The 28 Apr 1990 Screen International announced plans by Touchstone Pictures to produce The Rocketeer, featuring aviation magnate Howard Hughes among its characters. Principal photography was expected to begin Jul 1990. On 21 Jul 1990, Screen International reported that production was scheduled to begin the following week, but the title character had not yet been cast. The producers were reportedly seeking a youthful version of actor Harrison Ford, and had already auditioned Don Johnson, Matthew Broderick, Johnny Depp, John Schneider, Hart Bochner, Rob Estes, and television actor William (Bill) Campbell. One week later, the 28 Jul 1990 Screen International announced that the role was awarded to Campbell, “not to be confused with character actor William Campbell,” a much older performer. The Rocketeer was intended to be the first installment of a trilogy. A news item in the 11 Aug 1990 Screen International stated that Penelope Ann Miller was cast in the role of “Jenny,” but was later replaced by Jennifer Connelly, as reported in the 23 Sep 1990 LAT. The 11 Jul 1991 LADN estimated the film’s budget at $40 million, $7 million of which was allocated for special effects.
       Director of Photography Hiro Narita told the Jun 1991 AmCin that he wanted the color picture to “duplicate the look” of 1930s black-and-white cinema. Narita drew inspiration from the book, Reel Art—Great Posters from the Golden Age of the Silver Screen, which contained full-color advertisements for black-and-white films. He achieved his goal by shooting thirty to forty percent of the picture with a recently-developed low-contrast version of Kodak 5296 film stock, and used a soft effects filter throughout. To accommodate the numerous special effects, Narita and director Joe Johnston decided to use anamorphic lenses, which captured a greater depth of field, after camera tests with standard “flat” lenses exposed the wires supporting “the Rocketeer” during his flight scenes. As a precaution, Narita made duplicate shots of flight sequences in 8-Perf VistaVision during production. The change to anamorphic lenses resulted in a need for larger sets, some of which were the largest Narita had ever encountered. Among them was the office of aviation tycoon Howard Hughes, constructed onto the back wall of an airplane hangar in San Pedro, CA. The office occupied one quarter of the hangar, which “opened out onto the hangar itself and that opened up to the outside.” The action and set design of the fictional film within the film, The Laughing Bandit, was copied from The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938, see entry), and the swordfight sequence was photographed at twenty-one frames per second, a slightly faster speed than the twenty-four frames per second used for 1938 film. Narita described the zeppelin set as an approximate re-creation of the ill-fated Hindenburg, and estimated its height at more than sixty-five feet. A remote control camera on a crane was required to film the action sequences on top of the airship. Because the set was stationary, camera movement simulated the movement of the zeppelin. The interior of the airship’s gondola was built on a soundstage in Santa Maria, CA. In the 11 Jul 1991 LADN, visual effects producer Patricia Blau noted that the thirty-five-foot long, 1/24 scale model zeppelin required sixty-three man hours to construct. It was destroyed with a series of bombs, which created small fires that appeared to be “one big flame” on screen. Flight scenes involving the “Rocketeer” were accomplished using either a stunt man, or one of two stop-motion puppets, each containing an aluminum skeleton with numerous joints to simulate human movement.
       Bill Campbell revealed in the 16 Jun 1991 Toronto Star that he had a fear of flying prior to appearing in the film, but had since taken up para-planing and hang-gliding. He explained that his flying sequences were achieved using a biplane with three cockpits, with the pilot seated in front, a camera operator in the middle, and Campbell in the rear. According to press materials from The Museum of Flight in Seattle, WA, the “Gee Bee” airplane used in the film was a modified reproduction of the 1931 Granville Brothers Gee Bee Model Z racing plane. Built by Bill Turner in 1975, the airplane, known as The City of Springfield, was purchased by The Walt Disney Corporation for the picture, and displayed at the Santa Monica Museum of Flying in Santa Monica, CA, before it was acquired by The Museum of Flight.
