Five when Mom took me to see this, she had worked as a computer programmer for the air force until she started having children in the mid 1950s. As we were leaving the theater she told me the movie was about a true story-that the X-15 project was real. Blew my mind. Hadn’t seen it again until now. So damn good.
It was a terrible day when Mike Adams was lost in X-15 no. 3. The X-15 was an amazing vehicle that accomplished things that no other aircraft has ever done. I devoted 30 years of my life in order to tell the story of the X-15 and the people associated with the program. It was worth every second.
I’m 63, born the year this film-and history-were made. I came upon this Richard Donner-directed film accidentally and watched it out of curiosity. I was hooked after five minutes and learned so much. Thanks must go to the creators of the film and the earlier commenter who provided so much historical detail and context. This certainly was a worthwhile viewing. Thanks to all who posted the film and the comments.
Glad that you enjoyed the film. There are many things wrong with it, but I still find it a wonderful film to watch, especially because of the Jimmy Stewart narration. It's the only film that truly featured the X-15. The 2018 film "First Man" had the opening sequence about one X-15 flight by Neil Armstrong, but they got even more wrong than this film did with regard to the X-15 (and so much else) that that film is unwatchable.
To us former USAF dependents whose chief bread winner was on flying status, the thought of an official vehicle pulling up to the house with the squadron command and chaplain was a real worry pushed into the furthest reaches of one’s own mind. My heart goes out to those who had this occur to them. For me, the closest occurred during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
So many well known people from the greatest generation, Jimmie Stuart narrating, Charles Bronson, Mary Tyler Moore, Brad Dexter, James Gregory, Kenneth Tobey , They said it was Ammonia and LOX, that was used for the LR-99 engine . According to Google, it was Anhydrous Ammonia and LOX , And hydrogen peroxide was used for the A.P.U. onto a bed of oxidiser materials that developed super-heated steam to drive a small turbine... There likely was a third type of propellant & oxidiser that were used for the ACS & RCS thrusters while it was in space...But I do not want to say anything more about that... The controls they showed to those ACS/RCS thrusters was probably accurate... They were definitely seperate from the 'Within atmosphere' center control stick... There was a fire on the smaller engines on the Third flight, but it Did not cause scrapnel to damage one of the chase planes... The LR-99 engine did have an explosion on the Spacecraft while mounted on the test stand... Scott Crossfield was in the pilot seat when that happened...No chase planes crashed during that program, that I know of... Michael Adams died while it was in space, (after this movie was made) and the plane burned-up on re-entry as the instruments were giving him erroneous readings in the PFD displays, Joe walker set an altitude record, at 354,200' in 1963, .(James Gregory said 100 miles high, no... He meant to say 100 km. high..), Pete Knight reached MACH 6.7 in a max-Speed aerodynamic heating test, List of pilots involved in this program: Neal Armstrong, Scott Crossfield, Forest Peterson, Robert White, John McCay, Joe Walker , Robert Rushwirth, Pete Knight , Milton Thomoson, William Dana, Joe Engle , Michael Adams (Died on re-entry)... 199 flights were made, and so much was learned about space and how to navigate in space... Definitely one of the most important programs, to become associated with high speed flight... That footage of the LR-99 explosion 💥 and the aftermath of the space craft was the real McCoy... So were the vudeos from space and the dead-stick landings, and the scenes taking off on the starboard wing of Balls-8, And Balls-3, And the GPU equipment, That flying 'Bannana' helicopter, The Planes were given some 'stretching' in the development labs to prevent Adversary theft of intellectual property... Quite the fun movie.... Today is: 11/02/24
@@tomdis8637 Jimmy Stewart was one of the best of the best... A True WW2 aar hero and a great diwn to Earth guy that was so amazing about somebody with his accomplishments... I really Liked him in The Glenn Miller Story, And Strategic Air Command.... Whenever he was on the Johnny Carson Show, He was such a Gentleman and a great sense if Humor!!!
Back in 1961 when this first aired, it was so popular with us Pre-Teens and Young Adults, as we followed the advances in the Space-Race, hoping to get a base on the Moon soon. 👍👍 1k💖 For sharing with us all these days. 10k🌟
Many actual X-15 people were featured in the background of this film, and X-15 pilot Milt Thompson was one of the Technical Advisors. He has a small part on screen helping a pilot get into the cockpit at one point. You can see him at 1:35:00 in the film.
As the vehicle drove beneath the B-52's wing, my training instinctively kicked in. Even though I didn't work directly on the flight line, I remembered that you should never drive under an aircraft wing. Damaging it could result in significant costs that you would be responsible for. Then I realized that was how they managed to get the pilot out of the X-15.
, I remembered that you should never drive under an aircraft wing. Damaging it could result in significant costs that you would be responsible for. REALLY?? oh my gosh,"stick to the bible girl" "my training instinctively kicked in".,,like a ninja i bet, bible under one arm thrust vector under the other, flying sister thanks for sharing it was educational and emotional xxx
@@godblessamerica7048 doesn't YOUR God telly you to love your neighbor,and turn the other cheek, does that mean im not going to heaven, does GOD hate me? or is that just you?,what have i done to be named SATAN? i help old people carry there shopping, don't think Satan would do that unless hes maybe setting a trap, im confused PLEASE help me i don't want to go to hell,,DON'T abandon me please,,i LOVE YOU honest
The movie "X-15" was filmed in 1960 and early 1961, with a premier on 21 September 1961. Mary Tyler Moore was cast on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" not long after she completed filming "X-15." This is the show where she first became a star. The premier of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" occurred on 3 October 1961, about 2 weeks after "X-15." Her second major series, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," which is the one I presume you are referring to, premiered on 18 September 1970, nine years after the release of "X-15."
The scene where the X15 engine explodes under test actually happened. The pilot was Scott Crossfield, I think. When the safety crew opened the canopy some water ran inside and soaked his trousers (pants in the USA). When asked by the press if he was O.K. he said that the only casualty was his pants getting wet. Next day the newspaper headlines read "X15 engine explodes, pilot wets pants".
