The Great Waldo Pepper

1975

The Great Waldo Pepper

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

57%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 2,465

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The Great Waldo Pepper Photos

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Movie Info

Former WWI pilot Waldo Pepper works in an air show. After losing his performance permit, he gets a job as a movie stunt pilot. On the set, he meets a former German ace. The film ends with both men proving to themselves what they'd failed to prove during the war.

Rating:

PG
Genre:

Action & Adventure, Drama
Directed By:

George Roy Hill
Written By:

George Roy Hill, William Goldman
In Theaters:

Mar 13, 1975 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Jun 15, 1998
Runtime:

108 minutes
Studio:

Universal

Cast

Robert Redford
as Waldo Pepper

Bo Svenson
as Axel Olsson

Susan Sarandon
as Mary Beth

Bo Brundin
as Ernst Kessler

Geoffrey Lewis
as Newt

Edward Herrmann
as Ezra Stiles

Philip Bruns
as Dillhoefer

Roderick Cook
as Werfel

Kelly Jean Peters
as Patsy

Margot Kidder
as Maude

Scott Newman
as Duke

James S. Appleby
as Ace

Patrick W. Henderson Jr.
as Scooter

James N. Harrell
as Farmer

Elma Aicklen
as Farmer's Wife

Deborah Knapp
as Farmer's Daughter

John A. Zee
as Director Western Set

John Reilly
as Western Star

Jack Manning
as Director Spanish Set

Joe Billings
as Policeman

Robert W. Winn
as Theater Manager

Lawrence P. Casey
as German Star

Greg Martin
as Assistant Director

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Critic Reviews for The Great Waldo Pepper

All Critics (9) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (6) | Rotten (3)

It doesn't have any big notions about the passing of that era, or of the barnstormers, who are seen as overgrown kids with wonderful toys that fly. But it has a good feeling for the period, and director George Roy Hill gives us poignancy and adventure.

Oct 23, 2004 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic
It has all the elements of a fantastic, touching movie, except one - a script that engages the audience's interest.

Dec 5, 2019 | Full Review…

Jacoba Atlas
Los Angeles Free Press
The Great Waldo Pepper is vastly entertaining and a good deal more besides.

Oct 4, 2019 | Full Review…

Bernard Drew
Gannett News Service
Great aerial stunts, good period atmosphere, and compelling story with Redford in good form.

Apr 20, 2007 | Rating: 4/5

Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com

View All Critic Reviews (9)

Audience Reviews for The Great Waldo Pepper

Mar 15, 2019

It's hard to believe it now, but there was a time that if you had an airplane you could fly it anywhere, anytime, and you could use the gas from any gas station. This story takes place at the end of that era. Redford plays a good pilot who is untested, in his own eyes and in the eyes of his fellows and watches anxiously as the chance for that testing slips away. Already the feds are moving in with their laws and regulations, fencing off the sky itself. George Roy Hill, the director and a pilot himself (along with William Goldman, writer, and Henry Mancini doing the music) capture the breezy spirit of that freedom, the freedom of the air, and those times with some melancholy and longing.

Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
Sep 05, 2010

The airplane stunts in this movie are exciting, and the drama in the movie is pretty good, and it's kind of sad too. I hated the end, though. This movie was good, but it could have been better.

Aj V Super Reviewer
Jan 05, 2008

i thought this was a pretty good movie wouldnt say it was really my favourite type of movie and the whole plot and storyline of it could have been alot better but the peformances in the film were good some could have been better though

Lone W Super Reviewer