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| The 'veiled' Amelia Earhart, 1923 |
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| Does Hilary Swank's new film examine the real Earhart? |
[See
Review Article Below Introduction and Photos]
Fox-Searchlight's 'Amelia' offers a toned down, if not 'politically
correct' version of Amelia Earhart's life during her nine years of fame... 'Slumdog Millionaire' Won Best Picture Of 2008. An Amelia Earhart Biopic Directed By India's
Mira Nair Opened In Late 2009. With Its International Viewpoint Of The Legendary Pilot, The Movie 'Amelia' Offers A Far Cry
From Amy Adams' Portrayal Of Earhart In Fox's 'Night At The Museum' Sequel, Though It's Still Not Enough. INTRODUCTION 2008's Academy Award winner for Best Picture was Fox-Searchlight's
'Slumdog Millionaire.' In 'Slumdog' an early question asked in India's version of the TV game show, "Who Wants To Be
A Millionaire" foreshadowed the quest of Fox-Searchlight's recent film about Amelia Earhart. The answer to the question
refers to a sentence found on India's National Emblem; "The Truth Alone Triumphs."
As well, the 'Amelia' film trailer for the Earhart biopic Directed by India's Mira Nair opens with the words "Discover
The True Story." But do we? For
years Hollywood's film going public waited to be enlightened about Amelia Earhart by way of a major motion picture effort.
Such anticipation left the producers of Hilary Swank's new film 'Amelia' no choice but to at least try and be responsible
to the legendary pilot's controversial subject matter. In the end however, they ended up responsible to conventionally acknowledged
history as opposed to real history, leaving their offer to fall short of what
was hoped for. And too bad for
the truly curious. Basically the viewer is left with a 'Big Brother' version of the 1937 Amelia Earhart disappearance case;
one that ignores important old truths while stretching certain allegations to appear as new truths. It would have been a much
welcomed change where so much spoon-fed to the public hearsay about Amelia's story through the media stood to be corrected
by Fox-Searchlight's effort. In the end, rather, it became a great artistic achievement production-value wise, yet somewhat
irresponsibly for the amount of money and effort it took, the film 'Amelia' diffuses if not ingores crucial facts and/particulars
about Amelia's life during her last few years in the U. S. (before she turned up 'missing.') One example of a new diversion;
the recent years Susan Butler and Gore Vidal conveyed rumor of FDR Bureau of Air Commerce Chief Gene Vidal (Gore's Father)
and Amelia having had a deep love affair is being issued as a truehood by the film, where otherwise it had always existed
as psuedo-history at best. Gene Vidal had been a close liaison to both Amelia and her husband George Putnam by virtue of joint
airline ventures, Amelia's high profile career, and Vidal's own Bureau of Air Commerce postion under FDR. Their friendship was descirbed as
a 'platonic' one with their noticeable 'deep mutual' admiration for each other, but there was never any discovery or admission
of physical intimacy. Indeed, it was always plain old 'gossip' until now. Not to mention, 'Amelia' Screenwriter Ron Bass took
the trying 'business partnership marriage' between Earhart and Putnam and turned it into a complex love story Richard Gere
as Putnam, and Hilary Swank as Amelia appeared anxious to play out. Where the Earhart-Putnam marital history and even newsreel
footage displayed awkwardness between them always, to include difficulty with Amelia kissing the 'lens-louse' and 'far less
dashing than Gere' George Putnam..., Earhart herself might have actually liked kissing Gere if she'd been given such a choice.
Who knows? (Please scroll down for further 'Beyond 37' insights...)
| Non-retouched photo of Irene-Amelia, early 1978. |
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| With copy generation loss and harsh lighting, all of her eighty years are easily detectable. |
| Overlay: Irene + Amelia = Irene-Amelia |
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| See "Important Comparison Samples" page-link for more... |
| Overlay: Irene + Amelia = Irene-Amelia |
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| See Important Comparison Samples |
[Note: More photos & comparisons
appear at the bottom of the page.]
