McConnell Story, The

VHS, 107 minutes, WARNER

An ace of aces wings into the blue. As the alarm wails, Joe McConnell and his squadron of Sabre pilots thunder down the runway. In seconds they're airborne. The mission: keep enemy planes away from helicopters evacuating wounded infantrymen. The destination: the deadly corridor called MIG Alley. "The McConnell Story" stars Alan Ladd ("Shane," "The Blue Dahlia") as true-life American war ace and jet aviation pioneer Capt. Joseph McConnell Jr. June Allyson co-stars as McConnell's devoted wife. And James Whitmore plays the commander who first recognizes McConnell's prowess as a "tiger of the sky." In war, McConnell became America's first triple jet ace, downing 16 enemy planes. In peace, he braved the unknown as a test pilot in the jet-era's infancy. Yet he almost didn't become a pilot at all. The Army had a spot in the Medical Corps picked out for him. The MPs had a cell in the brig for him. And when World War II Air Cadet training finally came his way, McConnell was given a B-17 navigator's compass instead of wings. But he never lost sight of his dream. And in the darting, swerving flight sequences of "The McConnell Story" you'll see that dream come alive.