While I have heard of the other actors in this movie I have never heard of the main actor, David McLean. I looked him up IMDb and it said he passed away in 1995.
David McLean was not an extremely well known actor in his day. He was most famous for being the Marlboro Man on TV commercials. This "distinction" is also what led to his eventual death from lung cancer. His employer, Philip Morris gave him an unlimited supply of cigarettes, and he was diagnosed in 1964. He later led the fight to ban cigarette commercials from television, and amazingly survived for 31 years with cancer before succumbing in 1995.
Jimmy Stewart was the best person to do this narration. The film company was from Frank Sinatra, which is one of the reasons that Jimmy Stewart was asked to do this duty.
At 14:00 (and other times) that's 3457 Lily Ct in Newbury Park that Mary Tyler Moore is pulling into. Brand new homes back then. Street View shows the street as pretty much the same now, some sixty years later but with mature trees and shrubs, and a few upgrades here and there.
It was the heyday at Edwards AFB. The X-15 was the zenith of experimental aircraft technology, and Edwards was buzzing in those days with all the different programs. A far cry from the base today.
Actually, Inconel is silver. However, after the X-15 started flying, and was subjected to heat, the Inconel turns to a dark blue-black color. At roll out the X-15 actually were pained black, but later, that paint was no longer required because of the heat treating of the metal alloy.
@@x15galmichelleevans Would you say, it is like a Natural flame bluing / Nitre bluing, lik÷ the bright blue screws on a Colt 1860?.. But just out of the heat of flying?. And corrosion resistant? Looks very nice, though. I would have loved to build a Ford-32 out of inconel. I guess you could press it in an industrial press? But not wheel it? I guess it would take some heavy duty English wheel?...
@@AndreasAndersson-ve4jx Sorry, I'm not more conversant on the exact color, except to say that it is a dark blue-black, thus the reason it appears black from a distance. I have a 12x12-inch piece of Inconel-X that is not heat treated, which I use in my X-15 displays when I do my talks. It gives the guests a chance to pick it up and see how much it weighs.
No scenes from this movie were ever used in the series "Call to Glory." There was one episode of "Call to Glory" which featured the X-15 when they fictionally re-created the fatal accident of Michael Adams, but none of what was used in that episode came from this movie.
Yep, and now it has been more than 60 years since the X-15 first achieved that goal, with nothing near the progress we saw between the Wright Brothers and the X-15 era.
Yes, James Stewart narrated the 1961 aviation drama X-15:    Stewart was a Hollywood actor and aviator with a deep love of flying. He was a general in the Air Force Reserve and earned his private pilot license in 1935.  X-15 is a fictionalized account of the X-15 research rocket aircraft program, the test pilots, and the NASA community. The film also stars David McLean, Charles Bronson, James Gregory, and Mary Tyler Moore. Richard Donner directed the film, which was released when the X-15 aircraft was breaking flight records.
So, what about the crash that killed Lee? Was that real or was it just fiction for dramatic purposes for the movie? and if real, what happened to Lee's wife and son?
Note....when they were designing the Shuttle...... they really thought they needed a jet engine for landing the Shuttle. But they talked to X-15 people who told them....... No, you don't need that. You don't need that weight !!!!! The Shuttle was quite good, of course. We sure had great people working those issues back then.
Yes, James Stewart narrated the 1961 aviation drama X-15:    Stewart was a Hollywood actor and aviator with a deep love of flying. He was a general in the Air Force Reserve and earned his private pilot license in 1935.  X-15 is a fictionalized account of the X-15 research rocket aircraft program, the test pilots, and the NASA community. The film also stars David McLean, Charles Bronson, James Gregory, and Mary Tyler Moore. Richard Donner directed the film, which was released when the X-15 aircraft was breaking flight records.
59:10 notice how when the x15 lands it is a completely different plane from the one filmed while flying. Also is the narrator jimmy Stewart from its a wonderful life?
Too bad this is presented with a wide aspect ratio...everything is stretched...as an airplane nut myself, hard to watch. I have the DVD of this, and it is has incorrect aspect ratio.
13:15 , 13:50 , 14:05 , 22:39 What make and model of car please? I'd assume it's an advertisement for the car...because it's shown too well, like in an ad. (The car is really beautiful; even the color.) - 13:15 , 13:50 , 14:05 ¿Qué marca y modelo de coche, por favor? Daría por hecho que es publicidad del coche ...porque se lo muestra demasiado bien, como en un anuncio. ( El coche es hermoso de verdad; incluso el color)
Yes, the test stand explosion did actually happen. However, Bob Hoover was not in the cockpit, and was never associated in any way with the X-15 program. The test stand mishap occurred on 8 June 1960 and the pilot at the controls that day was Scott Crossfield.
Would this be engine noise we hear, or is it wind noise from flying Mach 6? I don't know because I have not even been to Mach 4. I do know that the engine only had fuel for 2 minutes of power, then it would be unpowered for the rest of the flight.
In 1965 I lived in Tehachapi ca. At that time there were 2 X15 pilots that lived there. In 65 I went to the open house that Edwards held each year. I took pictures of the X15 mounted on the B-52. and living in Tehachapi I got to see the B-52 and the X15 every so often fly over!!
Love Jimmy Stewarts speech at the beginning, but as we all found out later. Space flight was far too complex an operation for any single human to master. so, we find ourselves as simple passengers within the machine that makes thousands of critical calculations and adjustments per second to ensure a successful flight.
The year was 1947 with Chuck Yeager Who flew the first Bell X1 experimental rocket carried by a B-29 It was 1959 when the first original seven astronauts were chosen. The next group of 9 astronauts were chosen in 1962. The first X 15 was in 1959 carried by a specially designed B-52
I wonder why they use two types of chase planes simulateously, an F-100 Hun and an F-104 Starfighter? The latter being Mach 2 capable the former Mach 1.
X15 using anhydrous ammonia as fuel & liquid oxygen as oxidiser. Note that over 60 years later ammonia is again being talked about as a transport fuel.