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The FOX-Searchlight feature film 'Amelia' was Directed by India's Mira Nair. Hilary Swank
served as an Executive Producer while handling the role of Amelia Earhart. Viewers now have a conventional and 'innocent'
version of Earhart's story. ['Amelia' opened in theaters on 10/23/09 and was released
to DVD on 2/1/10]
Initially Director Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games)
signed Hilary Swank to play the role of Amelia Earhart in October, 2007. Mr. Noyce had his 'Amelia & George' project in
development since 2001. His company, Rumbalara, along with the equally noteworthy Don Carmody Productions of Canada had teamed
up to spirit his 'ever changing' project forward. Then, it seemed not long after Gateway Technologies co-founder Ted Waitt
stepped in as lead financier with his diversified 'Avalon' corporation, by early 2008 Phillip Noyce had 'reluctantly' left the project. Subsequently Amelia was assigned
to the esteemed Director Ms. Mira Nair of India, (Salaam Bombay) (The Namesake) (Mississippi Masala) (Kama Sutra: A Tale of
Love.) Ms. Nair, now a veteran New Yorker was a more than adequate replacement, and Fox-Searchlight welcomed her new vision
to its Earhart film project.
Co-Executive
Producer Hilary Swank stars as Amelia in the film. Initially Avalon released a blurb hinting how screenwriter, Ron Bass (Oscar
winner for Rainman) looked to have profiled a story around Jane Mendelsohn's historical novel, I Was Amelia Earhart. (Back in 1996 Fine Line Features purchased the rights to Jane Mendelsohn's book for
seven hundred thousand dollars.) However, the Bass screenplay (the initial shooting script) was quite different. During the
2008 Writers Guild Strike Ms. Swank did mention how the screenplay was still in need of serious attention. Ron Bass naturally
remained as the screenwriter, but the traditionally safe Amelia Earhart biographers, Mary Lovell and Susan Butler were brought
on board to buff-up various historical authentication points. What hinted towards the film as a conservative offering, was the additional enlistment of Elgen Long as an adviser.
Mr. Long was Amelia's late Sister Muriel's good friend, (Muriel Earhart Morrissey, Amelia's only sibling who died in 1998)
and he was a known status-quo history supporter. Mr. Long published a book several years ago to assure all how Amelia simply
crashed and sank... and that was it. [Of note, Muriel Morrissey and Elgen Long were also profiled in the 1982 New Jersey News
Tribune 'Irene Craigmile Bolam versus Amelia Earhart' series.] Weighing the tonage of information directly contradicting Mr.
Long, few who studied Earhart's loss were left believing in his ideas. A pilot himself with great charisma, since the 1970s
with 'U. S. official silence' about Earhart
always in effect, Mr. Long steered his efforts towards promoting such a 'politically correct' Amelia ending through the news
media to the public. Indeed, along with the Earhart and O'Crowley family viewpoints as well as the government's 'silent' one,
Mr. Long's represents the closest offering to a politically correct Earhart
version, be it a historically misconstrued one in general. Prior to engaging Mr. Long's services, Avalon issued a somewhat misleading press release, mentioning how the story ended
with fliers Earhart and Noonan ditching on a desert island they called "Heaven." The Mendelsohn book also referred
to "Heaven" as the Island the two fliers end up on. The Swank/Avalon version initially focuses on the time Amelia first became famous in 1928, after publisher and explorer
George Palmer Putnam cold-called the rare woman pilot with an important 'history making flight offer.' Amelia was doing Social
Work at Boston's Denison House when he called, and the story picks up from there. [Of course 1928 marked the year following
Charles Lindbergh's triumph as the first person to solo a plane across the Atlantic Ocean.] Putnam was married to Dorothy Binney at the time he called Amelia in 1928...
Binney, the Crayola Crayon heiress who 'was' to be played by Virginia Madsen. (George Putnam is being played
by Richard Gere, Earhart's 1937 world flight navigator, Fred Noonan is being played by Christopher Eccleston, Gene Vidal is
played by Ewen McGregor.) In real history,
Putnam had been assigned to interview Amelia Earhart as a replacement for a wealthy socialite named Amy Phipps Guest, a chief-financier
of the 'history making' flight. Ms. Phipps was initially scheduled to become the first female passenger to fly in an airplane
across the Atlantic Ocean. Lady pilot Amelia, who beyond flying in her spare time was mostly serving as a 'nanny figure' to
the children of Denison House then, indeed was interviewed by Putnam and quickly approved. She then flew in a plane called
'The Friendship' piloted by Wilmer Stultz and Lou Gordon, and the success of the flight led to Amelia's sudden world fame,
although she humbly described her contribution as comparable to what "a sack of potatoes" could have done. After her fame-making flight, Amelia joined the prestigious
Zonta Sisterhood organization for women, and the following year Amelia co-founded the 99's and was elected its 1st President.
