Alan Baker William Holden was the biggest male star in Hollywood in the mid fifties after a string of hit movies (Stalag 17, Bridges at Toko Ri, Country Girl, Sabrina, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, Picnic). At the time many of Tinseltown's big names were setting up their own production companies (Bogart's Santana, Wayne's Batjaq, Kirk Douglas' Bryna); Holden also set up his own. "Toward the Unknown" was Toluca Productions only film and if you sit through it you'll know why. Turgid dialogue mouthed by miscast actors all seemingly off form. Holden plays a burned out ex POW Korean vet who belongs to the please yourself section of the Air Force so turns up unannounced at top secret Edwards Air Force base looking for a ride. Nobody asks to see his orders, just like real life. Base Commander is Lloyd Nolan, an actor who may be alright as a country lawyer, but not cutting it as a crack test pilot. Nolan turns Holden down as a test pilot as he thinks he will be unreliable, in spite of employing a histrionic recovering alcoholic played by an over acting Murray Hamilton as his top jock. He also employs a lunatic aide who seems to have wandered in from a different movie. Complicating things is Holden's old flame and current beau of Nolan played by Virginia Leith with all the charisma and acting talent of Barbie's ugly sister. Holden shouldn't worry about not getting the hot ships as Nolan seems to do all the flying himself. There's lots of irrelevant stock footage of nearly everything in the Air Force inventory and it's amazing that the Air Force and Manufacturers cooperated in the making of the movie as nearly every flight seems to end in a crash Even the aircraft are miscast as we are asked to believe that a failed early fifties light bomber (the Martin XB-51) is a hot new fighter. Unfortunately, it's wings are skinned in wet bedsheets but nobody will believe Holden when he tells them. James Garner makes his movie debut as an ill fated pilot but spends most of the time looking bemused as if wondering if the movies are the right way for a grown man to earn a living. This tripe was written by ex pilot Beirne Lay Jr. who had written the much better "Strategic Air Command" the year before. Respected director Mervyn Le Roy seems to have phoned his work in while Holden spends the movie looking as though he wished he was somewhere else.

irac123 I would like to purchase this movie as it has been out of circulation for almost 20 years. If anyone has any prior knowledge to any upcoming commercial free viewing of this excellent filmed classic please post the dates and times of wonderful classic adventure. This movie is the best film flight adventure movie ever made with at the time it was filmed it contained an all star cast. The flight scenes performed by the United States Air Force made "Top Gun", "Strategic Air Command", "The Hunters","McConnell Story" "Air Force" and even William Holden's classic "The Bridges at Toko-Ri appear as good runner-ups. I hope this comment raises interest in Warner Bros. re-introducing the fine classic on DVD or at the very least an unlimited airing of this movie on a commercial free cable movie channel. Please e-mail if this will happen.

Jim Atkins The basis of this film is the true story of Walker "Bud" Mahurin, an Air Force double ace (WW II and Korea) who was shot down in Korea and while in a POW camp, was tortured into signing bogus confessions of war crimes. When he was released, he was instrumental in changing content of AF survival courses to reflect this mistreatment.This movie has some beautiful flying scenes, but it is more than just another flying movie. William Holden is excellent as the emotionally shattered pilot attempting a comeback from disgrace. The supporting cast is pretty fair, with the exception of L.Q. Jones in a thankless comic relief part (not to cast aspersions on him as an actor, the part really bites). The aviation content is generally accurate, with some rare footage of the Bell X-2 and a failed bomber, the Martin B-51, marked in the movie as the Gilbert XF-120. If this came out on DVD, I'd sure buy it in a hot second!Regarding Txgmajor's comment below on the XB-51- one of the main reasons this plane wasn't built was the fact that Glenn Martin, owner of Martin Aircraft and maker of the B-51, sided with the Navy regarding the political dogfight over control of Naval aviation and the merits of the Air Force's pet bomber project at the time, the B-36, featured in Jimmy Stewart's "Strategic Air Command". Martin did build the Canberra bomber for the USAF under license, but never again was able to sell an original design to the Air Force. Old grudges die hard.

zchicco William Holden at his best, a great cast with LLoyd Nolan as base Commander. Good story, marvelous air sequences and a lot of special airplanes since the movie airport is Edward Air Force Base (ex Muroc ) where all the USAF prototypes made test flights. In the movie there are several interesting planes like the XF-92 Dagger, the Martin XB-51, Lockheed F-94 C Starfire, Boeing B-50 and Bell X-2, X-3 Stiletto , Convair B-36, Convair C-131, The Thunderbirds on F-84 F. A must for all aviation buffs and Holden's fan. This movie is seldom seen and is not available on the VHS or DVD market. Among the actors, a very young James Garner .