The F-86 had that proclivity too. The one that crashed in Sacramento failed to climb because the pilot took too steep of a climb angle right after liftoff. Those old fighters were terribly under powered.
They used a large X-15 model for the "space" scenes, but other than that the flight sequences were all real. There was a full-scale mockup that was also used for filming. That mockup later went to to the New York Worlds Fair in 1964/65, and it now is on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. The large model was sold on eBay maybe 15 years ago for about $10,000.
My father retired from the USAF in the early '70's and opened & ran a burger place just a 1/4 mile outside one of the gates of Whiteman AFB. If my memory is correct he called it the " Gateway ". His wife, ( not MY mother ) ran a beauty shop. Being so close to the base they did pretty good business. It was a SAC base & the runway for the B-52's ran along the back side of his property. WE used to go out into the field where we could get a better view of those massive beasts taking off & landing. Talk about loud. I understand that now it's still a SAC base but flies the new B1B's out of there. The closest town was Knob Noster MO. about 7 miles away I think. Talk about Podunk. Warrensburg was the next biggest town about 40 or 50 miles away & considered " a treat " to go there. LMAO. There wasn't much happening there but they did have a A&W & a pizza place, a few stores & school of course. Can't remember the name of the pizza place. My step brother & sister & I used to walk ( when we couldn't get a ride ) from the house to the gate & then onto the base to go to the movies, pool, PX, etc. Sometimes we got stuck on base when they would close it off for alerts. Sometimes for hours. We would go to friends on base houses and call home to let Mom & Dad know where we were so they didn't worry.
I was stationed at Fairchild AFB, outside Spokane, Washington, for 7 years. We had B-52Gs and KC-125 tankers. It was awesome to watch the aircraft take off and land. I had several opportunities to fly missions on the KC-135, but never got to go airborne on the B-52. Got lots of great photos though.
@@rafaucett Whiteman AFB is now part of the USAF Global Strike Command. Where I served at Fairchild has now been turned into an Air National Guard Base, last I checked.
The kid's telescope was not a type suited for watching aircraft in flight. Not only would he have been unable to track the aircraft, their image would have been upsidedown. It simply wouldn't have worked. A better idea, would have been to have him looking with field glasses/binoculars.
those were the days, wives stayed home to look their best and took little jimmy to school and fret a little about weather their husband would get hurt.
Maybe so , but its the Heavy Hitters in the cast and actual footage of the Kings of aviation that matter...... I'm a retired Navy Jet Pilot......so i quess I'm qualified to comment, unlike the peanut gallery.... ..
Yes, being a retired Navy jet pilot does give you excellent credentials, but that doesn't disqualify anyone else from commenting. Might also help if you let us know which comment you are specifically replying to.
OK , but not a test pilot , just a regular squadron pilot and why 'Pilot' not aviator - were you a transport or tanker jockey who never made it with the big boys ? I'm being a dick because your arrogance warranted it .
The Russians might have been been first to send a man into space to land in a cabbage patch but the Americans did things properly and went the extra 250,000 miles and became the first to put a man on the moon thanks to thorough preparation and training of every man and woman involved in the project. Made the Russians look like complete amateurs in space.
@@Brian-zp1df Jimmy Stewart flew the B-25 out of England during World War 2, then maintained his status as a Reserve Officer until his retirement as a Brigadier General.
Good God, a 25 year old Mary Tyler Moore could be that dude's daughter. Quite the age difference here, 14 years. He is the actual Marlboro Man from early TV ads.
False. He is not old enough to be her Dad. Way less than 21 years her senior and please stop exaggerating and being Ageist. My significant other and I have a 43 years difference. 26 vs 69. Blissful for a whopping 8 years and counting. Do better !
8 дней назад
Charles Bronson as a test pilot. If the plane doesn't do what he wants he will just beat the hell out of it.
I vividly recall Bronson in his early years, predating The Great Escape as Mike Kovac, whose character was a war veteran turned photographer and investigator, in 'Man with a Camera.'
19 часов назад
@@bmepdoc9675 Wow I think I remember that.
19 часов назад
@@bmepdoc9675 I watched "The Great Escape" many times and read several books on it. I still have a Gold Box VHS edition featuring extra content. My cousin framed it for me several years ago. I could pull it out and play it but I no longer have a working VHS player. I'm going to look for one at Goodwill. I can probably find one in a couple of weeks at most. I'm fair at rehabing old equipment and my brother is more than competent at electronics. So I'll start working on it and he'll come along and say "You're screwing that all up" and then take over and fix it himself. Works every time.
FIND A BETTER COPY TAKE THIS DOWN>>> Aspect ratio very wrong. B52's are not 1000 feet wide with oval engines. (after about 18 minutes the aspect changes to too tall instead of too wide... now the wheels on cars are tall ovals instead of wide ovals )
That is not the fault of the person who posted this video. It is the only surviving copy of this motion picture. The problem with the aspect ratio only occurs on the scenes filmed by the Air Force that were inserted into the movie where they had to stretch the regular aspect ratio to match the widescreen presentation of the rest of the movie.
Out of the 12 pilots who flew on the X-15 program, eight of them did achieve astronaut status and earned their astronaut wings. However, they were not the first astronauts. Two Russian Vostok astronauts (Gagarin and Titov) and four American Mercury astronauts (Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, and Carpenter) flew into space prior to the first astronaut qualification flight by X-15 pilot Robert White on 17 July 1962.
With all due respect to fearless Gagarin and Titov, I'm not sure they qualify today as 100% astronauts nor cosmonauts, as their space capsule was more of a wrecking ball. It had no flight controls and crash-landed by design. The pilots used an ejection seat (straight out of some MiG) to return home, and that was their only bit of piloting.
@@SPavlo Yes, they are still classified as cosmonauts. They may have ejected before their capsule landed, but that doesn't change the fact that they flew into orbit. If they don't qualify as such due to the fact that they were not flying their capsule, then no Mission Specialists, Payload Specialists, or anyone else who only flew as a passenger of some sort into orbit, would be qualified either.