Amelia would also end up marrying George Putnam in 1931 after his divorce from Dorothy Binney. Yet during their wedding ceremony,
at the altar Amelia handed Putnam what has been described as one of the first modern prenuptial agreements, asking him for
an 'out' if things didn't quite work as she hoped. She mentioned she might find contentment hard to come by in "even
the most attractive cage" any marriage could present. Then a year later in 1932, Amelia became the first woman to solo
a plane across the Atlantic Ocean, validating her world fame and further sealing her legendary status for posterity. Five
years later she left Miami, Florida on June 1, 1937 for her 'ambassador of good will, world flight adventure.' Except she
never completed her journey, and legend left it where Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan were never seen nor heard
from again, after their radio fell silent while the two were still safely airborne on July 2, 1937. Shrouded in enigma, eventually there would be no doubt according to later
found 1938 FDR Presidential documents, that a higher source of information about Earhart and Noonan's true fate had been withheld
from the public by the White House. To this day however, no one is able to exact what the withheld information amounted to
as it was never made public. The best anyone had to go on there, initially at least, were words spoken by one of FDR's right
hand men in Cabinet member Henry P. Morgenthau Jr. on Amelia Earhart's 1937 incident, as recorded by a White House Dictaphone
in May of 1938; "I hope I've just got to never make it public." Mr. Morgenthau also remarked how Amelia "absolutely
disregarded all orders" and specified how her "reputation" was on the line if the White House divulged what
it knew. Later, according to most all scholarly Earhart investigative researchers (as opposed to the lot of exploitative sensationalists)
additional learned information left it a certainty; Amelia Earhart had somehow ended up existing under Japan's auspice after
she turned up missing in July of 1937 for an unspecified amount of time. Also indefinitely
determined was something debated to this day: Where Amelia Earhart survived under some hidden care of Japan, did she
remain there against her will, or voluntarily(?) Since the 1960s the idea of Amelia having contrived and/or executed some
sort of Greta Garbo like escape to get away from the public eye, has been met by stoic
official silence and even diversion to other information about Amelia, of which there is plenty to defer to, and so much left
the true story of Amelia's hidden survival white-washed by the media in the curious eyes of the public. It had also remained
clear since the 1940s, how the world public had moved past Amelia Earhart's disappearance by resigning itself to accept her
as a no-longer living person after July 2, 1937. And even where Amelia's body did survive, in a way the Amelia people knew
really did cease to exist forever on that fateful day. Later, the astutely curious recalled it as strange where Amelia could only transmit and not receive during the last
hours of her flight, before her radio fell silent altogether after she reported her last line of position. It was always known
she and Noonan were still safely airborne at the time she made her final transmission, with what should have been at least four to five hours of fuel remaining. Yet nothing more was 'officially' heard from the duo after her
last line of position report, and according to the obviously false 'official history' of the matter, no contact with or sighting of Amelia, Fred Noonan, or their plane
was achieved ever again. In essence, and no
matter what really happened, the world famous spirit of Amelia Earhart as people had recognized it for nine previous years
was no longer part of the vessel it had been using after July 2, 1937, even though such a great spirit would easily live on,
as would its further 're-identified' vessel. After
a large scale two-week U. S. Navy search effort failed to locate her, history suggested how Amelia most likely ended up 'lost
at sea; presumed dead.' But in later years her true fate became one of the greatest subjects of debate world historians would
ever contend with, as the former Amelia Earhart's quiet name-changed return to the U. S. most assuredly ended up sealed by an executive order originating in the United States, and extending to post war Japan and England.
Such an arrangement no-doubt dated back to General Douglass MacArthur's new post-war Shogun stature in Japan, coupled with
his strong-arm influence over the new U. S. President Truman's end-of-war administration. Viewers might also be anxious to see how the film addresses the age-old conveyance dating back to
Amelia's fame years, of how in 1928 the then thirty-year old Amelia Earhart had been existing as a family-secret 'unwed mother'
since 1924, when she was surprised by George Putnam's out of the blue phone call. Simply put however, the topic was ingored.
