could be.
To this day, I still think it had one of the most incredible and iconic posters – sleek and angular and DRIPPING with Art Deco-ness.