@@x15galmichelleevans I totally agree, but... by the same criterions shouldn't the first cosmonaut be Laïka, the first female as well, and the first space martyr. Now, since the poor dog didn't land with her capsule, and was never intended too, this cannot count as an FAA record. This should belong to some NASA chimpanzee astronaut, I reckon 😎
@@SPavlo If you start counting animals who have flown in space, then the number of astronauts and cosmonauts will exponentially increase. Can't forget the first spider in space, Arabella.
This film is incredibly annoying, in that EVERY TIME the aircraft are shown in flight, they are visually stretched out of all proportion. The plot is a predictable Hollywood melodrama -- the aircraft are the stars!😡🤬😡👎
It was a long time ago and I'm working my failing memory real hard.But I seem to remember that there's a flag planted by I a certain group of men on the surface of the moon now who could that have been???????
Who got their nose rubbed in "it"by the end of the 60s?..the US could have had a man in space first, though it would have been suborbital.. we did everything out front in the open. The Russians knew were were about to launch Sheppard. As to the first satellite, we could have done that too if we wanted to...😢
Terrible! All the Studio scenes were shot in 16x9 ratio but all the aviation film shot by USAF was obviously 4x3 stretched to 16x9 for the movie, This is just terrible and I just can't watch it.
There used to be a version when all the scenes were of the proper aspect ratio, but that has unfortunately disappeared. It used to air on TCM a very long time ago, and I have that version recorded on VHS, so I know that it existed.
@@johnnycrash3270 Better than the guy who did this film in many ways. Tony Lazzarino made exactly one film, and this is it. Didn't exactly ignite his career. I devoted a good section of one chapter of my book on the X-15 to this movie, along with so many other aspects of the X-15 and the media.
So you've said BS in two different comments, yet have not said why or what you are talking about. Maybe you should try to make a bit more sense. Otherwise you just appear to be a troll.
Five when Mom took me to see this, she had worked as a computer programmer for the air force until she started having children in the mid 1950s. As we were leaving the theater she told me the movie was about a true story-that the X-15 project was real. Blew my mind. Hadn’t seen it again until now. So damn good.
Great to get the chance to see this again, my parents took me to see this film I was 7yrs old and fell asleep in the cinema!
I fell asleep today. You were a smart kid!
Film made 6 years before Adams's fatal crash 15/11/1967 (my 18th birthday) .RIP
I've always been an X-15 fan .
It was a terrible day when Mike Adams was lost in X-15 no. 3. The X-15 was an amazing vehicle that accomplished things that no other aircraft has ever done. I devoted 30 years of my life in order to tell the story of the X-15 and the people associated with the program. It was worth every second.
I’m 63, born the year this film-and history-were made. I came upon this Richard Donner-directed film accidentally and watched it out of curiosity. I was hooked after five minutes and learned so much. Thanks must go to the creators of the film and the earlier commenter who provided so much historical detail and context. This certainly was a worthwhile viewing. Thanks to all who posted the film and the comments.
Glad that you enjoyed the film. There are many things wrong with it, but I still find it a wonderful film to watch, especially because of the Jimmy Stewart narration. It's the only film that truly featured the X-15. The 2018 film "First Man" had the opening sequence about one X-15 flight by Neil Armstrong, but they got even more wrong than this film did with regard to the X-15 (and so much else) that that film is unwatchable.
To us former USAF dependents whose chief bread winner was on flying status, the thought of an official vehicle pulling up to the house with the squadron command and chaplain was a real worry pushed into the furthest reaches of one’s own mind. My heart goes out to those who had this occur to them. For me, the closest occurred during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
just when I thought I had run out of Bronson movies!!!
So many well known people from the greatest generation, Jimmie Stuart narrating, Charles Bronson, Mary Tyler Moore, Brad Dexter, James Gregory, Kenneth Tobey , They said it was Ammonia and LOX, that was used for the LR-99 engine . According to Google, it was Anhydrous Ammonia and LOX , And hydrogen peroxide was used for the A.P.U. onto a bed of oxidiser materials that developed super-heated steam to drive a small turbine... There likely was a third type of propellant & oxidiser that were used for the ACS & RCS thrusters while it was in space...But I do not want to say anything more about that... The controls they showed to those ACS/RCS thrusters was probably accurate... They were definitely seperate from the 'Within atmosphere' center control stick... There was a fire on the smaller engines on the Third flight, but it Did not cause scrapnel to damage one of the chase planes... The LR-99 engine did have an explosion on the Spacecraft while mounted on the test stand... Scott Crossfield was in the pilot seat when that happened...No chase planes crashed during that program, that I know of... Michael Adams died while it was in space, (after this movie was made) and the plane burned-up on re-entry as the instruments were giving him erroneous readings in the PFD displays, Joe walker set an altitude record, at 354,200' in 1963, .(James Gregory said 100 miles high, no... He meant to say 100 km. high..), Pete Knight reached MACH 6.7 in a max-Speed aerodynamic heating test, List of pilots involved in this program: Neal Armstrong, Scott Crossfield, Forest Peterson, Robert White, John McCay, Joe Walker , Robert Rushwirth, Pete Knight , Milton Thomoson, William Dana, Joe Engle , Michael Adams (Died on re-entry)... 199 flights were made, and so much was learned about space and how to navigate in space... Definitely one of the most important programs, to become associated with high speed flight... That footage of the LR-99 explosion 💥 and the aftermath of the space craft was the real McCoy... So were the vudeos from space and the dead-stick landings, and the scenes taking off on the starboard wing of Balls-8, And Balls-3, And the GPU equipment, That flying 'Bannana' helicopter, The Planes were given some 'stretching' in the development labs to prevent Adversary theft of intellectual property... Quite the fun movie.... Today is: 11/02/24
Thank you Sir, quite brilliant knowledge..... you should write a book, at any age... yr information is priceless.
Never to be again so sad😢
“Jimmy Stewart”
Thank you for posting this detailed comment. Write that book!
