| The High and the Mighty | |
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| Directed by | William A. Wellman |
| Produced by | Robert Fellows John Wayne |
| Written by | Ernest K. Gann |
| Starring | John Wayne Claire Trevor Laraine Day Robert Stack Jan Sterling |
| Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Cinematography | Archie Stout |
| Editing by | Ralph Dawson |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
| Release date(s) | July 3, 1954 |
| Running time | 147 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The High and the Mighty (1954) is a disaster film released through Warner Brothers. The film starred and was co-produced by John Wayne, directed by William A. Wellman, and written by Ernest K. Gann, who also wrote the novel (The High and the Mighty) on which the film is based. Dimitri Tiomkin earned an Academy Award for his score, and the film's theme ("The High and the Mighty") was nominated for an Oscar. The High and the Mighty was one of the first all-star disaster films, which paved the way for the Airport films (and eventually the parody, Airplane!, whose cast included Robert Stack, a star player in The High and the Mighty).
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Island in the Sky and The High and the Mighty Similarities
Island in the Sky and "The High and the Mighty" are film oddities as they are two of the first all-star disaster films, which paved the way for Airport and its sequels twenty-plus years later, as well as the Airplane spoofs. Both films are also two of the early John Wayne co-productions and starred Wayne. This production practice would not become widespread until the 1980s and 90s, when stars from Robert Redford to Sandra Bullock took control of productions. Both films also had many of the same crew members: producers, director, writer, cinematographer, and editor. Island in the Sky and The High and the Mighty were out of circulation for about a quarter-century due to legal issues. The High and the Mighty also needed some restoration of its badly-faded color, according to information provided in the DVD. Finally, they were rebroadcast on television in July 2005, the first broadcasts in twenty years, and also released as special edition DVDs that August.
Plot
The plot follows the personal dramas and professional doubts of the passengers and crew aboard a Trans-Orient-Pacific DC-4 flight that develops engine problems over the ocean, causing a fuel leak. Among the troubled passengers are a "broken-down old broad" named May Holst (Claire Trevor), mail-order bride Sally McKee (Jan Sterling), Donald Falherty (Paul Kelly), a scientist who is conscience-stricken about his work on the atomic bomb, rich snob Lydia Rice (Laraine Day) and her sponging husband Howard (John Howard), selfish playwright Gustave Pardee (Robert Newton) and his placating wife Lillian (Julie Bishop), playboy investor Ken Childs (David Brian), Humphrey Agnew (Sidney Blackmer), who thinks Childs is having an affair with his wife, the exuberant Ed Joseph (Phil Harris) and his wife Clara (Ann Doran), returning from the vacation from hell, Nell and Milo Buck (Karen Sharpe and John Smith), a honeymooning young couple, ailing Frank Briscoe (Paul Fix), Korean refugee Dorothy Chen (Joy Kim), fisherman Jose Lacota (John Qualen), and Toby Field, a young boy returning to his mother, who sleeps through all of the excitement (played by the director's son, Michael Wellman).
The flight crew includes John Sullivan (Robert Stack), a pilot who is losing his nerve; Dan Roman (John Wayne), a washed-up pilot who piloted the plane that killed his family, Lenny Wilby (Wally Brown), Hobie Wheeler (William Campbell), and a novice stewardess (Doe Avedon). Soon after leaving Honolulu, with 2400 miles of empty Pacific Ocean to cross before reaching San Francisco, a sudden, minor vibration alerts copilot Dan Roman to a problem with the plane. The other aircrew and the passengers don't notice, except for the stewardess, who notices a shake in the mirror. Eventually, the other crew members are alerted, but the cause can't be found. Meanwhile, there are several personal crises brewing, the greatest being the plot by Agnew, who has brought a pistol aboard so that he can kill Childs. Just as Agnew makes his move, the #1 engine suddenly explodes, beginning hours of terror for all aboard and an air-sea-rescue effort to save the passengers, if the plane should be forced down in the ocean. Viewers see the United States Coast Guard swing into action. The passengers and crew face their impending doom by re-evaulating their lives. The troubles are compounded when errors made by navigator Wilby make it clear that the plane won't make it to the coastline, due to one fuel tank being ruptured by the explosion. Sullivan prepares to ditch the plane, despite the risks, finally having a mental breakdown which is ended when Roman rebels against the orders. Roman convinces Sullivan that they can make it to the airport, even though they have to cross a hill that stands in the way. The plane does make it, and inspection shows how close a thing it was, as the engine had nearly fallen off the wing. The film ends with Roman walking off alone into the darkness . . .whistling . . .
