Operation Dumbo Drop (film) A U.S. Army captain, Sam Cahill, wrapping up his final tour of duty in Vietnam, finds himself trying to replace a village’s prized elephant, which had been caught in crossfire between American troops and the North Vietnamese. The task of moving a grown elephant across 300 miles of mine-laden, enemy-infested jungle is more than Cahill had counted on. When travel by road and river does not work, the intrepid crew decides to parachute the elephant using a very big parachute. Released on July 28, 1995. Directed by Simon Wincer. Stars Danny Glover (Sam Cahill), Ray Liotta (Capt. Doyle), Denis Leary (David Poole), Doug E. Doug (Harvey Ashford), Corin Nemec (Lawrence Farley). Filmed in CinemaScope. 108 min. The 26-year-old elephant star, Tai, weighs 8,000 pounds, is eight and a half feet tall, and had to be transported from the United States to the filming location in Thailand by means of a custom-made steel crate carried in a Korean Airlines 747 jumbo jet. Released on video in 1996.