@@tomdis8637 Jimmy Stewart was one of the best of the best... A True WW2 aar hero and a great diwn to Earth guy that was so amazing about somebody with his accomplishments... I really Liked him in The Glenn Miller Story, And Strategic Air Command.... Whenever he was on the Johnny Carson Show, He was such a Gentleman and a great sense if Humor!!!
Back in 1961 when this first aired, it was so popular with us Pre-Teens and Young Adults, as we followed the advances in the Space-Race, hoping to get a base on the Moon soon. 👍👍
1k💖 For sharing with us all these days.
10k🌟
Fantastic. Thanks for uploading. Even the pregnancy advice was cutting edge.
Great plot, great theme, even Greater Stars. Throughly enjoyable!!!
Loved the technician rotating the nosecone Q-ball before last B-52 takeoff!
Many actual X-15 people were featured in the background of this film, and X-15 pilot Milt Thompson was one of the Technical Advisors. He has a small part on screen helping a pilot get into the cockpit at one point. You can see him at 1:35:00 in the film.
As the vehicle drove beneath the B-52's wing, my training instinctively kicked in. Even though I didn't work directly on the flight line, I remembered that you should never drive under an aircraft wing. Damaging it could result in significant costs that you would be responsible for. Then I realized that was how they managed to get the pilot out of the X-15.
, I remembered that you should never drive under an aircraft wing. Damaging it could result in significant costs that you would be responsible for.
REALLY?? oh my gosh,"stick to the bible girl"
"my training instinctively kicked in".,,like a ninja i bet, bible under one arm thrust vector under the other, flying sister
thanks for sharing it was educational and emotional xxx
@ Be gone, satan; I rebuke you in Jesus’ name!
@@godblessamerica7048 doesn't YOUR God telly you to love your neighbor,and turn the other cheek, does that mean im not going to heaven, does GOD hate me? or is that just you?,what have i done to be named SATAN? i help old people carry there shopping, don't think Satan would do that unless hes maybe setting a trap, im confused PLEASE help me i don't want to go to hell,,DON'T abandon me please,,i LOVE YOU honest
A young Mary Tyler Moore is in this picture some 8-years before her TV show.
The movie "X-15" was filmed in 1960 and early 1961, with a premier on 21 September 1961. Mary Tyler Moore was cast on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" not long after she completed filming "X-15." This is the show where she first became a star. The premier of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" occurred on 3 October 1961, about 2 weeks after "X-15." Her second major series, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," which is the one I presume you are referring to, premiered on 18 September 1970, nine years after the release of "X-15."
@@x15galmichelleevans I forgot about the Dick Van Dyke show.
The scene where the X15 engine explodes under test actually happened. The pilot was Scott Crossfield, I think. When the safety crew opened the canopy some water ran inside and soaked his trousers (pants in the USA). When asked by the press if he was O.K. he said that the only casualty was his pants getting wet. Next day the newspaper headlines read "X15 engine explodes, pilot wets pants".
Correct - I have a small framed piece of that wreckage signed by Crosssfield.
While I have heard of the other actors in this movie I have never heard of the main actor, David McLean. I looked him up IMDb and it said he passed away in 1995.
David McLean was not an extremely well known actor in his day. He was most famous for being the Marlboro Man on TV commercials. This "distinction" is also what led to his eventual death from lung cancer. His employer, Philip Morris gave him an unlimited supply of cigarettes, and he was diagnosed in 1964. He later led the fight to ban cigarette commercials from television, and amazingly survived for 31 years with cancer before succumbing in 1995.
That’s Jimmy Stewart narrating
Jimmy Stewart was the best person to do this narration. The film company was from Frank Sinatra, which is one of the reasons that Jimmy Stewart was asked to do this duty.
Jimmy Stewart was a flying officer in the USAF.
@@godblessamerica7048 you don’t say😂😂😂😂. Who knew😂😂😂
Duh.
No shit
Ole Jimmy Steward had it correct with that starting narration. The X-15 led to the Space Shuttle.
At 14:00 (and other times) that's 3457 Lily Ct in Newbury Park that Mary Tyler Moore is pulling into. Brand new homes back then. Street View shows the street as pretty much the same now, some sixty years later but with mature trees and shrubs, and a few upgrades here and there.
Great call. Thanks for the info on the filming location.
How the heck did you figure that one out?
Interesting collection of aircraft. B-52, F-100 Super Sabre, F-104 Starffighter and of course X-15. 😀
It was the heyday at Edwards AFB. The X-15 was the zenith of experimental aircraft technology, and Edwards was buzzing in those days with all the different programs. A far cry from the base today.
Thanks for sharing it! I always enjoy watching Great Movies though. 👍👌👏
And of course, I'm a subscriber!
Thanks Again Though.
Thanks for sharing 🎉❤top one
Excellent movie,thank you!!!!
Bonjour , film épique et magnifique .
Now what was that safety rule?
No Smoking within 24 hrs before flight and no drinking within 100 ft of the aircraft?
The limit was 12hrs.
@@bikerroel5284 OH! That is right, no Drinking within 12 hours of Smoking! Thanks for the hint.
Wow! X15, glorious black Inconel in Technicolor!! This movie just looks so good..
Actually, Inconel is silver. However, after the X-15 started flying, and was subjected to heat, the Inconel turns to a dark blue-black color. At roll out the X-15 actually were pained black, but later, that paint was no longer required because of the heat treating of the metal alloy.
@@x15galmichelleevans Would you say, it is like a Natural flame bluing / Nitre bluing, lik÷ the bright blue screws on a Colt 1860?..
But just out of the heat of flying?. And corrosion resistant? Looks very nice, though.
I would have loved to build a Ford-32 out of inconel. I guess you could press it in an industrial press? But not wheel it? I guess it would take some heavy duty English wheel?...
@@AndreasAndersson-ve4jx Sorry, I'm not more conversant on the exact color, except to say that it is a dark blue-black, thus the reason it appears black from a distance. I have a 12x12-inch piece of Inconel-X that is not heat treated, which I use in my X-15 displays when I do my talks. It gives the guests a chance to pick it up and see how much it weighs.
a pretty good flic... did several chores but mostly saw the whole movie...
