title: Dassault Rafale

text: Great emphasis has been placed on pilot workload minimisation across all operations. Among the features of the highly digitised cockpit is an integrated direct voice input (DVI) system, allowing a range of aircraft functions to be controlled by spoken voice commands, simplifying the pilot's access to many of the controls. Developed by Crouzet, the DVI is capable of managing radio communications and countermeasures systems, the selection of armament and radar modes, and controlling navigational functions. For safety reasons, DVI is deliberately not employed for safety-critical elements of the aircraft's operation, such as the final release of weapons.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: For displaying information gathered from a range of sensors across the aircraft, the cockpit features a wide-angle holographic head-up display (HUD) system, two head-down flat-panel colour multi-function displays (MFDs) as well as a central collimated display. These displays have been strategically placed to minimise pilot distraction from the external environment. Some displays feature a touch interface for ease of human–computer interaction (HCI). A head-mounted display (HMD) remains to be integrated to take full advantage of its MICA missiles. The cockpit is fully compatible with night vision goggles (NVG).


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In the area of life support, the Rafale is fitted with a Martin-Baker Mark 16F "zero-zero" ejection seat, capable of operation at zero speed and zero altitude. An on-board oxygen generating system, developed by Air Liquide, eliminates the need to carry bulky oxygen canisters. The Rafale's flight computer has been programmed to counteract pilot disorientation and to employ automatic recovery of the aircraft during negative flight conditions. The auto-pilot and autothrottle controls are also integrated, and are activated by switches located on the primary flight controls.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The Rafale core avionics systems employ an integrated modular avionics (IMA), called MDPU (modular data processing unit). This architecture hosts all the main aircraft functions such as the flight management system, data fusion, fire control, and the man-machine interface. The total value of the radar, electronic communications and self-protection equipment is about 30 percent of the cost of the entire aircraft. The IMA has since been installed upon several upgraded Mirage 2000 fighters, and incorporated into the civilian airliner, the Airbus A380. According to Dassault, the IMA greatly assists combat operations via data fusion, the continuous integration and analysis of the various sensor systems throughout the aircraft, and has been designed for the incorporation of new systems and avionics throughout the Rafale's service life.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The Rafale features an integrated defensive-aids system named SPECTRA, which protects the aircraft against airborne and ground threats, developed as a joint venture between Thales and MBDA. Various methods of detection, jamming, and decoying have been incorporated, and the system has been designed to be highly reprogrammable for addressing new threats and incorporating additional sub-systems in the future. Operations over Libya were greatly assisted by SPECTRA, allowing Rafales to perform missions independently from the support of dedicated Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) platforms.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The Rafale's ground attack capability is heavily reliant upon sensory targeting pods, such as Thales Optronics's Reco New Generation/Areos reconnaissance pod and Damocles electro-optical/laser designation pod. Together, these systems provide targeting information, enable tactical reconnaissance missions, and are integrated with the Rafale's IMA architecture to provide analysed data feeds to friendly units and ground stations, as well as to the pilot. Damocles provides targeting information to the various armaments carried by the Rafale and is directly integrated with the Rafale's VHF/UHF secure radio to communicate target information with other aircraft. It also performs other key functions such as aerial optical surveillance and is integrated with the navigation system as a FLIR.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The Damocles designation pod was described as "lacking competitiveness" when compared to rivals such as the Sniper and LITENING pods; so work began on an upgraded pod, designated Damocles XF, with additional sensors and added ability to transmit live video feeds. A new Thales targeting pod, the Talios, was officially unveiled at the 2014 Farnborough Air Show and is expected to be integrated on the Rafale by 2018. Thales' Areos reconnaissance pod is an all-weather, night-and-day-capable reconnaissance system employed on the Rafale, and provides a significantly improved reconnaissance capability over preceding platforms. Areos has been designed to perform reconnaissance under various mission profiles and condition, using multiple day/night sensors and its own independent communications datalinks.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The Rafale was first outfitted with the Thales RBE2 passive electronically scanned multi-mode radar. Thales claims to have achieved increased levels of situational awareness as compared to earlier aircraft through the earlier detection and tracking of multiple air targets for close combat and long-range interception, as well as real-time generation of three-dimensional maps for terrain-following and the real-time generation of high resolution ground maps for navigation and targeting. In early 1994, it was reported that technical difficulties with the radar had delayed the Rafale's development by six months. In September 2006, "Flight International" reported the Rafale's unit cost had significantly increased due to additional development work to improve the RBE2's detection range.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The RBE2 AA active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar now replaces the previous passively scanned RBE2. The RBE2 AA is reported to deliver a greater detection range of 200 km, improved reliability and reduced maintenance demands over the preceding radar. A Rafale demonstrator began test flights in 2002 and has totaled 100 flight hours . By December 2009, production of the pre-series RBE2 AA radars was underway. In early October 2012, the first Rafale equipped with an RBE2 AA radar arrived at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base for operational service (the development was described by Thales and Dassault as "on time and on budget"). By early 2014, the first Air Force front-line squadron were supposed to receive Rafales equipped with the AESA radar, following the French Navy which was slated to receive AESA-equipped Rafales starting in 2013.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: To enable the Rafale to perform in the air supremacy role, it includes several passive sensor systems. The front-sector electro-optical system or Optronique Secteur Frontal (OSF), developed by Thales, is completely integrated within the aircraft and can operate both in the visible and infrared wavelengths. The OSF enables the deployment of infrared missiles such as the MICA at beyond visual range distances; it can also be used for detecting and identifying airborne targets, as well as those on the ground and at sea. Dassault describes the OSF as being immune to jamming and capable of providing covert long-range surveillance. In 2012, an improved version of the OSF was deployed operationally.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: Initial deliveries of the Rafale M were to the "F1" ("France 1") standard, which were equipped for the air-to-air interceptor combat duties, but lacked any armament for air-to-ground operations. The F1 standard became operational in 2004. Later deliveries were to the "F2" standard, which added the capability for conducting air-to-ground operations; the first F2 standard Rafale M was delivered to the French Navy in May 2006. Starting in 2008 onwards, Rafale deliveries have been to the nuclear-capable F3 standard that also added reconnaissance with the Areos reconnaissance pod, and it has been reported that all aircraft built to the earlier F1 and F2 standards are to be upgraded to become F3s.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: F3 standard Rafales are capable of undertaking many different mission roles with a range of equipment, namely air defence/superiority missions with Mica IR and EM air-to-air missiles, and precision ground attacks typically using SCALP EG cruise missiles and AASM Hammer air-to-surface missiles. In addition, anti-shipping missions could be carried out using the AM39 Exocet sea skimming missile, while reconnaissance flights would use a combination of onboard and external pod-based sensor equipment. Furthermore, the aircraft could conduct nuclear strikes when armed with ASMP-A missiles. In 2010, France ordered 200 MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range missiles which will greatly increase the distance at which the Rafale can engage aerial targets when the missile enters service.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: For compatibility with armaments of varying types and origins, the Rafale's onboard store management system is compliant with MIL-STD-1760, an electrical interface between an aircraft and its carriage stores, thereby simplifying the incorporation of many of their existing weapons and equipment. The Rafale is typically outfitted with 14 hardpoints (only 13 on Rafale M version), five of which are suitable for heavy armament or equipment such as auxiliary fuel tanks, and has a maximum external load capacity of nine tons. In addition to the above equipment, the Rafale carries the 30 mm GIAT 30 revolver cannon and can be outfitted with a range of laser-guided bombs and ground-attack munitions. According to Dassault, the Rafale's onboard mission systems enable ground attack and air-to-air combat operations to be carried out within a single sortie, with many functions capable of simultaneous execution in conjunction with another, increasing survivability and versatility.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The Rafale is fitted with two Snecma M88 engines, each capable of providing up to of dry thrust and with afterburners. The engines feature several advances, including a non-polluting combustion chamber, single-crystal turbine blades, powder metallurgy disks, and technology to reduce radar and infrared signatures. The M88 enables the Rafale to supercruise while carrying four missiles and one drop tank.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: Qualification of the M88-2 engine ended in 1996 and the first production engine was delivered by the end of the year. Due to delays in engine production, the Rafale A demonstrator was initially powered by the General Electric F404 engine. In May 2010, a Rafale flew for the first time with the M88-4E engine, an upgraded variant with lower maintenance requirements than the preceding M88-2. The engine is of a modular design for ease of construction and maintenance and to enable older engines to be retrofitted with improved subsections upon availability, such as existing M88-2s being upgraded to M88-4E standard. There has been interest in more powerful M88 engines by potential export customers, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). , a thrust vectoring variant of the engine designated as M88-3D was also under development.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In December 2000, the French Naval Aviation ("Aéronavale"), the air arm of the French Navy, received its first two Rafale M fighters. On 18 May the following year, the squadron "Flottille 12F", which had previously operated the F-8 Crusader, became the first squadron to operate the Rafale after it was officially re-activated prior to the delivery of the sixth Rafale. "Flottille 12F" immediately participated in "Trident d'Or" aboard the aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" with warships from ten other nations. During the maritime exercise, the Navy tested the Rafale's avionics during simulated interceptions with various foreign aircraft, in addition to carrier take-offs and landings. After almost four years of training, the Rafale M was declared operational with the French Navy in June 2004.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The Rafale M is fully compatible with US Navy aircraft carriers and some French Navy pilots have qualified to fly the aircraft from US Navy flight decks. On 4 June 2010, during an exercise on , a French Rafale became the first jet fighter of a foreign navy to have its engine replaced on board an American aircraft carrier.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In 2002, the Rafales were first deployed to a combat zone; seven Rafale Ms embarked aboard "Charles de Gaulle" of the French Navy during "Mission Héraclès", the French participation in "Operation Enduring Freedom". They flew from the aircraft carrier over Afghanistan, but the F1 standard precluded air-to-ground missions and the Rafale did not see any action. In June 2002, while "Charles de Gaulle" was in the Arabian Sea, Rafales conducted several patrols near the India-Pakistan border.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In 2016, Rafales operating from "Charles de Gaulle" struck targets associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In December 2015, American and French military officials reportedly discussed the possibility of French naval Rafale Ms flying combat missions from a US Navy as soon as January 2017. This would enable continued French Navy operations against ISIL while "Charles de Gaulle" undergoes its year-and-a-half-long major refit, scheduled to begin in early 2017. Although Rafales have launched and landed on U.S. carriers to demonstrate interoperability, it would be the first time they would fly combat missions from one. As many as 18 Rafale Ms could be deployed on a carrier, although some room would have to be made for French Navy support crews familiar with maintaining the Rafale, as well as for spare parts and munitions. Operation Chesapeake, a test of this interoperability, was conducted in May 2018, when 12 Rafales of Flottilles 11F, 12F, and 17F, along with nearly 350 support personnel embarked aboard USS "George H.W. Bush" for two weeks of carrier qualifications and exercises after conducting a month of shore based training at Naval Air Station Oceana.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: Rafales were delivered to the French Air Force several years after the naval variant, initially with the "Centre d'Expériences Aériennes Militaires" (French Air Force Evaluation Centre) at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base in the trials and training role. By this time, it was expected that "Escadron de Chasse" (Fighter Squadron) "1/7" at Saint-Dizier would receive a nucleus of 8–10 Rafale F2s during the summer of 2006, in preparation for full operational service (with robust air-to-air and stand off air-to-ground precision attack capabilities) starting from mid-2007 (when "EC 1/7" would have about 20 aircraft, 15 two-seaters and five single-seaters).