Reception
When released in July of 1954, The High and the Mighty found great success, becoming one of the most successful films of that year. Being a film oddity, one of the first all-star disaster dramas, the film garnered much praise by critics. In addition to lead actor and producer John Wayne in a memorable role against type, its supporting stars Claire Trevor and Jan Sterling, earned Academy Awards nominations for Best Supporting Actress. The film's theme, written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington, was also nominated for an Academy Award and found popularity upon release.
Legacy
The High and the Mighty was one of the earliest airplane disaster films, and the first to focus attentions on the personal dramas of the passengers. The film predated such all-star affairs as Airport and its sequels by nearly twenty years. In the sixties and seventies, The High and the Mighty became a staple of network television. Due to tighter broadcast schedules and several royalty disputes, the film's last appearances on television were in 1982 on the TBS cable channel, and on Cinemax in March/April, 1985, though it was also broadcast on Turner Classic Movies on October 27, 2007. As a result of the film's rarity, it developed a cult following, which led to petitions to get the film released on home video formats. The estate of John Wayne, through Gretchen Wayne, the widow of the actor's late son, Michael, made a deal in the early 2000s with Cinetech and Chace Productions to update and restore both The High and the Mighty and another "lost" Wayne film, Island in the Sky. This led to a distribution agreement with both American Movie Classics (for TV rights) and Paramount Pictures (home video rights). Following its restoration, The High and the Mighty was rebroadcast on television in July 2005, the first broadcasts in twenty years. Together with Island in the Sky, the film was released as a "special collector's edition" DVD in August of the same year by Paramount Home Entertainment.
Cast
John Wayne as Dan Roman
Claire Trevor as May Holst
Laraine Day as Lydia Rice
Robert Stack as John Sullivan
Jan Sterling as Sally McKee
Phil Harris as Ed Joseph
Paul Fix as Frank Briscoe
Robert Newton as Gustave Pardee
David Brian as Ken Childs
Joy Kim as Dorothy Chen
Paul Kelly as Donald Flaherty
Sidney Blackmer as Humphrey Agnew
William Campbell as Hobie Wheeler
Julie Bishop as Lillian Pardee
John Howard as Howard Rice
John Qualen as Jose Locota
Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez as Gonzales
Doe Avedon as Stewardess Spalding
Awards
Academy Awards
Won:
Nominated:
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Jan Sterling
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Claire Trevor
- Best Director - William A. Wellman
- Best Film Editing - Ralph Dawson
- Best Music, Original Song - Dimitri Tiomkin & Ned Washington ("The High and the Mighty")
Golden Globes
Won:
Trivia
One of the crew members of the US Coast Guard rescue plane is played by Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer who was best known for his role in the Little Rascals shorts of the 1930's. In 1964 the aircraft used in this this film was lost without a trace on a flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles. There is a brief clip of a V-1 launch supposedly at the atomic missile test site and it is a PB-1G/B-17 that the Coast Guard sends the the rescue.
External links
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| 1930s | Dangerous Paradise • Young Eagles • Maybe It's Love • Other Men's Women • The Public Enemy • Night Nurse • The Star Witness • Safe in Hell • The Hatchet Man • So Big! • Love Is a Racket • The Purchase Price • The Conquerors • Frisco Jenny • Central Airport • Lilly Turner • Heroes for Sale • Midnight Mary • Wild Boys of the Road • College Coach • Looking for Trouble • Stingaree • The President Vanishes • The Call of the Wild • The Robin Hood of El Dorado • Small Town Girl • A Star Is Born • Nothing Sacred • Men With Wings • Beau Geste • The Light that Failed |
| 1940s | Reaching for the Sun • Roxie Hart • The Great Man's Lady • Thunder Birds • Lady of Burlesque • The Ox-Bow Incident • Buffalo Bill • This Man's Navy • The Story of G.I. Joe • Gallant Journey • Magic Town • The Iron Curtain • Yellow Sky • Battleground |
| 1950s | The Next Voice You Hear... • The Happy Years • Across the Wide Missouri • It's a Big Country • Westward the Women • My Man and I • Island in the Sky • The High and the Mighty • Track of the Cat • Blood Alley • Good-bye, My Lady • Darby's Rangers • Lafayette Escadrille |
| Television | Light's Diamond Jubilee (with Alan Handley), Christian Nyby, Roy Rowland, Norman Taurog, King Vidor and Bud Yorkin) (1954) |