The real video of the X-15 flights was FANTASTIC. The rest of the film could have been named, "Hysterical Dramatic Feelings".
Some scenes were used in the TV series “Call To Glory”.
No scenes from this movie were ever used in the series "Call to Glory." There was one episode of "Call to Glory" which featured the X-15 when they fictionally re-created the fatal accident of Michael Adams, but none of what was used in that episode came from this movie.
It's hard to believe how CLOSE the chase planes flew to it during launch from the mother ship. Holy cow !
Just 60 years from Wright Brothers to the X-15 in space.
Yep, and now it has been more than 60 years since the X-15 first achieved that goal, with nothing near the progress we saw between the Wright Brothers and the X-15 era.
I was 8 years old when I saw this movie
Yes, James Stewart narrated the 1961 aviation drama X-15:



Stewart was a Hollywood actor and aviator with a deep love of flying. He was a general in the Air Force Reserve and earned his private pilot license in 1935.

X-15 is a fictionalized account of the X-15 research rocket aircraft program, the test pilots, and the NASA community. The film also stars David McLean, Charles Bronson, James Gregory, and Mary Tyler Moore. Richard Donner directed the film, which was released when the X-15 aircraft was breaking flight records.
So, what about the crash that killed Lee? Was that real or was it just fiction for dramatic purposes for the movie? and if real, what happened to Lee's wife and son?
Shame that the aspect ratio of the vid keeps chopping between normal and stretched sideways. And it is only in 360p, so poor focus.
Remembering those brave pilots who pushed the limits so that we all can fly safely today.
Note....when they were designing the Shuttle...... they really thought they needed a jet engine for landing the Shuttle. But they talked to X-15 people who told them....... No, you don't need that. You don't need that weight !!!!! The Shuttle was quite good, of course. We sure had great people working those issues back then.
Sounds like you read my X-15 book. 🙂
Sounds like James Stewart in the voiceover !
The X-15 still holds Manned Aircraft speed records!❤🎉😂
Yep, no other vehicle has even gotten close to the X-15's Mach 6.70 record flight on 3 October 1967 with Pete Knight at the controls.
Yes, James Stewart narrated the 1961 aviation drama X-15:



Stewart was a Hollywood actor and aviator with a deep love of flying. He was a general in the Air Force Reserve and earned his private pilot license in 1935.

X-15 is a fictionalized account of the X-15 research rocket aircraft program, the test pilots, and the NASA community. The film also stars David McLean, Charles Bronson, James Gregory, and Mary Tyler Moore. Richard Donner directed the film, which was released when the X-15 aircraft was breaking flight records.
What does a Kid Joe Walker was my hero when he was in the National Geographics
59:10 notice how when the x15 lands it is a completely different plane from the one filmed while flying. Also is the narrator jimmy Stewart from its a wonderful life?
I still believe that this was the best route for the US space program
Too bad this is presented with a wide aspect ratio...everything is stretched...as an airplane nut myself, hard to watch. I have the DVD of this, and it is has incorrect aspect ratio.
So do not watch and better yet, shut up.
Just the real scenes of aircrafs are stretched, the rest of the movie is alright. That's too bad.
Thanks what's the movie about
wow, Mary Tyler Moore here too!
Yes, it was her big screen debut.
The footage was anamorphically stretched. Rounded noses of aircraft look rectangular. The X15 looks like a pencil.
13:15 , 13:50 , 14:05 , 22:39 What make and model of car please? I'd assume it's an advertisement for the car...because it's shown too well, like in an ad. (The car is really beautiful; even the color.)
-
13:15 , 13:50 , 14:05 ¿Qué marca y modelo de coche, por favor? Daría por hecho que es publicidad del coche ...porque se lo muestra demasiado bien, como en un anuncio. ( El coche es hermoso de verdad; incluso el color)
Well, the convertible is probably a '61 Buick Skylark.
@@danielgregg2530 thank you
Haven't seen this one in decades...the explosion on the pad actually happened. Bob Hoover was the pilot in the cockpit on that one.
Yes, the test stand explosion did actually happen. However, Bob Hoover was not in the cockpit, and was never associated in any way with the X-15 program. The test stand mishap occurred on 8 June 1960 and the pilot at the controls that day was Scott Crossfield.
God I miss Jimmy Stewart!😢🎉
What a black hole he has left.
But can you imagine the black hole in humanity, if we never had him.
He was the absolute best.
Would this be engine noise we hear, or is it wind noise from flying Mach 6? I don't know because I have not even been to Mach 4.
I do know that the engine only had fuel for 2 minutes of power, then it would be unpowered for the rest of the flight.
In 1965 I lived in Tehachapi ca. At that time there were 2 X15 pilots that lived there. In 65 I went to the open house that Edwards held each year. I took pictures of the X15 mounted on the B-52. and living in Tehachapi I got to see the B-52 and the X15 every so often fly over!!
Love Jimmy Stewarts speech at the beginning, but as we all found out later. Space flight was far too complex an operation for any single human to master. so, we find ourselves as simple passengers within the machine that makes thousands of critical calculations and adjustments per second to ensure a successful flight.
The X-15 was fully controlled by the pilot and not by any computer system.
@@x15galmichelleevans yep it was. but the point of modern space flight still stands.
Great story dreadfuiy executed
lol
The year was 1947 with Chuck Yeager Who flew the first Bell X1 experimental rocket carried by a B-29
It was 1959 when the first original seven astronauts were chosen. The next group of 9 astronauts were chosen in 1962.
The first X 15 was in 1959 carried by a specially designed B-52
thanks for some accurate info of the real dates & time
I wonder why they use two types of chase planes simulateously, an F-100 Hun and an F-104 Starfighter? The latter being Mach 2 capable the former Mach 1.
