James Stewart, Charles Bronson, and Mary Tyler Moore!?  All in a film directed by Richard Donner!?

Well, kind of.

James Stewart does not actually appear onscreen in 1961’s X-15.  However, he does provide the narration, explaining to us the origins of the NASA’s X-15 project and why it’s important that America be the first to explore and conquer space.  He talks about the men who risked their lives to test the rocket and the women who supported them and who started every day with the knowledge that they might never see their husband again after he left for work.  There’s something undeniably comforting about hearing Stewart’s voice in this film.  It’s the voice of an idealized America.  It’s a little weary.  There’s definitely a bit of age in the voice.  It’s the voice of a man and a country that has had to survive a lot, especially over the past few years.  But it’s also an incurably optimistic voice.  You hear that voice and you know that everything is going to be okay.

Richard Donner’s directorial debut, X-15 is a docudrama that often plays out like a commercial for the X-15 and America’s young space program.  The film mixes actual footage of the X-15 with scenes of the pilots returning (and sometimes not returning) home.  The emphasis is on each man doing what needs to be done to make the program a success and each woman doing what she has to do to support her man.  Throughout the film, there are scenes where the wives and the girlfriends of the pilots hear sirens and explosions and silently hope that they won’t be the one getting the call.

Making her film debut, Mary Tyler Moore plays Pamela, the girlfriend of pilot Matt Powell (played, in rather dull fashion, by David McLean).  When Pamela first arrives at the base, the wives warn her about overreacting to every explosion.  Major Rinaldi (Brad Dexter) warns her to not even try to get pregnant because that would take Powell away from the program.  (When Rinaldi talks to Pamela, he comes across as more than just being a 50s-style sexist.  That would be expected, considering that the film was made in 1961.  Instead, Rinaldi actually comers across as being rather threatening.  It’s kind of disturbing, to be honest.)  Pamela comes to understand the importance of Matt’s work and Matt …. well, Matt’s kind of dull.

Actually, despite being played by wonderful character actors like James Gregory and Kenneth Tobey, just about every man in this film is kind of boring.  This is one of those films that celebrates the idea of cold, hard professionalism.  No one shows much emotion, even when one of the pilots is killed in an accident.  No one is blamed.  No one is shouted at.  It’s just something that happens and everyone understands the risks.  It’s actually an admirable attitude and one reason why I have a thing for pilots.  But the deliberate blandness of the pilots in X-15 makes it difficult to keep track of who’s who.  The only male actor who makes a real impression is Charles Bronson, playing Lt. Col. Brandon.  Bronson’s incredible screen presence makes up for the fact that his character doesn’t have much of a personality.

That said, it’s a bit of a disappointment that Jimmy Stewart is not onscreen and Mary Tyler Moore has to share her scenes not with Bronson but instead with the dull David McLean.  When the film was released in 1961, it was providing audiences with something that they hadn’t seen before and I imagine it was truly exciting to see a rocket fly, however briefly, into space.  However, modern audiences have seen Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick.  I’ve seen The Right Stuff, which covers much of the same material as X-15.  As a result, when viewed today, X-15 is a bit dull and features little of the flair that would characterize Richard Donner’s later directorial efforts.  Today, the main reason to watch the film is for Stewart, Moore, and Bronson.  Not having them acting opposite each other feels like a huge missed opportunity.