The film does not venture to where Amelia's theorized 'awareness of' and 'continued contact' with her described 'love-child'
was something she had always kept hidden from the public, and even from George Putnam. Nor how said reality may have played
a hand in her 1937 exit from an unforgiving public life, and her consistently up and down if not 'troubled' relationship with
her manager-husband. Both arenas (theoretically) Amelia Earhart had tactfully developed her own private way of addressing
throughout her nine years of fame. She would always remain a profoundly great and remarkable person, although it appears evident
anymore how she was aware of a different 'personal agenda' only herself and the very few individuals who were closest to her,
could have at all comprehended. As well, as
a pilot the real Amelia was more casual where Swank's Earhart depicts her as otherwise. People who knew Amelia recalled how
she'd 'kick her leg up and rest it' at times while 'flying with one hand and eating a piece of fruit with the other as if
she was cruising down some highway.' Or she'd guide the plane with her knee or just let if fly by itself while taking pictures
out the widow. Swank's Amelia makes it appear as if piloting a plane was more of a stressful chore for the legendary aviator.
Hilary Swank's movie portrays Amelia
Earhart's 'climb to fame' profile within its traditional limits. Not many interesting 'unheard of before' nuances are addressed.
Still, Amelia had quite a complex personality (President Hoover mistakenly thought she had a death-wish) and a great, high-profile
family connected to American history dating back to the Revolutionary War days. It touches on some of these realities, although
it barely addresses the controversial others. In the meantime, also ignored by the film where it is still void of authentic
validaton, it remains contested how Amelia's biological Granddaughter resides in the United States today, non-recognized by
the public for who she truly is.
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| Earhart Mishap at Lockheed In Burbank, 1937 |
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| See Clearer Text Caption Re-Produced Below, And Explanation |
Photo caption: "Amela Earhart escaped injury in this pile-up
off the end of Lockheed's runway at Burbank, CA. Shortly after this photo was made, Earhart and Noonan disappeared on their
Round the World flight, May 20 - 3 July, 1937." The new Hilary Swank film was never slated for a new controversial look at Amelia Earhart's true story. One
example of myriad information it avoids is found in the above photo. It displays yet another Lockheed Electra Earhart and
Noonan were training in during a close call she had. The 'X' on the tail denotes 'experimental.' This same plane was also
outfitted with a giant parachute that opened from the tail of its fuselage in order to stop it quick on a short runway. Amelia
Earhart's original flight plan also came close to engaging a mid-air fueling operation. Not to mention a former Lockheed employee
and good friend of Amelia's, Lloyd Royer did recall how more than one airplane was worked on for the purpose of Earhart's
1937 flight. While it is evident Earhart and Noonan only flew in Amelia's Electra as they circled the globe, where another
aircraft was described as 'likely involved' during the Pacific Ocean part of the flight, (Note: the J. A. Donahue book, The British Connection) it would have most likely been flown by another team of
British endorsed pilots. Directly below: See the left column photo elements obtained in 2002 that enabled Earhart Investigative Researcher, Tod
Swindell's forensic discovery of more than one person having shared the same Irene Craigmile Bolam identity. For a more detailed
look see the 'Eye Comparisons' link. THE TRUTH!