X15 using anhydrous ammonia as fuel & liquid oxygen as oxidiser. Note that over 60 years later ammonia is again being talked about as a transport fuel.
one of the greatest movie ever i seen about test pilot for space is the right stuff
Ohhh, the classic Sabre Dance crash.
The F-86 had that proclivity too. The one that crashed in Sacramento failed to climb because the pilot took too steep of a climb angle right after liftoff. Those old fighters were terribly under powered.
good, enjoyed it thanks
can i guess this is the only time Charles Bronson and Mary Tyler Moore are in the same movie?
Best part of this is the real footage, there wasn't any CGI yet...
They used a large X-15 model for the "space" scenes, but other than that the flight sequences were all real. There was a full-scale mockup that was also used for filming. That mockup later went to to the New York Worlds Fair in 1964/65, and it now is on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. The large model was sold on eBay maybe 15 years ago for about $10,000.
I think I saw Mary Tyler Moore. I did, I did.
Mary Tyler Moore was one of the wives of the X-15 Pilots that is she played the wife of an X-15 pilot
Yes Indeed!!! That was Her!!! Laura Petrie , before she had that Role... Sweet Lady...
Charles Bronson, Brad Dexter Mag7 alumni.
Wow ! Young Mary Tyler Moore was gorgeous .
My father retired from the USAF in the early '70's and opened & ran a burger place just a 1/4 mile outside one of the gates of Whiteman AFB. If my memory is correct he called it the " Gateway ". His wife, ( not MY mother ) ran a beauty shop. Being so close to the base they did pretty good business. It was a SAC base & the runway for the B-52's ran along the back side of his property. WE used to go out into the field where we could get a better view of those massive beasts taking off & landing. Talk about loud. I understand that now it's still a SAC base but flies the new B1B's out of there. The closest town was Knob Noster MO. about 7 miles away I think. Talk about Podunk. Warrensburg was the next biggest town about 40 or 50 miles away & considered " a treat " to go there. LMAO. There wasn't much happening there but they did have a A&W & a pizza place, a few stores & school of course. Can't remember the name of the pizza place. My step brother & sister & I used to walk ( when we couldn't get a ride ) from the house to the gate & then onto the base to go to the movies, pool, PX, etc. Sometimes we got stuck on base when they would close it off for alerts. Sometimes for hours. We would go to friends on base houses and call home to let Mom & Dad know where we were so they didn't worry.
I was stationed at Fairchild AFB, outside Spokane, Washington, for 7 years. We had B-52Gs and KC-125 tankers. It was awesome to watch the aircraft take off and land. I had several opportunities to fly missions on the KC-135, but never got to go airborne on the B-52. Got lots of great photos though.
Stop bragging and waffling 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
"I understand that now it's still a SAC base but ..."
The Strategic Air Command (SAC) was disestablished in 1992.
@@rafaucett Whiteman AFB is now part of the USAF Global Strike Command. Where I served at Fairchild has now been turned into an Air National Guard Base, last I checked.
@@rafaucett My bad. I figured it was still SAC based on the B1B's flying out of there. Thanks for the info.
The kid's telescope was not a type suited for watching aircraft in flight. Not only would he have been unable to track the aircraft, their image would have been upsidedown. It simply wouldn't have worked. A better idea, would have been to have him looking with field glasses/binoculars.
I remember very well watching the crash of the F-100 on the news the night it happened. It's sickening to watch someone die.
those were the days, wives stayed home to look their best and took little jimmy to school and fret a little about weather their husband would get hurt.
Maybe so , but its the Heavy Hitters in the cast and actual footage of the Kings of aviation that matter...... I'm a retired Navy Jet Pilot......so i quess I'm qualified to comment, unlike the peanut gallery.... ..
Yes, being a retired Navy jet pilot does give you excellent credentials, but that doesn't disqualify anyone else from commenting. Might also help if you let us know which comment you are specifically replying to.
You are a naval aviator for cripe's sake. Get your terms right, private!
@@ernestkovach3305 there's Naval Aviators that aren't in Tailhook.....so there's a difference amigo......
OK , but not a test pilot , just a regular squadron pilot and why 'Pilot' not aviator - were you a transport or tanker jockey who never made it with the big boys ? I'm being a dick because your arrogance warranted it .
I'm in the peanut gallery. SETI is stoopid and NASA is a waste of money. Leave space alone!
The Russians might have been been first to send a man into space to land in a cabbage patch but the Americans did things properly and went the extra 250,000 miles and became the first to put a man on the moon thanks to thorough preparation and training of every man and woman involved in the project. Made the Russians look like complete amateurs in space.
Mary Tyler Moore before she began to look as though she'd been eating lemons all day. The rest of them are the grade of hero that I will never make.
aspect ratio is all wrong
Wow, look at all the really long, skinny airplanes . . .
HE WAS A BRIGADIER GENERAL. IN THE AIR FORCE....SAC..
@@redrichard9801 retired from AF reserve as BG but left Army Air Corp Full Colonel
@@Brian-zp1df Jimmy Stewart flew the B-25 out of England during World War 2, then maintained his status as a Reserve Officer until his retirement as a Brigadier General.
I think thats what i just said lol. He flew as a spotter on Viet Nam missions too
@@x15galmichelleevansHe flew the B-24 Liberator and was squadron commander of the 703 Bomb Squadron.
@@x15galmichelleevans 24
He got him some masher action on Mary Tyler Moore!
Good God, a 25 year old Mary Tyler Moore could be that dude's daughter. Quite the age difference here, 14 years. He is the actual Marlboro Man from early TV ads.
False. He is not old enough to be her Dad. Way less than 21 years her senior and please stop exaggerating and being Ageist.
My significant other and I have a 43 years difference. 26 vs 69. Blissful for a whopping 8 years and counting.
Do better !
Charles Bronson as a test pilot. If the plane doesn't do what he wants he will just beat the hell out of it.
I vividly recall Bronson in his early years, predating The Great Escape as Mike Kovac, whose character was a war veteran turned photographer and investigator, in 'Man with a Camera.'
@@bmepdoc9675 Wow I think I remember that.
