from release until 1950. In order to realistically depict the flight testing, permission was obtained to film at various Air Force bases, including Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards Air Force Base). Location shooting also occurred at the San Fernando Valley Airport (now Van Nuys Airport). A realistic full-scale JA-3/JA-4 model created by Paul Mantz, the aerial sequence director, was built for $15,000. The origins of the film model stemmed from a derelict Bell P-39 Airacobra fuselage that had been reworked by Vince Johnson, an expert "lofter". The Warner Bros. contract called for completion of a realistic (if futuristic) fighter able to taxi and deploy parachutes. Besides the full-scale model used for most of the ground sequences, a number of scale models were built. A Willis JA-3 fibreglass miniature used in the production, measuring 80 in. long and a wingspan of 59 in., was auctioned in 2009 for $1,300. Revisiting his use of the wartime fleet of aircraft that he had obtained for films such as Twelve O'Clock High (1949), Mantz's B-17F, 42–3369, appearing as “Naughty Nellie,” recreated the wartime missions that the central character recalls in a flashback sequence. Stock footage of bomber missions over Germany includes a brief view of the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket fighter that is the inspiration for the later postwar supersonic fighter that one of the central characters envisions. Reception The film fared well with the public, as record-breaking aircraft were often in the news. When Chain Lightning premiered at the recently renamed Edwards Air Force Base, where location shooting had taken place, veteran pilots such as Chuck Yeager were able to easily spot the film's artifice, especially in a scene in which the Willis JA-3 is towed down the runway with the tow cable clearly evident. Box Office According to Warner Bros. accounts, the film earned $1,665,000 domestically and $890,000 foreign. Critical Chain Lightning is considered by some as among Bogart's lesser features, and some have argued that it has the look of a B film. The main criticism stems from a limited plotline that does not fully allow for the characters' development. A contemporary review in The New York Times stated that the true star of the film was the technology on display: "Like its title, this vehicle moves with exciting speed when it is airborne, but it slows down to a plodding walk... when it hits the ground." With the incorporation