See Below: Different Human Beings Who Used The Same Identity, One Aligns With AE. [Separation Realization
Made By Beyond 37']
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| 2006 Family identified 'Irene Craigmile Bolam' |
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| AKA 'Irene Jr.,' AKA 'Non Gervais-Irene,' 1940s |
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| !982 New Jersey Tribune photo. |
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| 2006 Family indentified Irene Craigmile Bolam, AKA Irene Jr., AKA Non Gervais-Irene |
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Below: 1945-1982 Irene-Amelia
| 1945, the 'former AE' after nose & dental work |
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| AKA The Gervais-Irene (Earliest known photo of this particular Irene Craigmile Bolam, FKA 'AE') |
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Below: 1945-1982 Irene-Amelia
| 8/8/65 Gervais photo |
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| AKA 'The Gervais-Irene' AKA Irene Craigmile Bolam, FKA 'AE' |
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| 1965 Gervais-Irene photo... |
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| ...AKA "The former Amelia Earhart." |
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| 1933 enlarged photo of Amelia... |
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| ...standing beside Eleanor Roosevelt. |
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| Equal blend of both photos on the left... |
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| ...displays the 'truthful' haunting congruence. Head to toe, the same body is now identifiable. |
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Since 2002 it has remained of note forensic argument wise, how the families of both Irene Craigmile Bolam and Amelia
Earhart as well as history itself, promoted all of the above images to have been of the same human being, even though clearly
the above images represent those of two different human beings. The top two photos display the woman identified by her Son
as his 'childhood mother.' He estimated her younger image photo to have been taken in the 'early 1940s.' (The original Irene's
Son turned six years old in 1940. The original Irene's photo image does not appear on this page.) He also recognized her older
image version to the right of it. Yet because of photo forgery use incorporated into the story through the media, the promoted
theory ended where the two top photos represented the 1924 out of wedlock born, non-publicly recognized birth daughter of
Amelia Earhart and Lloyd Royer. The younger photo image of she, may have well marked a college or sorority type of formal
portrait sitting photo from the mid 1940s. Meanwhile the true year of her older photo image to her right was likely 1982,
showing the Non Gervais-Irene at age fifty eight. The next two photos down display the image of the Irene
Craigmile Bolam who Joe Gervais met and photographed in the summer of 1965. The photo on the right is an enlarged version
of the original Gervais photo that appeared in the 1970 McGraw-Hill book, Amelia
Earhart Lives by Joe Klaas. The younger looking image on the left was dated 1945. (It is the earliest known photo displaying
the image of that particular Irene Craigmile Bolam, FKA 'AE.') Irene's Son advocated how he grew up believing the Gervais-Irene
and the Non Gervais-Irene were the same person. By the mid 1940s this Irene had become his only mother figure. The
very idea of how Irene's Son's own family past, or official history would eventually realize a need for news media influences
to convince the American public how the above photos all represented the same person seems a bit absurd, even in truth. But
it did happen and the American public is just now catching up to it. Ted Waitt and Avalon, Fox-Searchlight, and Hilary
Swank chose to gloss over the newly learned revelations about Amelia and her 1930s chum, who was the original Irene Craigmile,
who appeared no more after the 1930s... while her identity managed to live on until 1982. For another look go to the Eye Comparisons
page.
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Click here to e-mail Irene-Amelia.com and/or Beyond 37' for additional information, and/or available remaining points. Or,
send an e-mail message to EarhartTruth@Irene-Amelia.com
NOTE: To contact Beyond 37'
e-mail EarhartTruth@Irene-Amelia.com. The Beyond 37' film, book, and website
projects are dedicated to the late USAF Major Joseph A. Gervais (1924-2005) and the late USAF Col. Rollin C. Reineck (1920-2007).
Both were World War Two heroes who learned the basic Irene-Amelia truth decades ago. Major Gervais, who was considered by
many to have been the most devoted Amelia Earhart researcher ever having pursued the mystery since 1960, discovered the
Irene-Amelia reality in 1965. The controversial 1970 McGraw-Hill book by Joe Klaas, Amelia Earhart Lives expounded
on the enormous amount of Joe Gervais' investigative research, and displayed the first nationally published photo of
Irene-Amelia. Myriad fallout the Amelia Earhart Lives book caused notwithstanding,
and still lacking official authoritative guidance, Colonel Reineck spent the last several years of his life trying to
advance the Gervais claim of Earhart's name-changed survival to authenticity. Colonel Reineck's book Amelia Earhart Survived,
published in late 2003, was largely inspired by the Irene-Amelia forensic studies of Beyond 37's Tod Swindell. Several
portions of the analysis appeared in the Reineck book, and more samples are better displayed in this website. [Beyond 37'
was formed in 2001 by the Tod Evan Company in Los Angeles. It is run by Investigative Researcher/Filmmaker Tod
Swindell, who also serves as Chief Editor of Irene-Amelia.Com] Irene-Amelia.com
totals to date since being posted last year: 512,217 world-wide hits; 171,405 downloads. Canada, Germany, Great Britain, and
Japan lead for most foreign country views. The most viewed pages and/or links are: 'The History of Amelia Earhart Mystery
Research' page, the 'Odd Rumors' page, the 'Hilary Swank Amelia movie' page, the 'Amelia at the Microphone' photo link shown
on the home page, the 'Why The Fear' page, the various 'Physical Comparison' pages, and the 'Forensic Conclusion' page.
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