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In 2007, a "crash program" upgrade on six Rafales enabled the use of laser-guided bombs in readiness for action in Afghanistan. Three of these aircraft of the Air Force were deployed to Dushanbe in Tajikistan, while the three others were "Rafale Marine" of the Navy on board "Charles De Gaulle". The first mission occurred on 12 March 2007, and the first GBU-12 was launched on 28 March in support of embattled Dutch troops in Southern Afghanistan, marking the operational début of the Rafale. Between January 2009 and December 2011, a minimum of three Rafales were stationed at Kandahar International Airport to conduct operations in support of NATO ground forces.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: On 19 March 2011, French Rafales began conducting reconnaissance and strike missions over Libya in Opération Harmattan, in support of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973; initial targets were artillery pieces laying siege around the rebel city of Benghazi. The Rafale could operate in Libya without the support of SEAD aircraft, using the onboard SPECTRA self-defence system instead. On 24 March 2011, it was reported that a Rafale had destroyed a Libyan Air Force G-2/Galeb light attack/trainer aircraft on the runway.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: Rafales typically conducted six-hour sorties over Libyan airspace, armed with four MICA air-to-air missiles, four or six AASM "Hammer" bombs, a Thales Damoclès targeting pod and two drop tanks. Each sortie needed multiple aerial refuelling operations from coalition tanker aircraft. The AASM precision-guidance weapon system allowed the Rafale to conduct high-altitude bombing missions using bombs weighing between and . Reportedly, Rafale crews preferred to use GPS-guided munitions with greater reliability and range. Storm Shadow SCALP weapons were deployed on only one or two sorties, such as against a Libyan airbase at Al-Jufra. In 2011, aviation journalist Craig Hoyle speculated that the Rafale's Libyan performance is likely to impact export sales, noting that the Rafale had maintained a high operational rate throughout. Hoyle also noted that the conflict had led to several urgent operational requirements, including a lighter ground-attack munition and AASM modifications for close air support.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In January 2013, the Rafale took part in "Opération Serval", the French military intervention in support to the government of Mali against the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa. The first mission was carried out on 13 January, when four Rafales took off from an airbase in France to strike rebel training camps, depots and facilities in the city of Gao in eastern Mali. Subsequent airstrikes in the following days by Rafale and Mirage fighters were reportedly instrumental in the withdrawal of Islamist militant forces from Timbuktu and Douentza. Both Rafale and Mirage 2000D aircraft used in the conflict have been based outside of North Africa, making use of aerial refuelling tanker aircraft to fly long range sorties across Algerian airspace and into Mali.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In August 2013, it was proposed that France may halve the number of Rafales to be delivered over the next six years for a total of 26 aircraft to be delivered during this period; foreign export procurements have been viewed as critical to maintain production under this proposal. While production would be slowed, France would still receive the same number of Rafales overall.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In September 2014, Rafales started reconnaissance missions over Iraq for Opération Chammal, France's contribution to the international effort to combat Islamic State (IS) militants. Six Rafales were initially tasked with identifying IS positions in support of US airstrikes, flying from Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE. On 18 September, Rafales joined American attack operations, launching four strikes near the Northern Iraqi town of Zummar that destroyed a logistics depot and killed dozens of IS fighters. In April 2018, during the Syrian Civil War, five Rafale Bs from the Escadron de Chasse 1/4 Gascogne participated in the 2018 missile strikes against Syria. Each was loaded with two SCALP EG missiles.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In November 2014, Egypt was reportedly in negotiations with France to purchase 24 to 36 Rafales, subject to a financing agreement. By February 2015, the two countries were negotiating a loan from France's export credit agency to reach an export agreement for up to 24 Rafales. Egypt aimed for the deal's quick completion as to have them on display at the inauguration of the Suez Canal expansion in August 2015.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: On 16 February 2015, Egypt became the Rafale's first international customer when it officially ordered 24 Rafales, as part of a larger deal, including a FREMM multipurpose frigate and missiles, worth US$5.9 billion (€5.2 billion). The order comprised 8 single-seat models and 16 two-seaters. In July 2015, a ceremony marking Egypt's acceptance of its first three Rafales, was held at Dassault's flight test center in Istres. In January 2016, Egypt received three more Rafales. All six aircraft are two-seat models (Rafale DM) diverted from French Air Force deliveries. Egypt received the third batch of three Rafales flown by Egyptian pilots from France in April 2017; this was included the first single-seat model (Rafale EM) to be delivered to the Egyptian Air Force. Egypt took delivery of the fourth batch of two Rafale EMs in July 2017. The fifth batch, comprising the last 3 Rafale EMs, was delivered in November 2017, increasing the number in service to 14 Rafales.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In June 2016, Egypt begun negotiations with Dassault to acquire 12 additional Rafales, intending to exercise an option of the first contract. An Egyptian delegation visited France in November 2017 for negotiations. In May 2021, Egypt ordered 30 more Rafales in a contract worth $4.5bn. On 15 November 2021, Egypt confirmed that it will receive 30 Rafale F3R between 2024 and 2026. The Egyptian Air Force is interested in buying the Rafale F4 variant once Dassault prepares it for foreign buyers.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: Analysts view the relatively quick series of 84 orders from Egypt and Qatar as being influenced by the Arab Spring and uncertainty of US involvement in the Middle East.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The Qatar Emiri Air Force evaluated the Rafale alongside the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Boeing F-15E, the Eurofighter Typhoon, and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II to replace its Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fleet. In June 2014, Dassault claimed it was close to signing a contract with Qatar for 72 Rafales. On 30 April 2015, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani announced to French President François Hollande that Qatar would order 24 Rafale with an option to buy 12 more aircraft. On 4 May, a €6.3 billion ($7.02 billion) contract for 24 Rafales was finalised; additionally, the contract included the provision of long-range cruise missiles and Meteor missiles as well as the training of 36 Qatari pilots and 100 technicians by the French military and several Qatari intelligence officers; thus, the price can be viewed as €6300/24round0M for each aircraft.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: On 7 December 2017, the option for 12 more Rafales was exercised for €1.1 billion (or €1100/12round0M each) while adding an additional option for 36 further fighters. The first Qatari Rafale was delivered in February 2019.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The Rafale was one of the six aircraft competing in the Indian MRCA competition for 126 multirole fighters. Originally, the Mirage 2000 had been considered for the competition, but Dassault withdrew it in favour of the Rafale. In February 2011, French Rafales flew demonstrations in India, including air-to-air combat against Su-30MKIs. In April 2011, the Indian Air Force (IAF) shortlisted the Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon for the US$10.4 billion contract. On 31 January 2012, the IAF announced the Rafale as the preferred bidder. It was proposed that 18 Rafales would be supplied to the IAF by 2015 in fly-away condition, while the remaining 108 would be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in India under transfer of technology agreements. The contract for 126 Rafales, services, and parts may have been worth up to US$20 billion.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The deal stalled due to disagreements over local production; Dassault refused responsibility for the 108 HAL-manufactured Rafales, holding reservations over HAL's ability to accommodate the complex manufacturing and technology transfers; instead, Dassault said it would have to negotiate two separate production contracts by both companies. The Indian Defence Ministry instead wanted Dassault to be solely responsible for the sale and delivery of all 126 aircraft. In May 2013, "The Times of India" reported that negotiations were "back on track", with plans for the first 18 Rafales to be delivered in 2017. In March 2014, the two sides reportedly agreed that the first 18 Rafales would be delivered to India in flying condition and that the remaining 108 would be 70 percent built by HAL. By December 2014, India and France reportedly expected to sign a contract by March 2015.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In April 2015, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Paris, India requested the swift delivery of 36 Rafales in a fly-away condition. Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar called for induction within two years. India withdrew the MMRCA tender on 30 July 2015. Then, India and France missed a July target to finalise the 36-aircraft deal. The previously agreed-upon terms in April totaled US$8 billion for 36 aircraft costing $200 million each, with an offset requirement of 30 percent of the deal's value to be reinvested in India's defence sector and infrastructure for Rafale operations. India insisted on a 50 percent offset and two bases, which France said would increase costs and require separate infrastructure and two sets of maintenance, training and armament storage facilities. In January 2016, the Indian government directed the Indian Navy to be briefed by Dassault on the navalised Rafale for its aircraft carriers, promoting logistics and spares commonalities between the Navy and IAF. Dassault CEO Eric Trappier stated that the Indian Navy may order up to 57 Rafales. On 23 September 2016, Defence Minister Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian signed a €7.8 billion contract for 36 fly-away Rafales with an option for 18 more at the same inflation-adjusted price. Initial deliveries were expected by 2019, and all 36 within six years. The deal included spares and weapons such as Meteor missiles.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The Indian National Congress raised an issue over Dassault partnering with Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence, now known as Reliance Naval and Engineering Limited (R-Naval), a private company with no aviation experience, instead of the state owned HAL. Allegedly, Dassault lacked any choice and was compelled to select Reliance Defence as its partner. Rahul Gandhi alleged that it was favouritism and corruption. Both the French government and Dassault issued a press release stating it was Dassault's decision to choose Reliance Defence. Party spokesperson Manish Tewari asked for the agreement's details to be made public and questioned if there was an escalation of per-aircraft cost from ₹7.15 billion to ₹16 billion. In November 2018, Congress alleged that procurement procedures were bypassed. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) case was filed in the Supreme Court for an independent probe into the Rafale procurement. On 14 December 2018, the Apex Court dismissed all petitions, stating it found no irregularities; Reliance Defence reportedly was set to receive just over 3 per cent of the of offsets, contrary to the impression that it was to be the biggest beneficiary of the deal.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: Around August 2017, India considered ordering 36 more Rafales amid tensions with China. In 2018, the Rafale was reportedly competing against several other aircraft in a new procurement tender for 114 multi-role combat aircraft, which is referred as MMRCA 2.0 in the Indian media. In March 2019, Indian officials asked for Rafales to replace ageing MiG-21s and to counter Pakistan's F-16s.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: Ahead of the first Rafale's formal handover on 8 October 2019, IAF Day, the IAF accepted it at Dassault's Bordeaux facility in an event attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his French counterpart, Florence Parly; it had tail number "RB-001" to mark IAF chief-designate Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria's role in the buy. Rafale deliveries started on 27 July 2020, with the first five Rafales delivered from France.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: By July 2021, a total of 26 Rafales had been received. Three Rafales were handed to the IAF in France on 25 January 2022 and arrived in India on 15 February 2022; these included Indian specific enhancements like the long range Meteor air-to-air missile, low band frequency jammers, advanced communication systems, more capable radio altimeter, radar warning receiver, high altitude engine start up, synthetic aperture radar, ground moving target indicator and tracking, missile approach warning systems and very high frequency range decoys. Once tested and verified, the remaining 32 Rafales would be retrofitting these enhancements, the IAF having all related equipment. The last Rafale arrived in April 2022. There has also been interest from the IAF and Navy to procure more Rafales.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In August 2020, the government of Greece announced the acquisition of 18 Rafales. Initial reports stated that ten would be the new Rafale C variant in F3-R standard with eight older Rafale in F1 and F2 standard in use with the French Air Force that would be given to Greece. However, later reports stated that all 18 would be F3-R standard and would replace an equal number of older Mirage 2000EGMs operated by the Hellenic Air Force.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In January 2021, the agreement with Dassault was ratified in the Hellenic Parliament for the purchase of six new built and 12 used F3-R aircraft formerly used by the Armée de l'Air at a total cost of €2.4 billion, including armaments and ground support. The inter-governmental agreement was signed on 25 January 2021 by the Defense Ministers of Greece and France. In April 2021, Greece was reportedly considering acquiring six more Rafales. The first aircraft, a Rafale B two-seater, was delivered on 21 July 2021. On 11 September 2021, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the 2021 Thessaloniki International Fair announced the purchase of six additional Rafales, increasing the order total to 24. On 24 March 2022, Greece signed the contract to buy the six additional Rafales, to be delivered from mid-2024. On 19 January 2022, the first six Rafales landed at Tanagra Air Base where a welcoming ceremony was held.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: Croatia received a proposal for 12 second-hand Rafales F3Rs in September 2020 for a tender to replace the Croatian Air Force's MiG-21s. The total package offered costs €1 billion (including weapon systems, spare parts, logistics and training), and competed with new F-16V Block 70, Israeli used F-16C/D Barak raised to ACE configuration, and Saab Gripen. On 28 May 2021, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced the purchase of 12 used Rafale F3Rs. The contract was signed on 25 November 2021.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In January 2020, the Indonesian government expressed interest in buying up to 48 Rafales to modernise the Indonesian Air Force. In February 2021, Indonesia's Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto announced that the purchase of 36 units, as part of a large procurement programme including A330 tankers and complementary American products, was planned and that funds had been secured for its finalization. On 7 June 2021, Indonesia signed a letter of intent to buy 36 Rafales and associated weapons and support.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: On 20 January 2022, Indonesia's Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto confirmed that Indonesia completed the negotiation of the contract pending activation of the formal agreement by France. On 10 February 2022, Dassault stated that Indonesia had officially signed an order for 42 Rafale F4, concluding two years of negotiations with six Batch 1 aircraft, consisting of 30 single-seat and 12 double-seat.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In 2009, the United Arab Emirates Air Force was interested in an upgraded Rafale with more powerful engines and radar, and advanced air-to-air missiles. In October 2011, Dassault was confident that a US$10 billion deal for up to 60 Rafales would be signed. However, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Union Defence Force, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in November 2011 called the French offer "uncompetitive and unworkable"; In 2010, France allegedly asked the UAE to pay US$2.6 billion of the total cost of Rafale upgrades. Consequently, the UAE explored a purchase of the Eurofighter Typhoon or the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The newspaper "La Tribune" reported in February 2012, that the UAE was still considering the US$10-billion deal for 60 Rafales. Interoperability among the Gulf air forces had renewed Qatari and Kuwaiti interest in the Rafale. In January 2013, President Hollande stated that he would discuss the Rafale during an official visit to the UAE. In December 2013, the UAE reportedly chose not to proceed with a deal for defence and security services, including the supply of Typhoons.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In September 2014, it was reported that the UAE could acquire 40 Rafales in addition to upgrading its existing Mirage 2000s. In November 2015, Reuters reported that Major General Ibrahim Nasser Al Alawi, commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence, had confirmed that the UAE was in final negotiations to purchase 60 Rafales. In 2019 a series of Rafale F3-R trials were conducted at Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE. On 3 December 2021, Dassault announced that the UAE had signed an order for 80 Rafale F4 in a government-to-government deal, which made the UAE the largest Rafale operator in the region and second to France. The deal makes the United Arab Emirates Air Force the first user of the Rafale F4 standard outside France.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In March 2020, "La Tribune" reported that France's Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, promoted the Rafale's performance to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also Minister of Defense.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In June 2022, "La Tribune" reported Dassault made an offer for 15 fighters and 9 in option for the Fuerza Aérea Colombiana. Colombia was interested in used ones, but France denied, taking into consideration it already sold 24 jets to Croatia and Greece.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In November 2020, Iraqi Defence Minister Jumaa Adnan stated that Iraq plans to buy Rafales for the Iraqi Air Force. In February 2022, Iraq reportedly intends to acquire 14 Rafale F4s, payable in crude oil.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The Rafale was a contender for the replacement of the Royal Malaysian Air Force's (RMAF) Mikoyan MiG-29s, with a requirement to equip three squadrons with 36 to 40 fighters with an estimated budget of RM6 billion to RM8 billion (US$1.84 billion to US$2.46 billion). Other competitors were the Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing F/A-18/F Super Hornet and Saab JAS 39 Gripen. In July 2017, acquisition efforts were suspended with the RMAF looking instead to buy new maritime patrol aircraft and advanced trainers with light attack capabilities to confront the growing threat of Islamist militants in the Southeast Asian region.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In February 2022, "La Tribune" reported that Saudi Arabia is interested in the Rafale, then reported in December 2022 that Saudi Arabia would need between 100 and 200 fighters.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, stated on 24 December 2021 that Serbia is interested in buying new Rafales to strengthen the Serbian Air Force and Air Defence. "La Tribune" reported in April 2022 that Serbia and Dassault are negotiating for 12 Rafales.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The Rafale has been marketed for export to various countries. Various commentators and industry sources have highlighted the high cost of the aircraft as detrimental to the Rafale's sales prospects. Its acquisition cost is roughly US$100 million (2010), while its operational cost hovers around US$16,500 (2012) for every flight-hour. The Saab JAS Gripen, in comparison, costs only US$4,700 per flight-hour to operate. According to a 2009 article by the Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis, unlike the American government and its relationship with Boeing and Lockheed Martin, the lack of communication between the French government and Dassault has hampered a worldwide cooperative sales effort, as demonstrated by the case with Morocco in 2007.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In 2009, Belgium suggested that they may buy F-35s in the 2020s to replace Belgium's 34 F-16A/B MLU fleet. An article published in Belgian newspaper L'Avenir on 19 April 2015 speculated that, if the nuclear strike role via Belgium's Nuclear sharing policy were retained in the request for proposals, Belgium would be almost forced to buy the F-35 as to maintain this role. Belgium officially launched its F-16 replacement program in March 2017, issuing requests for proposals to three European and two US manufacturers: Boeing Defense, Space & Security, Lockheed Martin, Dassault, Eurofighter GmbH and Saab Group, offering the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F-35 Lightning II, Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab JAS 39 Gripen respectively. On 25 October 2018, Belgium officially selected the offer for 34 F-35As; government officials stated that it had come down to price, and that "The offer from the Americans was the best in all seven evaluation criteria". The total purchasing price for the aircraft and support until 2030 totaled €4 billion, €600 million cheaper than the budgeted €4.6 billion. In April 2020, the first F-35 contract was signed, with deliveries to begin in 2023.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In June 2008, the Brazilian Air Force issued a request for information on the following aircraft: F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F-16 Fighting Falcon, Rafale, Su-35, Gripen NG and Eurofighter Typhoon. In October 2008, the service selected three finalists for F-X2 – Dassault Rafale, Gripen NG and Boeing F/A-18E/F. On 5 January 2010, media reports stated that the final evaluation report by the Brazilian Air Force placed the Gripen ahead of the other two contenders based on unit and operating costs. In February 2011, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff had reportedly decided in favour of the F/A-18. After delays due to budget constraints, in December 2013, the Brazilian government selected the Gripen NG in a US$5 billion deal to equip the air force.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: The Rafale was amongst various fighters proposed to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet. In 2005, a report compiled by Canada's Department of Defence reviewing aircraft noted concerns over the Rafale's interoperability with US forces; Dassault had also been unable to confirm engine performance during cold weather conditions. In July 2010, the Canadian government announced the F-35 as the CF-18's replacement; the nation was already a partner in the Joint Strike Fighter program since 1997 and a Tier 3 partner for the F-35 since 2002. In December 2012, the Canadian government announced that the F-35 buy had been abandoned due to cost rises and that a fresh procurement process would begin. In January 2013, Dassault responded to Canada's request for information. Various aircraft were considered, including the F-35. In January 2014, Dassault offered a contract with full technology transfer, allowing Canada to perform its own support and upgrades, thereby lowering long-term service costs. In November 2018, Dassault withdrew from the competition, reportedly over interoperability and intelligence sharing requirements, particularly with the US, complicated by France's lack of involvement in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In June 2015, a working group set up by the Finnish MoD proposed starting the HX Fighter Program to replace the Finnish Air Force's current fleet of F/A-18 Hornets. The group recognises five potential types: Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and Saab JAS 39 Gripen E/F. In December 2015, the Finnish MoD informed Great Britain, France, Sweden and the US informing them of the launch of the HX Fighter Program to replace the Hornet fleet, which will be decommissioned by 2025, with multi-role fighters; the Rafale is mentioned as a potential fighter. The request for information was sent in early 2016; five responses were received in November 2016. In December 2021, the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti reported that several foreign and security policy sources had confirmed the Finnish Defense Forces' recommendation of the F-35 as Finland's next fighter due to its "capability and expected long lifespan".