       “Lothar,” modeled on 1940s character actor Rondo Hatton, was played by Tiny Ron wearing elaborate prosthetic makeup. Hatton, best known for playing “the Creeper” in three horror movies, suffered from a glandular disease called acromegaly that distorted his hands and face. Narita, who had no previous experience photographing actors in prosthetics, developed a system with makeup artist Greg Nelson to color and light the prosthetics “for maximum realism.” Production notes in AMPAS library files state that the six prosthetics required four hours to apply. Twenty-five makeup artists and hair stylists were on set for the air show and nightclub sequences, which included up to 650 background actors, each of which was given an authentic period look. Actors Timothy Dalton, Terry O’Quinn, Ed Lauter, and Alan Arkin wore either wigs or hairpieces for the film.
       The interior of the Mayan-style mansion where “Neville Sinclair” was based on the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Ennis House in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. It is unclear whether the production filmed in the house or built a studio replica.
       The 24 Jun 1991 Var stated that five special-effects scenes in the screenplay did not appear in the film. One such scene involved a klieg light operator falling from the roof of Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA. He is rescued by the Rocketeer, who inadvertently plants his feet in a patch of wet concrete. Theater owner Sid Grauman signs the hero’s name under the footprints as the Rocketeer flies away.
       The 12 Nov 1990 DV reported that stuntmen Jim Madeiras and Michael Sarna were injured at 3:30 a.m. the previous Saturday, while filming near the Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles, CA. The two men were performing a stunt in which they were to be pulled by a car at approximately seven miles per hour, and collide with a fence made of balsa wood. According to the studio, one of the stuntmen “missed his mark” and broke through the fence, falling eight feet into a tree. Madeiras was rendered unconscious, while Sarna sustained minor injuries. However, Police Sergeant John Johnston stated that the stuntmen were pulled along the ground at a higher speed than intended, propelling them through the fence and past the mattresses placed to break their fall. Johnston estimated that Sarna fell twenty-five feet, and Madeiras fell fifty feet before hitting the tree. Sarna was released from the hospital after being treated for facial wounds, and Madeiras was listed in “critical but stable conditions from head injuries.”
       As noted in the 11 Jan 1991 HR, location photography took place 15 and 16 Jan 1991 at Walt Disney-MGM Studios, later known as Disney’s Hollywood Studios, in Bay Lake, FL. A summer 1991 release was scheduled.
       The 7 Dec 1990 Santa Barbara News-Press announced that the Santa Maria Museum of Flight in Santa Maria, CA, was considering the purchase of the 1930s airport set constructed for the film, which consisted of three hangars, a storage building, and a set of bleachers. The set was built at the Santa Maria Airport, where location filming took place during Oct 1990. Under the terms of its lease with the airport, the production company was required to demolish the sets and move the debris to a landfill once filming was completed. However, this would have been in violation of a state regulation requiring “public entities to reduce the amount of garbage they dump into landfills.” Airport General Manager Dan Hoback recommended that the Santa Maria Airport District transfer the structures to “a third party,” preferably with an interest in aviation, and move them to a different location. He intended the largest of the three hangars to be relocated to land leased by the Museum of Flight, for use as an exhibit. Although the structures were sturdy enough to withstand being moved, all would require improvements to conform to building code standards.
       The Rocketeer opened to mixed reviews. While the 10 Jun 1991 DV predicted a favorable audience response, the 21 Jun 1991 NYT found the picture “too slight to engage adult audiences, yet overcomplicated for children.” The DV estimated the film’s budget at $40 million, and noted that the character, “Neville Sinclair,” was inspired by actor Errol Flynn, who has been rumored to be a spy for Nazi Germany.
       End credits include the following statements: “Special thanks to Republic Pictures and their Rocketman and Commando Cody characters,” which were the prototypes for the Rocketeer in matinee serials (including King of the Rocket Men, 1949) and on early television. End credits also give the following acknowledgment: “The producers wish to thank the Santa Maria Airport District and the people of Santa Maria Valley for their cooperation and support.”