Plot

Bomber pilot Joe Kelly crashes his plane, and is captured by enemy troops and loses his memory from a strike on his head after the crash. Joe is given a fallen comrade’s identity tags and assumes another identity. When Joe is not found in the wreckage, he is assumed missing in action. After two years, he is presumed dead. The film then explores how his wife, Claire, sets out to find him, unaware that he had made it back to the States, under an assumed name. She is also unaware that Joe is suffering from amnesia

Amnesia

Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...

. However, at the end of the movie, the B-24 bomber becomes a critical part of the plot when a wrecked B-24 is restored to save the day.

Real-life inspiration

Beautiful Dreamer is loosely based on the lives of the crew of the B-24 Liberator

B-24 Liberator

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...

 Starduster. Captain Willis Miller was a B-24 pilot in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 who along with his crew were members of the 392 Bomb Group, 577th/579th Squadron, 2nd Division, of the 8th Air Force. The Starduster crew flew over 30 missions over Europe, suffering no casualties throughout the war despite risking their lives every day.

The entire Starduster crew received the Distinguished Flying Cross

Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)

The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...

 and the Air Medal

Air Medal

The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...

 with Oak Leaf Clusters, while Miller was awarded five Distinguished Flying Crosses and Jackson "Jack" Crane, First Lt. received the Silver Star

Silver Star

The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....

. While flying a mission in their B-24 over Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

, Miller and crew was involved in a fire fight which damaged the aircraft. Miller crash-landed the bomber with no fatalities.

Cast

Brooke Langton

Brooke Langton

Brooke Langton is an American actress. She is best known for the role of Samantha Reilly on the original Melrose Place.-Personal life:...

 - Claire Kelly

Colin Egglesfield

Colin Egglesfield

Colin Egglesfield is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal as Dr. Josh Madden in the long-running soap opera All My Children, as well as Auggie Kirkpatrick in The CW's short-lived teen drama Melrose Place....

 - Joe Kelly

James Denton

James Denton

James "Jamie" Thomas Denton, Jr. is an American film and television actor, best known for playing Mike Delfino in the television series Desperate Housewives.-Early life:...

 - Dr. Kessler

Barry Corbin

Barry Corbin

Leonard Barrie Corbin, known as Barry Corbin , is an American actor with more than one hundred film, television and video game credits.-Early life:...

 - Grandpa

Rusty Schwimmer

Rusty Schwimmer

Rusty Schwimmer is an American film and television actress and singer. Her most prominent role so far is that of Barbara Ludzinski on The Guardian.Among her movie appearances are those as Joey B in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, Mrs...

 - Jeannie

William Lee Scott

William Lee Scott

William Lee Scott is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of dim-witted high school student Stanley "Bullethead" Kuznocki on the WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show...

 - Will

Lauren Woodland

Lauren Woodland

Lauren Woodland is an American actress.-Career:Woodland has been acting since childhood. In 1989, she appeared in the Fox Network science fiction series Alien Nation as the child newcomer Emily Francisco...

 - Racheal

Elise Jackson

Elise Jackson

Elise Jackson is an American actress.-Career:Jackson is a longtime theater actress who made the transition into film while attending the University of Southern California when she landed her first big role playing Sherry in the World War II feature film Beautiful Dreamer...

- Sherry