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In February 2009, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that Kuwait was considering buying up to 28 Rafales. In October 2009, during a visit to Paris, the Kuwaiti Defence Minister expressed interest in the Rafale and said that he was awaiting Dassault's terms. Islamist lawmakers in the Kuwaiti national assembly threatened to block such a purchase, accusing the Defence Minister of lack of transparency and being manipulated by business interests. In January 2012, the French Defence Minister said that both Kuwait and Qatar were waiting to see if the UAE first purchased the Rafale and that Kuwait would look to buy 18–22 Rafales. However, on 11 September 2015, Eurofighter announced that an agreement had been reached with Kuwait to buy 28 Typhoons.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In 2005, the Republic of Singapore Air Force launched its Next Generation Fighter (NGF) programme to replace its ageing A-4SU Super Skyhawks. Several options were considered and the Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) conducted a detailed technical assessment, simulations and other tests to determine the final selection. This reduced the list of competitors to the Rafale and the F-15SG Strike Eagle. In December 2005, Singapore ordered 12 F-15SGs. According to "Defense Industry Daily", key reasons for the selection were that, despite the Rafale's superior aerodynamics, it had insufficient range, weapons, and sensor integration.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In February 2007, Switzerland was reportedly considering the Rafale and other fighters to replace its ageing Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs. A one-month evaluation started in October 2008 at Emmen Airforce Base, consisting of approximately 30 evaluation flights; the Rafale, along with the JAS 39 Gripen and the Typhoon, were evaluated. Although a leaked Swiss Air Force evaluation report revealed that the Rafale won the competition on technical grounds, on 30 November 2011, the Swiss Federal Council announced plans to buy 22 Gripen NGs due to its lower acquisition and maintenance costs. Due to a referendum, this purchase never happened.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In March 2018, Swiss officials named contenders in its Air 2030 program: The Rafale, Saab Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin F-35. In October 2018, the Swiss Air Force was reportedly limited to buying a single-engine fighter for budgetary reasons. In May 2019, the Rafale performed demonstration flights at Payerne Air Base for comparison against other bids. On 30 June 2021, the Swiss Federal Council proposed to Parliament the acquisition of 36 F-35As at a cost of up to 6 billion Swiss francs (US$6.5 billion), citing the aircraft's cost- and combat-effectiveness. However, it was later confirmed that the costs are capped for a period of just 10 years. The Liberal Greens have promised to examine the F-35's environmental impact. The Swiss anti-military group GSoA intended to contest the purchase in another national referendum supported by the Green Party of Switzerland and the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (which previously managed to block the Gripen). In August 2022, they registered the initiative, with 120,000 people having signed in less than a year (with 100,000 required).