@@bmepdoc9675 I watched "The Great Escape" many times and read several books on it. I still have a Gold Box VHS edition featuring extra content. My cousin framed it for me several years ago. I could pull it out and play it but I no longer have a working VHS player. I'm going to look for one at Goodwill. I can probably find one in a couple of weeks at most. I'm fair at rehabing old equipment and my brother is more than competent at electronics. So I'll start working on it and he'll come along and say "You're screwing that all up" and then take over and fix it himself. Works every time.
Jimmy Stewart. Great.
FIND A BETTER COPY TAKE THIS DOWN>>> Aspect ratio very wrong. B52's are not 1000 feet wide with oval engines. (after about 18 minutes the aspect changes to too tall instead of too wide... now the wheels on cars are tall ovals instead of wide ovals )
Great film . Bronx early days . test pilots whose courage made way to space from Terra . ❤ Thanks all . Dave
Mary Tyler Moore??😮
Marry Tylermoore always loved her
WTF, why did you screw up the aspect ratio? Unwatchable.
That is not the fault of the person who posted this video. It is the only surviving copy of this motion picture. The problem with the aspect ratio only occurs on the scenes filmed by the Air Force that were inserted into the movie where they had to stretch the regular aspect ratio to match the widescreen presentation of the rest of the movie.
So do not watch and better yet, shut up.
These pilots were the first astronauts! 🇺🇲
Out of the 12 pilots who flew on the X-15 program, eight of them did achieve astronaut status and earned their astronaut wings. However, they were not the first astronauts. Two Russian Vostok astronauts (Gagarin and Titov) and four American Mercury astronauts (Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, and Carpenter) flew into space prior to the first astronaut qualification flight by X-15 pilot Robert White on 17 July 1962.
With all due respect to fearless Gagarin and Titov, I'm not sure they qualify today as 100% astronauts nor cosmonauts, as their space capsule was more of a wrecking ball. It had no flight controls and crash-landed by design. The pilots used an ejection seat (straight out of some MiG) to return home, and that was their only bit of piloting.
@@SPavlo Yes, they are still classified as cosmonauts. They may have ejected before their capsule landed, but that doesn't change the fact that they flew into orbit. If they don't qualify as such due to the fact that they were not flying their capsule, then no Mission Specialists, Payload Specialists, or anyone else who only flew as a passenger of some sort into orbit, would be qualified either.
@@x15galmichelleevans I totally agree, but... by the same criterions shouldn't the first cosmonaut be Laïka, the first female as well, and the first space martyr. Now, since the poor dog didn't land with her capsule, and was never intended too, this cannot count as an FAA record. This should belong to some NASA chimpanzee astronaut, I reckon 😎
@@SPavlo If you start counting animals who have flown in space, then the number of astronauts and cosmonauts will exponentially increase. Can't forget the first spider in space, Arabella.
when did zero zero ejection seats became a thing
This film is incredibly annoying, in that EVERY TIME the aircraft are shown in flight, they are visually stretched out of all proportion. The plot is a predictable Hollywood melodrama -- the aircraft are the stars!😡🤬😡👎
Just a coincidence that the number on the tail starts 666!
Yes, it is, since the aircraft were assigned their tail numbers in 1956, thus the official number is actually 56-6670, 56-6671, and 56-6672.
@@x15galmichelleevans one need only beware of that number if it is IN the palm or ON the forehead.
Only morons look for signs where there are none and attach spurious nonsense to it. 666 isn't even the devils number
@@watchgoose Yes, Damien would certainly agree. 🙂
Oh! It’s on my registration plate.
The flying banana...
Sabre Dance 1:20:10
Seemingly good quality, cast too, but boring...didn't hold my interest. And I love flying...
43:32 *The part you came to see. Those were probably BW monitors for the real blockhouse.*
Yuri Gagarn was the first man in space he was Russian. America came second again.
It was a long time ago and I'm working my failing memory real hard.But I seem to remember that there's a flag planted by I a certain group of men on the surface of the moon now who could that have been???????
@@stevewhite3424 Nope.........................................
Who got their nose rubbed in "it"by the end of the 60s?..the US could have had a man in space first, though it would have been suborbital.. we did everything out front in the open. The Russians knew were were about to launch Sheppard. As to the first satellite, we could have done that too if we wanted to...😢
@irish89055 But they did not.
Red caps := Redhat Linux
23:03 Love ❤ that shot two Sweeties 💕 in a convertible driving away in 60's Suburbia
Why do they have to put this romance crap in all these military action movies😡
So many personnel wearing their MAGA caps.
Unfortunately that is true in real life, but certainly not in this movie or in that time period. We were much smarter in those days.
I've always liked James Gregory, but as NASA One, he's annoying as hell.
Garbage aspect ratio
Terrible! All the Studio scenes were shot in 16x9 ratio but all the aviation film shot by USAF was obviously 4x3 stretched to 16x9 for the movie, This is just terrible and I just can't watch it.
There used to be a version when all the scenes were of the proper aspect ratio, but that has unfortunately disappeared. It used to air on TCM a very long time ago, and I have that version recorded on VHS, so I know that it existed.
you're suffering from petty mental illness
SURE PAL🤪 and you the Stephen Spielberg of film making 🤔
@@johnnycrash3270 Better than the guy who did this film in many ways. Tony Lazzarino made exactly one film, and this is it. Didn't exactly ignite his career. I devoted a good section of one chapter of my book on the X-15 to this movie, along with so many other aspects of the X-15 and the media.
Actually not 16:9 (a digital era standard) but most likely Super Panavision 70, with its much wider 11:5 proportion.
All BS you forgot to mention these guys can't even fly they German who could fly
So you've said BS in two different comments, yet have not said why or what you are talking about. Maybe you should try to make a bit more sense. Otherwise you just appear to be a troll.
BS All BS
Where can I get some Botany 500 clothing?
Did the X-15 actually launch from a Peace Maker? I never knew that.
The X-15 was launched from the wing of the B-52 Stratofortress mothership.