title: Dassault Rafale

text: On 15 September 2022 the Swiss National council gave the Federal council permission to sign the purchase deal, with a time limit for signing of March 2023. The deal to buy 36 F-35A was signed on 19 September 2022, with deliveries to commence in 2027 and conclude by 2030, bypassing the popular initiative.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In 2002, the Republic of Korea Air Force chose the F-15K Slam Eagle over the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and Sukhoi Su-35 for its 40 aircraft F-X Phase 1 fighter competition.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In January 2007, the French newspaper "Journal du Dimanche" reported that Libya sought 13 to 18 Rafales "in a deal worth as much as US$3.24 billion". In December 2007, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi declared Libya's interest in the Rafale, but no order was placed. French Rafales later attacked targets in Libya as part of the international military intervention during the 2011 Libyan civil war.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In late 2007, "La Tribune" reported that a prospective US$2.85 billion sale to Morocco had fallen through, the government selecting the F-16C/D instead. While French Defense Minister Hervé Morin labelled it as overly sophisticated and too costly, defense analysists have said that miscalculations of the DGA's offer price and hesitations over financing were detrimental to the negotiations.


title: Dassault Rafale

text: In February 2009, France offered Rafales to Oman to replace its ageing fleet of SEPECAT Jaguars. In December 2012, Oman placed an order for 12 Typhoons.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.


title: Gregory Peck

text: After studying at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner, Peck began appearing in stage productions, acting in over 50 plays and three Broadway productions. He first gained critical success in "The Keys of the Kingdom" (1944), a John M. Stahl–directed drama which earned him his first Academy Award nomination. He starred in a series of successful films, including romantic-drama "The Valley of Decision" (1944), Alfred Hitchcock's "Spellbound" (1945), and family film "The Yearling" (1946). He encountered lukewarm commercial reviews at the end of the 1940s, his performances including "The Paradine Case" (1947) and "The Great Sinner" (1948). Peck reached global recognition in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing back-to-back in the book-to-film adaptation of "Captain Horatio Hornblower" (1951) and biblical drama "David and Bathsheba" (1951). He starred alongside Ava Gardner in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" (1952) and Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday" (1953), which earned Peck a Golden Globe award.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Other notable films in which he appeared include "Moby Dick" (1956, and its 1998 mini-series), "The Guns of Navarone" (1961), "Cape Fear" (1962, and its 1991 remake), "The Omen" (1976), and "The Boys from Brazil" (1978). Throughout his career, he often portrayed protagonists with "fiber" within a moral setting. "Gentleman's Agreement" (1947) centered on topics of antisemitism, while Peck's character in "Twelve O'Clock High" (1949) dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder during World War II. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962), an adaptation of the modern classic of the same name which revolved around racial inequality, for which he received universal acclaim. In 1983, he starred opposite Christopher Plummer in "The Scarlet and The Black" as Hugh O'Flaherty, a Catholic priest who saved thousands of escaped Allied POWs and Jewish people in Rome during the Second World War.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck was also active in politics, challenging the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 and was regarded as a political opponent by President Richard Nixon. President Lyndon B. Johnson honored Peck with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 for his lifetime humanitarian efforts. Peck died in his sleep from bronchopneumonia at the age of 87.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Eldred Gregory Peck was born on April 5, 1916, in the neighborhood of La Jolla in San Diego, California, to Bernice Mae "Bunny" ( Ayres; 1894–1992), and Gregory Pearl Peck (1886–1962), a Rochester, New York–born chemist and pharmacist. His father was of English (paternal) and Irish (maternal) heritage, and his mother was of English and Scots ancestry. She converted to her husband's religion, Catholicism, and Peck was raised as a Catholic. Through his Irish-born paternal grandmother Catherine Ashe (1864–1926), Peck was related to Thomas Ashe (1885–1917), who participated in the Easter Rising less than three weeks after Peck's birth and died while being force-fed during a hunger strike in 1917.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's parents divorced when he was five, and he was brought up by his maternal grandmother, who took him to the movies every week. At the age of 10, he was sent to a Catholic military school, St. John's Military Academy in Los Angeles. While he was a student there, his grandmother died. At 14, he moved back to San Diego to live with his father. He attended San Diego High School, and after graduating in 1934, enrolled for one year at San Diego State Teacher's College (now known as San Diego State University). While there, he joined the track team, took his first theatre and public-speaking courses, and pledged the Epsilon Eta fraternity. Peck had ambitions to be a doctor, and later transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, as an English major and pre-medical student. Standing , he rowed on the university crew. Although his tuition fee was only $26 per year, Peck still struggled to pay and took a job as a "hasher" (kitchen helper) for the Gamma Phi Beta sorority in exchange for meals.


title: Gregory Peck

text: At Berkeley, Peck's deep, well-modulated voice gained him attention, and after participating in a public speaking course, he decided to try acting. He was encouraged by an acting coach, who saw in him perfect material for university theatre, and he became more and more interested in acting. He was recruited by Edwin Duerr, director of the university's Little Theater, and appeared in five plays during his senior year, including as Starbuck in "Moby Dick". Peck later said about his years at Berkeley that "it was a very special experience for me and three of the greatest years of my life. It woke me up and made me a human being." In 1996, Peck donated $25,000 to the Berkeley rowing crew in honor of his coach, the renowned Ky Ebright.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck did not graduate with his friends because he lacked one course. His college friends were concerned for him and wondered how he would get along without his degree. "I have all I need from the university", he told them. Peck dropped the name "Eldred" and headed to New York City to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse with the legendary acting teacher Sanford Meisner. He was often broke, and sometimes slept in Central Park. He worked at the 1939 World's Fair as a barker, and Rockefeller Center as a tour guide for NBC television, and at Radio City Music Hall. He dabbled in modelling before, in 1940, working in exchange for food at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, where he appeared in five plays, including "Family Portrait" and "On Earth As It Is".


title: Gregory Peck

text: His stage career began in 1941, when he played the secretary in a Katharine Cornell production of George Bernard Shaw's play "The Doctor's Dilemma". The play opened in San Francisco just one week before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He made his Broadway debut as the lead in Emlyn Williams' "The Morning Star" in 1942. His second Broadway performance that year was in "The Willow and I" with Edward Pawley. Peck's acting abilities were in high demand during World War II since he had been exempted from military service because of a back injury suffered while receiving dance and movement lessons from Martha Graham as part of his acting training. Twentieth Century Fox later claimed he had injured his back while rowing at university, but in Peck's words, "In Hollywood, they didn't think a dance class was macho enough, I guess. I've been trying to straighten out that story for years." Peck performed in a total of 50 plays, including three short-lived Broadway productions, 4–5 road tours, and summer theater.


title: Gregory Peck

text: After gaining stage recognition, Peck was offered his first film role, the male lead in the war-romance "Days of Glory" (1944), directed by Jacques Tourneur, alongside top-billed Tamara Toumanova, a Russian-born ballerina. Peck portrayed the leader of Russian guerrillas resisting the Germans in 1941 who stumble across a beautiful Russian dancer (Toumanova), who had been sent to entertain Russian troops, and protect her by letting her join their group. During production of the film, Tourneur "untrained" Peck from his theater training where he was used to speaking in a formal manner and projecting his voice to the entire hall. Peck considered his performance in the film as quite amateurish and did not wish to watch the film after it was released. The film lost money at the box office, disappeared from theaters quickly, and was largely dismissed by critics.


title: Gregory Peck

text: At the time of the film's release, critic Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" assessed it as slow-moving and verbose, adding that Peck's acting was stiff. Film historian Barry Monush has written, "Peck's star power was evident from the word go." Following the release of the film, Peck gained the attention of producers, but rather than participating in the studio system, he decided to remain a freelancer with the ability to choose his roles, signing non-exclusive contracts with four studios, including an unusual dual contract with 20th Century Fox and "Gone With the Wind" producer David O. Selznick.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's second movie, "The Keys of the Kingdom" (1944), features him as an 80-year-old Roman Catholic priest looking back at his undertakings during over half a century spent as a determined, self-sacrificing missionary in China. The film shows the character aging from his 20s to 80; Peck featured in almost every scene. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor, which was Peck's first nomination. Although the film finished only 27th at the box office in North America for 1944, Jay Carr of Turner Classic Movies refers to it as Peck's breakthrough performance while writer Patrick McGilligan says that it "catapulted him to stardom". At the time of release, Peck's performance was lauded by "Variety" and "The New York Times," amidst mixed reviews for the film itself. The "Radio Times" referred to it as "a long, talkative and rather undramatic picture" but admitted that "its success saved Peck's career". Craig Butler of AllMovie states "he gives a commanding performance, full of his usual quiet dignity and intelligence, and spiked with stubbornness and an inner fire that make the character truly come alive."


title: Gregory Peck

text: In "The Valley of Decision" (1944), a romantic drama about intermingling social classes, Peck plays the eldest son of a wealthy steel mill owner in 1870s Pittsburgh who has a romance with one of his family's maids, portrayed by Greer Garson. who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Upon release, reviews from "The New York Times" and "Variety" were somewhat positive, with Peck's performance described as commanding. It was North America's highest-grossing movie of 1945.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's next film was the first of two collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, the suspense-romance "Spellbound" (1945), opposite Ingrid Bergman. Peck plays a man who is thought to be the new director of the psychiatric facility where Bergman's character works as a psychoanalyst, while his amnesia and disturbing visions suggest he may be a murderer. Peck and Hitchcock were described as having a cordial but cool relationship. Hitchcock initially hoped that Cary Grant would play the male lead. Peck later stated that he thought he was too young when he first worked with Hitchcock, and that the director's on-set indifference to his character's motivation, important to Peck's acting style, shook his confidence. Peck's chemistry clicked with his screen partner Bergman; the actors were romantically linked at the time.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Released at the end of 1945, "Spellbound" was a hit, ranking as the third-most successful film of 1946. "Spellbound" was well received by critics at the time, as was Peck's performance. Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" praised the film, stating that Peck's performance "restrained and refined, is precisely the proper counter to Bergman's exquisite role;" Frank Miller of Turner Classic Movies has written that the movie continued the rise of Peck into a Hollywood star and even "a major sex symbol". Producer David O. Selznick noted that during preview tests of the movie, the women in the audiences had substantive reactions to the appearance of Peck's name during the opening credits, stating that during his first few scenes the audience had to be shushed to quiet down. "Spellbound" was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, although it was not in the National Board of Review's top ten films of the year.


title: Gregory Peck

text: In "The Yearling" (1946), Peck portrays a kind-hearted father, opposite onscreen wife, Jane Wyman, whose son finds and insists on raising a three-day-old fawn in 1870s Florida. Reviews upon release were very positive with Bosley Crowther evaluating it as a film that "provides a wealth of satisfaction that few films ever attain". "The Yearling" was a box office success finishing with the ninth highest box office gross for 1947 and landed six Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor. Peck won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for performance. In recent decades, it has continued to receive critical praise with Barry Monush writing, it is "one of the best-made and most-loved family films of its day".


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck took his first "against type" role, as a cruel, amoral cowboy in the western soap opera "Duel in the Sun" (1946) with top-billed Jennifer Jones as the provocative, temptress object of Peck's love, anger and desire. Their chemistry is described by film historian David Thomson as "a constant knife fight of sensuality". Also starring Joseph Cotten as Peck's righteous half brother and competitor for the affections of the "steamy, sexpot" character of Jones, the movie was resoundingly criticized, and even banned in some cities, due to its lurid nature. The publicity around the eroticism of "Duel in the Sun", one of the biggest movie advertising campaigns in history, used a new tactic of opening in hundreds of theaters across the U.S. at once, saturating the theaters in cities where it opened, resulting in the film being the second highest-grossing movie of both 1947 and the 1940s. Nicknamed "Lust in the Dust", the film received mostly negative reviews upon release, such as Bosley Crowther writing that "performances are strangely uneven", although Jones received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The opinions of Peck's performance have been polarized.


title: Gregory Peck

text: In 1947, Peck co-founded The La Jolla Playhouse, at his birthplace, with Mel Ferrer and Dorothy McGuire. This summer stock company presented productions in the La Jolla High School Auditorium from 1947 until 1964. In 1983, the La Jolla Playhouse re-opened in a new home at the University of California, San Diego, where it operates today. It has attracted Hollywood film stars on hiatus, both as performers and enthusiastic supporters, since its inception.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's next release was the modest-budget, serious adult drama, "The Macomber Affair" (1947), in which he portrays an African hunting trip guide assisting a visiting couple. During the trip, the wife, played by Joan Bennett, becomes enamored with Peck, and the husband gets shot. Peck was very active in the development of the film, including recommending director Zoltan Korda. The film received positive reviews but was mostly overlooked by the public upon its release, which Peck would later say disappointed him.


title: Gregory Peck

text: In November 1947, Peck's next film, the landmark "Gentleman's Agreement", directed by Elia Kazan, was released and was immediately proclaimed as "Hollywood's first major attack on anti-Semitism". Based on a novel, the film has Peck portraying a New York magazine writer who pretends to be Jewish so he can experience personally the hostility of bigots. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Peck for Best Actor, winning in the Best Film and Best Director categories. It was the second-highest top-grossing film of 1948. Peck would indicate in his later years that the film was one of his proudest works. Upon release, "Gentleman's Agreement" was widely praised for both its courageousness and its quality, Peck's performance has been described as very convincing by many critics, both upon release and in recent years. In recent decades, critics have expressed differing opinions regarding Peck's portrayal, the quality of the film by modern standard, and the film's effectiveness at addressing anti-semitism, with film writer Matt Bailey writing ""Gentleman's Agreement" may have been an important film at one time, but was never a good film,"


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's next three releases were each commercial disappointments. "The Paradine Case" (1947), was his second and last film with Hitchcock. When producer David O. Selznick insisted on casting Peck for the movie, Hitchcock was apprehensive, questioning whether Peck could properly portray an English lawyer. In later years, Peck did not speak fondly of the making of the movie Released in 1947,"The Paradine Case" was a British-set courtroom drama about a defense lawyer in love with his client. It had an international cast including Charles Laughton, Ethel Barrymore and Alida Valli as the accused. The movie received positive reviews, many complimenting Peck's performance, but was panned by the public, only recouping half of the $4.2million production costs. In recent decades, the film was criticized by most prominent writers, although critic's praised Peck's acting. Writers Paul Condon and Jim Sangster stated that "Peck is vulnerable yet believable in a role that requires significant delicacy of touch to maintain viewer's loyalty and interest."


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck shared top billing with Anne Baxter in the western "Yellow Sky" (1948), the namesake setting as the ghost town Peck's group of bank robbers seek refuge in, encountering the spunky tomboy, Baxter, and her grandfather, alongside their gold. Peck gradually develops an interest in Baxter's character, who in turn seems to rediscover her femininity and develops an interest in him. Critics which commented on Peck's performance felt it to be solid. as being slightly unbelievable, The film was only moderately commercially successful. A year later, Peck was paired with Ava Gardner for their first of three films together in "The Great Sinner" (1949), a period drama-romance where a Russian writer, Peck, becomes addicted to gambling while helping Gardner and her father pay back their debts. Peck ended up becoming great friends with Gardner, and would later declare her his favorite co-star. Their friendship lasted the rest of Gardner's life, and upon her death in 1990, Peck took in both her housekeeper and her dog. The film received unfavorable reviews usually describing it as dull, and the public was not interested, rendering it a commercial disappointment. In modern times, the film has received mixed reviews but "TV Guide" says "this often gripping film" has strong performances, that "Peck is powerful" in his portrayal. Peck initially rejected the film, his last movie under his MGM contract, eventually agreeing to do it as a favor to the studio's production head.


title: Gregory Peck

text: His second 1949 release, "Twelve O'Clock High" (1949), was the first of many films in which Peck embodied the brave, effective, yet human, "fighting man". Based on true events, Peck portrays the new commander of a U.S. World War II bomber squadron tasked with whipping the crew into shape, but then breaks down emotionally under the stress of the job. The National Board of Review ranked it in their top ten films of the year and it received four Academy Awards nominations, Best Actor for Peck. Peck was later recognized in the New York Film Critics Circle for the role. "Twelve O'Clock High" was a commercial success finishing tenth in the 1950 box office rankings. The film received strong reviews upon release. Recent critics maintain positive opinions. Evaluations of Peck's performance were positive, with "The New York Times" describing "High and particular praise for Gregory Peck... Peck does an extraordinarily able job in revealing the hardness and the softness of a general exposed to peril." Film historian Peter von Bagh considers Peck's performance "as Brigadier General Frank Savage to be the most enduring of his life".


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck began the 1950s with two westerns, the first being "The Gunfighter" (1950), directed by Henry King, who had worked with him previously on "Twelve O'Clock High". Peck plays an aging "Top Gun of the West" who is now weary of killing and wishes to retire with his alluring but pragmatic wife and his seven-year-old son, both of whom he has not seen for many years. Peck and King did much photographic research about the Wild West Era, discovering that most cowboys had facial hair, "bowl" haircuts and wore beat-up clothing; Peck subsequently wore a mustache while filming. The studio's president called for re-shoots upon seeing the initial footage due to the mustache, but backed out due to costs inflated by the production manager at King and Peck's persuasion. "The Gunfighter" did fair but disappointing business at the box office, earning $5.6million in receipts, the 47th most for 1951. 20th Century Fox's studio chief Darryl Zanuck blamed Peck's mustache for the lukewarm reaction from Peck's typical fans, stating that wanted to see usual handsome, clean-shaven Peck, not the authentic-cowboy Peck. "The Gunfighter", received "solid reviews" upon release, with particular enthusiasm from some critics, and Peck's performance "bringing him some of his best notices". "The New York Times" wrote, "through Mr. Peck's fine performance, a fair comprehension is conveyed of the loneliness and the isolation of a man with a lurid name... an arresting and quite exciting film." The movie has grown in critical appreciation over the years and "is now considered one of the all-time classic westerns" Critics of recent decades uniformly praise Peck's performance, with David Parkinson of "Radio Times" saying "Peck gives a performance of characteristic dignity and grit."


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's next western was "Only the Valiant" (1951), a low-budget movie, for which Peck disliked the script and would later label as the low point of his career. Peck's non-exclusive contract with David O. Selznick permitted Selznick to sell his services to other studios, and Selznick sold his services to Warner Bros for this movie after he ran into financial difficulties. The plot of the film is listed as "an unpopular, strict leader gathers together a rag-tag group of men and leads them on an extremely dangerous mission, turning them into a well-oiled fighting machine by the end and earning respect along the way." Peck portrays a U.S. army captain and the mission is to protect an undermanned army fort against the attacking Apache. Peck's romantic interest was played by Barbara Payton. "Variety's" review said "In this cavalry yarn... great pains have been exerted to provide interesting characters. Peck makes the most of a colorful role." It earned a moderate $5.7million, ranking at 35th for the year. This little-remembered picture, today receives mixed reviews, although Peck's acting is praised.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's second 1951 release was the book-to-film adaptation "Captain Horatio Hornblower", featuring Peck as the commander of a warship in the British fleet during the Napoleonic Wars who finds romance with Virginia Mayo's character. Peck was attracted to the character, saying, "I thought Hornblower was an interesting character. I never believe in heroes who are unmitigated and unadulterated heroes, who never know the meaning of fear." The role had been originally intended for Errol Flynn, but he was felt to be too old by the time the project came to fruition. "Captain Horatio Hornblower" was a box office success, finishing ninth for the year in the UK and seventh in the North America. Peck's role in the film was largely praised by reviewers. The "Associated Press" stated that Peck provided "the proper dash and authenticity as the remarkable nineteenth-century skipper" and "Variety" later wrote "Peck stands out as a skilled artist, capturing the spirit of the character and atmosphere of the period." Modern reviews have given mixed reactions toward Peck's performance. Richard Gilliam of "AllMovie" argues, it is "an excellent performance from Gregory Peck" stating that "Peck brings his customary aura of intelligence and moral authority to the role," while the "Radio Times" asserts "Gregory Peck plays Hornblower as a high-principle stuff shirt and thus confounds director Raoul Walsh's efforts to inject some pace."


title: Gregory Peck

text: His third film with Henry King's direction, "David and Bathsheba", a Biblical epic, was the top-grossing movie of 1951. The two-hit-movie punch of "Horatio" and "David" elevated Peck to the status of Hollywood mega-star. "David and Bathsheba" tells the story of David (Peck), who slew Goliath as a teenager; and, later, as beloved King, becomes infatuated with the married Bathsheba, played by Susan Hayward. Peck's performance in "David and Bathsheba" was evaluated upon release by "The New York Times" "as an authoritative performance," and "Variety" stated "Peck is a commanding personality... he shades his character expertly", In recent years, critics have argued that his "stiff" performance is made up for in charisma, but overall praised his strength in the role and Leonard Maltin says the movie has "only fair performances". "David and Bathsheba" opened with positive reviews, including praise for avoiding excessive spectacle while remaining an epic with "dignified restraint".


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck returned to swashbucklers in "The World in His Arms" (1952), directed by Raoul Walsh, who had also directed "Captain Horatio Hornblower". Peck portrays a seal-hunting ship captain in 1850 San Francisco who romances a Russian countess played by Ann Blyth and ends up engaging a rival sealer played by Anthony Quinn in a sailing race to Alaska. The film was given positive reviews by both contemporary and modern critics. "All Movie" commented that Peck is "a superb actor, who brings enormous skill to the part, but who simply lacks the overt derring-do and danger that is part of the role." The film was moderately successful, more so in the UK than in North America.


title: Gregory Peck

text: He reunited with previous collaborators King, Hayward, and Gardner in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" (1952), an adaptation of a short story by Ernest Hemingway. The film stars Peck as a self-concerned writer looking back on his life, particularly his romance with his first wife (Gardner), while he slowly dies from an accidental wound while on an African hunting expedition with his current wife (Hayward) nursing him. The film was praised for its cinematography and direction. Most reviews praise Peck's performance, with "TV Guide" saying the story is "enacted with power and conviction by Peck," although some criticized his "bland" expressions. "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" was a box office hit and ranked as the fourth-highest-grossing movie of 1952.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's "first real foray into comedy" was "Roman Holiday" (1953), directed by William Wyler. He portrayed American journalist Joe Bradley opposite Audrey Hepburn as a European princess in her first significant film role. Peck's role in "Roman Holiday" had originally been offered to Cary Grant, who turned it down because the part appeared to be more of a supporting role to the princess. Peck had the same concern, but was persuaded by Wyler that the on-site filming in Rome would be an exceptional experience, and accepted the part, even eventually insisting that Hepburn's name be above the title of the film (just beneath his) in the opening credits. Peck later stated that he had told his agent "I'm smart enough to know this girl's going to win the Oscar in her first picture, and I'm going to look like a damned fool if her name is not up there on top with mine."


title: Gregory Peck

text: "Roman Holiday" was a commercial success, finishing 22nd in the box office in 1953. The film continued to garner money after its release, with "modern sources noting it earned $10 million total at the box office". Critics praised Peck's performance; Bosley Crowther stated that "Peck makes a stalwart and manly escort... whose eyes belie his restrained exterior," while the "Hollywood Reporter" commented that "Peck turns in another of his outstanding performances playing the love-smitten reporter with intelligence and good-humored conviction;" The film was met with critical acclaim. It was nominated for multiple accolades, including 8 Academy Awards, with Hepburn winning for Best Actress; Peck also scored a BAFTA nomination for Foreign Actor. At the 1955 Golden Globe awards, Peck and Hepburn were named the World Film Favorite Award winners for their respective genders.


title: Gregory Peck

text: With his acclaimed performance in "The Gunfighter", Peck was offered the lead role in "High Noon" (1952) but turned it down because he did not want to become typecast as a Westerns actor. Peck was based in the United Kingdom for about eighteen months between 1953 and 1955; new tax laws had drastically raised the tax rate on high-income earners, but the tax amount due would be reduced if the payer worked outside the country for extended periods. After "Roman Holiday"s production in Italy, his three subsequent films were shot and set in London, Germany and Southeast Asia, respectively. Peck starred in "The Million Pound Note" (1954), based on a Mark Twain short story. Peck enjoyed the film's production as "it was a good comedy opportunity" and "was given probably the most elegant wardrobe he had ever worn in film". He plays a penniless American seaman in 1903 London who is given a onemillion pound bank note by two rich, eccentric brothers who wish to ascertain if he can survive for one month without spending any of it. The film performed modestly at the box office and received mixed reviews for its production. Adrian Turner of the "Radio Times" praised it as a "lovely comedy" which "has a lot of charm and gentle humor, owing to Peck's evident delight in the role and the unobtrusive direction" adding it has a "witty script".


title: Gregory Peck

text: He portrayed a US army colonel investigating the kidnapping of a young soldier in "Night People" (1954). Peck later stated that the role of was one of his favorites as his lines were "tough and crisp and full of wisecracks, and more aggressive than other roles" he'd played. The film received praise for its production and direction, but did poorly at the box office. Peck flew to Sri Lanka to film "The Purple Plain" (1954), playing a Canadian bomber pilot with strong emotional problems during the Second World War. "The Purple Plain" was panned in the United States but became a hit in the United Kingdom, ranking tenth at the box office in 1954, and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film. Of his performance, Crowther wrote, "the extent of Peck's agony is impressively transmitted... in vivid and unrelenting scenes." In recent years, the movie "has become one of Peck's most respected works," with critic David Thomson rating Peck's performance as excellent. Craig Butler of "All Movie" describes "Peck is astonishing, giving the sort of layered, intense yet nuanced performance that deserves major awards".


title: Gregory Peck

text: In 1954, Peck was named the third most popular non-British film star in the United Kingdom. Peck did not have a film released in 1955. Peck made a comeback in the US. with " The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" (1956), in which he portrays a married, ex-soldier father of three who is increasingly haunted by his deeds in Italy during the Second World War. The film saw Peck reunited with "Duel in the Sun" co-star Jennifer Jones; during the filming of a scene where their characters argue, Jones clawed his face with her fingernails, prompting Peck to say to the director "I don't call that acting. I call it personal." The movie was successful, finishing eighth in box office gross for the year despite contemporary and modern reviews being mixed. Butler of "AllMovie" declared that "the role fits (Gregory Peck) as if it had been tailor-made for him. Peck's particular brilliance lies in the quiet strength that is so much a part of him and the way in which he uses subtle changes in that quietness to signal mammoth emotions. He's given ample opportunity to do so here and the results are enthralling... an exceptional performance". "Radio Times" refers to "the excellent Peck" and states Peck plays "the appealing flawed hero".


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck next starred as Captain Ahab in the 1956 film adaptation of Herman Melville's Moby Dick; he was unsure about his suitability for the part but was persuaded by director John Huston to take the role. Peck almost drowned twice during filming in stormy weather off the sea coasts of Ireland and several other performers and crew members suffered injuries. John Huston was named best director of the year by the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review for "Moby Dick", but did not receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director. The movie had the ninth highest box office of the year in North America, but cost $4.5million to make, more than double the original budget, and was considered a commercial disappointment. In 2003, editor Barry Monush wrote, "There was, and continues to be, controversy over his casting as Ahab in "Moby Dick."" Upon opening, "Variety" said: "Peck often seems understated and much too gentlemanly for a man supposedly consumed by insane fury.""The Hollywood Reporter" argued "Peck plays it... in a brooding, smoldering vein, but none the less intensely and dynamically." In modern times, critics have said Peck is: "often mesmerizing"; "stoic" and "more than adequate"; " and "lending a deranged dignity" to the role. Peck himself later said "I wasn't mad enough, not crazy enough, not obsessive enough – I should have done more. At the time, I didn't have more in me."


title: Gregory Peck

text: For romantic comedy "Designing Woman" (1957), Peck was permitted to choose his leading lady: Lauren Bacall, who was content to be busy with work as her husband was gravely ill at the time. The film revolves around a fashion designer and a sports writer on Californian vacation who have a whirlwind romance and hasty marriage despite Peck's character already having a girlfriend back home, only to find out when they return to New York that they have vastly different lifestyles. The film was mildly successful and entered at 35th for annual gross, but did not break even. Upon release, "Variety" said "Bacall... is excellent... Peck is fine as the confused sportswriter" and added that all the other actors/actresses give top-notch performances. In recent years, the few reviews from prominent critics or websites are generally positive with "TV Guide" exclaiming "they've made... the famous stoneface... Peck, somewhat funny. Bacall gives an especially good performance." "Designing Women" won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Some movie review books or websites do not include this movie.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's next movie, the western "The Bravados" (1958), reunited him with director Henry King after a six-year gap. King was widely considered to have produced some of Peck's best work; Peck once said "King was like an older brother, even a father figure. We communicated without talking anything to death. It was direction by osmosis." In "The Bravados", Peck's character spends weeks pursuing four outlaws whom he believes raped and murdered his wife while agonizing over his own morals. The film was a moderate success, finishing in the top 20 of the box office for 1959. In recent years, the film and Peck's performance has received mixed reviews; with "Time Out" asserting that "Peck's "crisis of conscience... is worked out in perfunctory religious terms;" and "TV Guide" stating Peck's cowboy's "moment of truth is a powerful one and he gives it all the value it deserves, although much of his acting up to then had been lackluster".


title: Gregory Peck

text: In 1956, Peck made a foray into the film production business, organizing Melville Productions and later, Brentwood Productions. These companies produced five movies over seven years, all starring Peck, including "Pork Chop Hill", for which Peck served as the executive producer. The films were observed by some as becoming more political, although Peck said he tried to avoid any "overt preachiness". In 1958, Peck and good friend William Wyler co-produced the western epic "The Big Country" (1958) separate from Peck's production company. The project ran into numerous issues; Wyler and Peck were dissatisfied with the script, which underwent almost daily revisions, causing stress for the performers. Peck and the screenwriters ended up rewriting the script after each day's shooting, causing stress for the performers, who would arrive the next day and find their lines and even entire scenes different than for what they had prepared. The stellar cast included Jean Simmons, Carrol Baker, Chuck Connors, Charlton Heston and Burl Ives; Ives won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his intense performance. There were disagreements between director Wyler and the performers, resulting in Peck storming off-set when Wyler refused to re-shoot a close-up scene. Peck and Wyler's relationship remained strained for three years after production. Peck said in 1974 that he had tried producing and acting simultaneously and felt "either it can't be done or it's just that I don't do it well".


title: Gregory Peck

text: The film itself was a big hit, finishing fourth at the domestic box office in 1958 and second in the UK. At the time of release, reviews for "The Big Country" were mixed, regarding the producers' prioritization of characterization versus technical filmmaking; opinions on Peck's performance were also disparate. In recent decades, critical opinion of "The Big Country" has generally risen although there is still disagreement; many prominent critics and publications describe the cinematography as excellent, some laud Peck's performance, and some cite the film as too long.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's next feature was "Pork Chop Hill" (1959), based on true events depicted in a book. Peck portrays a lieutenant during the Korean War who is ordered to use his infantry company to take the strategically insignificant Pork Chop Hill, as its capture would strengthen the U.S.'s position in the almost-complete armistice negotiations. As executive producer, Peck recruited Lewis Milestone of "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930) to direct. Many critics label it as an anti-war film; it has also been stated that "as shooting progressed it became clear Peck and Milestone had very different artistic visions." Peck later said the movie showed "the futility of settling political arguments by killing young men. We tried not to preach; we let it speak for itself." Despite solid reviews, the film did only fair business at the box office. Most critics, both upon "Pork Chop Hill"s opening and in recent years, agree that it is a gritty, grim and realistic rendering of battle action. Three critics who comment on Peck's performance are laudatory, with "Variety" saying Peck's performance is "completely believable. He comes through as a born leader, and yet it is quite clear that he has moments of doubt and of uncertainty."


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's second release of 1959 cast him opposite Deborah Kerr in "Beloved Infidel" which as based on the memoirs of film columnist Sheilah Graham. The film portrays the romance between Graham (Kerr) and author F. Scott Fitzgerald (Peck) during the last three years of his life, towards the end of which Fitzgerald was often drunk and abusive. Crowther assessed it as "generally flat and uninteresting" with a "postured performance of Gregory Peck... his grim-faced, monotony as a washout is relieved in a couple of critical scenes by some staggering and bawling as a drunkard, but that is hardly enough." "Variety" said that "the acting, while excellent and persuasive in parts, is shallow and artificial in others. Problem is primarily with Peck who brings to Fitzgerald the kind of clean-cut looks and youthful appearance that conflict with the image of a has-been novelist." Reviews from five prominent scribes in recent decades are similar, saying, Peck was blatantly miscast, with "TV Guide" specifying that because of their physical differences Craig Butler saying "Peck was an extremely talented actor, but there is nothing in his personality that matches the qualities associated with Fitzgerald.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck starred next in "On the Beach" (1959) alongside Ava Gardner in their third and final film together. The film is considered to be Hollywood's first major movie about the implications of nuclear warfare. Directed by Stanley Kramer and based on Neville Shute's best-selling book, it shows the last months of several people in Melbourne, Australia as they await the onset of radioactive fallout from nuclear bombs. Peck portrays a U.S. submarine commander who has brought his crew to Australia from the North Pacific Ocean after nuclear bombs had been detonated in the northern hemisphere, and who eventually romances Gardner's character. The film was named in the top ten lists of the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle and was successful at the North American box office finishing eighth for the year, but due to its high production cost it lost $700,000. "On the Beach" was praised by critics. In recent decades, critical opinion of "On the Beach" is mixed with some prominent critics asserting the script is poor, but some critics saying the acting, especially Peck, and cinematography are excellent, and that, overall, the film is powerful. Butler of "AllMovie" writes, "...problematic is the clichéd, almost soap-operatic relationship between Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner and the somewhat melodramatic handling of other sections of the film... The cast helps tremendously. Peck has rarely been more stalwart... Even decades after its release, Beach is a harrowing and devastating experience."


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's first release of 1961 was "The Guns of Navarone". A J. Lee Thompson-directed World War II drama, it depicts Peck's six-man commando team, which includes David Niven and Anthony Quinn, undertaking a mission to destroy two seemingly impregnable German-controlled artillery guns on Navarone Island. The team of specialists (Peck is the mountain climbing expert) needs to destroy the guns so British ships can evacuate 2,000 trapped British soldiers across the Aegean Sea. During filming Peck said his team seems to defeat "the entire German army" which approached parody, and he concluded that cast members had to "play their roles with complete conviction" to make the film convincing. The film was the top-grossing movie of 1961, and became "one of the most popular adventure movies of its day". It landed seven Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Special Effects; other accolades include the Golden Globe Award for Best Dramatic Movie and the BAFTA for Best British Screenplay.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Critics praised "The Guns of Navarone", it being named the best picture of the year in "Film Daily's" annual poll of critics and industry reporters in 1961. In recent decades, most prominent critics or publications give it positive reviews Paul V. Peckly of "The New York Herald Tribune" wrote, "Peck may seem at times a trifle wooden and his German accent too obviously American... but his not too introspective, somewhat baffled manner is manly and fitted to the role he plays.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's next film was "Cape Fear" (1962), produced by Melville Productions. Peck portrays a lawyer whose witness testimony convicted Robert Mitchum's character, who upon being released from prison after serving eight years for sexual assault, threatens to get back at Peck through his wife and daughter, and meticulously terrorizes the family. Peck was anxious to have Mitchum in the role of Cady, but Mitchum declined at first and only relented after Peck and Thompson delivered a case of bourbon to Mitchum's home. Many cuts were made to the movie to satisfy censorship codes in the US and UK. The film grossed only $5million at the North American box office, 47th for the year.


title: Gregory Peck

text: After "Cape Fear", Peck planned to make his directorial debut with "They're a Weird Mob" but eventually did not make the film.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's next role was in the 1962 film adaptation of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "To Kill a Mockingbird".; Peck plays the part of a kind and scrupulously honest lawyer father, Atticus Finch. Peck won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, which was his fifth and last time nominated. The film received seven other Academy Award nominations including for Best Picture, Director and Cinematography, also winning Adapted Screenplay and Art Direction. At the Golden Globes, Peck won for Best Actor in a Drama and the film was nominated for Best Film and Director; the film was nominated for Best Film at the BAFTAs. The film was a commercial success as the sixth-highest-grossing film of the year. In 2003, Atticus Finch, as portrayed by Peck, was named the greatest film hero of the past 100 years by the American Film Institute. Peck would later say of "To Kill A Mockingbird": "My favorite film, without any question."


title: Gregory Peck

text: When producer Alan J. Pakula and director Robert Mulligan approached Peck about taking the role of Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird", Peck agreed to read the book. He stated "I got started on it and of course I sat up all night and read straight through it... I called them at about eight o'clock in the morning and said 'When do I start? Peck did eventually request changes so that film deviated somewhat from the book, mainly showing more scenes of Peck in the courtroom than were in the original rough cut, thus shifting the focus away from the children, who had been the focus of the book, and more towards Atticus Finch. Peck's performance received universal acclaim from critics. "Variety" wrote that the role was especially challenging for Peck but that he "not only succeeds, but makes it appear effortless, etching a portrayal of strength, dignity and intelligence." The "Hollywood Reporter" said "Peck gives probably the finest performance of his career, understated, casual, effective." "Time" posited "Peck, though he is generally excellent, lays it on a bit thick at times – he seems to imagine himself the Abe Lincoln of Alabama." Reviews in recent decades have similarly lauded Peck's performance, with "Film Monthly" observing, "Gregory Peck's performance as lawyer Atticus Finch is just as beautiful, natural, and nuanced as the movie itself." Both Michael Gebert and Andrew Collins of "Radio Times" refer to Atticus Finch as the role that defined Peck's career.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1967, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Film Institute from 1967 to 1969, Chairman of the Motion Picture and Television Relief Fund in 1971, and National Chairman of the American Cancer Society in 1966. He was a member of the National Council on the Arts from 1964 to 1966.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck's rare attempts at villainous roles were not acclaimed. Early on, he played the renegade son in the Western "Duel in the Sun", and, later in his career, the infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele in "The Boys from Brazil". In the 1980s, Peck moved to television, where he starred in the mini-series "The Blue and the Gray", playing Abraham Lincoln. He also starred with Christopher Plummer, John Gielgud, and Barbara Bouchet in the television film "The Scarlet and The Black", about Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, a real-life Catholic priest in the Vatican who smuggled Jews and other refugees away from the Nazis during World War II.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck, Mitchum, and Martin Balsam all had roles in the 1991 remake of "Cape Fear", directed by Martin Scorsese. In the remake, Peck played Max Cady's lawyer. His last prominent film role also came in 1991, in "Other People's Money", directed by Norman Jewison and based on the stage play of that name. Peck played a business owner trying to save his company against a hostile takeover bid by a Wall Street liquidator played by Danny DeVito.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck retired from active film-making after the film. Peck spent the last few years of his life touring the world doing speaking engagements in which he would show clips from his movies and take questions from the audience. He came out of retirement for a 1998 mini-series version of one of his most famous films, "Moby Dick", portraying Father Mapple (played by Orson Welles in the 1956 version), with Patrick Stewart as Captain Ahab, the role Peck played in the earlier film. It was his final performance, and it won him the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film. Peck had been offered the role of Grandpa Joe in the 2005 film "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", but died before he could accept it. The Irish actor David Kelly was then given the part.


title: Gregory Peck

text: In 1947, while many Hollywood figures were being blacklisted for similar activities, Peck signed a letter deploring a House Un-American Activities Committee investigation of alleged communists in the film industry. A life-long Democrat, Peck was suggested in 1970 as a possible Democratic candidate to run against Ronald Reagan for the office of California Governor. Although he later admitted that he had no interest in being a candidate himself for public office, Peck encouraged one of his sons, Carey Peck, to run for political office. He was defeated both times by slim margins in races in 1978 and 1980 against Republican U.S. Representative Bob Dornan, another former actor.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck revealed that former President Lyndon Johnson had told him that, had he sought re-election in 1968, he intended to offer Peck the post of U.S. ambassador to Ireland – a post Peck, owing to his Irish ancestry, said he might well have taken, saying, "[It] would have been a great adventure". The actor's biographer Michael Freedland substantiates the report, and says that Johnson indicated that his presentation of the Medal of Freedom to Peck would perhaps make up for his inability to confer the ambassadorship. President Richard Nixon, though, placed Peck on his "enemies list", owing to Peck's liberal activism.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck was outspoken against the Vietnam War, while remaining supportive of his son, Stephen, who fought there. In 1972, Peck produced the film version of Daniel Berrigan's play "The Trial of the Catonsville Nine" about the prosecution of a group of Vietnam protesters for civil disobedience. Despite his reservations about American general Douglas MacArthur as a man, Peck had long wanted to play him on film, and did so in "MacArthur" in 1976. Peck was a close friend of French president Jacques Chirac.


title: Gregory Peck

text: In 1978, Peck traveled to Alabama, the setting of "To Kill a Mockingbird", to campaign for Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Donald W. Stewart of Anniston, who defeated the Republican candidate, James D. Martin, a former U.S. representative from Gadsden. In 1987, Peck undertook the voice-overs for television commercials opposing President Ronald Reagan's Supreme Court nomination of judge Robert Bork. Bork's nomination was defeated. Peck was also a vocal supporter of a worldwide ban of nuclear weapons, and a life-long advocate of gun control.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Documents declassified in 2017 show that the National Security Agency had created a biographical file on Peck as part of its monitoring of prominent US citizens.


title: Gregory Peck

text: In October 1942, Peck married Finnish-born Greta Kukkonen (1911–2008), with whom he had three sons: Jonathan (1944–1975), Stephen (b. 1946), and Carey Paul (b. 1949). They were divorced in December 1955. Peck's eldest son was found dead in his home on June 26, 1975, in what authorities believed was a suicide.


title: Gregory Peck

text: During his first marriage, Peck had a brief affair with "Spellbound" co-star Ingrid Bergman. He confessed the affair to Brad Darrach of "People" in a 1987 interview, saying: "All I can say is that I had a real love for her [Bergman], and I think that's where I ought to stop... I was young. She was young. We were involved for weeks in close and intense work."


title: Gregory Peck

text: On New Year's Eve in 1955, the day after his divorce was final, Peck married Véronique Passani (1932–2012), a Paris news reporter who had interviewed him in 1952 before he went to Italy to film "Roman Holiday". He asked her to lunch six months later, and they became inseparable. They had a son, Anthony Peck (b. 1956), and a daughter, Cecilia Peck (b. 1958). The couple remained married until Gregory Peck's death. His son Anthony is a former husband of supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. Peck had grandchildren from both marriages. One of his grandsons from his first marriage is actor Ethan Peck.


title: Gregory Peck

text: Peck was the owner of thoroughbred steeplechase race horses. In 1963, Owen's Sedge finished seventh in the Grand National. Another of his horses, Different Class, raced in the 1968 Grand National The horse was favored, but finished third.