The High and the Mighty (film): Difference between revisions

The High and the Mighty
The High and the Mighty
	File:MOVIES-HighAndMighty.jpg
Directed by	William A. Wellman
Written by	Ernest K. Gann
Produced by	Robert Fellows; John Wayne
Starring	John Wayne; Claire Trevor; Laraine Day; Robert Stack; Jan Sterling
Cinematography	Archie Stout
Edited by	Ralph Dawson
Music by	Dimitri Tiomkin
Distributed by	Warner Brothers
Release dates	July 3, 1954
Running time	147 min.
Language	English

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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).

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).

File:Thehighandmighty'54.jpg

The Flight Crew

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 aircraft that killed his family, Lenny Wilby (Wally Brown), Hobie Wheeler (William Campbell), and a novice stewardess (Doe Avedon).

Soon after leaving Honolulu, with 2,400 miles of empty Pacific Ocean to cross before reaching San Francisco, a sudden, minor vibration alerts copilot Dan Roman to a problem with the airliner. 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 DC-4 airliner 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-evaluating their lives. Their 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 aircraft 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...

Cast

As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):^[1]

Actor	Role
John Wayne	Dan Roman
Claire Trevor	May Holst
Laraine Day	Lydia Rice
Robert Stack	John Sullivan
Jan Sterling	Sally McKee
Phil Harris	Ed Joseph
Paul Fix	Frank Briscoe
Robert Newton	Gustave Pardee
David Brian	Ken Childs
Joy Kim	Dorothy Chen
Paul Kelly	Donald Flaherty
Sidney Blackmer	Humphrey Agnew
William Campbell	Hobie Wheeler
Julie Bishop	Lillian Pardee
John Howard	Howard Rice
John Qualen	Jose Locota
Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez	Gonzales
Doe Avedon	Stewardess Spalding

A full cast and production crew list is too lengthy to include, see: IMDb profile.^[1]

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.

Production

One of the crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard rescue plane is played by Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer who was best known for his role in the Little Rascals shorts of the 1930s.

In 1964, the aircraft used in this this film was lost without a trace on a flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles. ^[2]

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 for the rescue.

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 20-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 1990s, 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 20 years, and also released as special edition DVDs that August.

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 1960s and 1970s, 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 27 October 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 20 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.

Awards

Academy Awards

Won:

Best Music - Dimitri Tiomkin

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:

Best Supporting Actress - Jan Sterling

References

Notes

Bibliography

Hardwick, Jack and Schnepf, Ed. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies." The Making of the Great Aviation Films. General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.

External links

Catastrophe in the Movies
The High and the Mighty at the IMDb.

[credits-1] The High and the Mighty (1954) Full credits

[2] Honolulu to Los Angeles

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 '''''The High and the Mighty''''' ([[1954 in film|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 (novel)|The High and the Mighty]]'') on which the film is based. [[Dimitri Tiomkin]] earned an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for his score, and the film's theme ("[[The High and the Mighty (song)|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 (movie)|Airport]] films (and eventually the parody, ''[[Airplane!]]'', whose cast included Robert Stack, a star player in ''The High and the Mighty'').
-==''Island in the Sky'' and ''The High and the Mighty'' Similarities==
-''[[Island in the Sky (1953 film)|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 (movie)|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 [[DVD]]s 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).
 [[Image:Thehighandmighty'54.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The Flight Crew]]
-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).
+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 aircraft 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.
+Soon after leaving Honolulu, with 2,400 miles of empty Pacific Ocean to cross before reaching San Francisco, a sudden, minor vibration alerts copilot Dan Roman to a problem with the airliner.  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.
+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 DC-4 airliner 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-evaluating their lives. Their 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 passengers and crew face their impending doom by re-evaulating their lives.
+The aircraft 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...
-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.
+==Cast==
-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 . . .
+As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):<ref name= "credits"/>
+{| class="wikitable" width="65%"
+|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
+! Actor !! Role
+|-
+|[[John Wayne]] || Dan Roman
+|-
+|[[Claire Trevor]] || May Holst
+|-
+|[[Laraine Day]] || Lydia Rice
+|-
+|[[Robert Stack]] || John Sullivan
+|-
+|[[Jan Sterling]] || Sally McKee
+|-
+|[[Phil Harris]] || Ed Joseph
+|-
+|[[Paul Fix]] || Frank Briscoe
+|-
+|[[Robert Newton]] || Gustave Pardee
+|-
+|[[David Brian]] || Ken Childs
+|-
+|Joy Kim || Dorothy Chen
+|-
+|[[Paul Kelly (actor)|Paul Kelly]] || Donald Flaherty
+|-
+|[[Sidney Blackmer]] || Humphrey Agnew
+|-
+|[[William Campbell (actor, b. 1926)|William Campbell]] || Hobie Wheeler
+|-
+|Julie Bishop || Lillian Pardee
+|-
+|[[John Howard (American actor)|John Howard]] || Howard Rice
+|-
+|[[John Qualen]] || Jose Locota
+|-
+|[[Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez]] || Gonzales
+|-
+|Doe Avedon || Stewardess Spalding
+|}
+A full cast and production crew list is too lengthy to include, see: IMDb profile.<ref name= "credits">[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047086/fullcredits The High and the Mighty (1954) Full credits]</ref>
 ==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 [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]. The film's theme, written by [[Dimitri Tiomkin]] and [[Ned Washington]], was also nominated for an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] and found popularity upon release.
+==Production==
+One of the crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard rescue plane is played by [[Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer]] who was best known for his role in the Little Rascals shorts of the 1930s.
+In 1964, the aircraft used in this this film was lost without a trace on a flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles. <ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19640328-0&lang=en Honolulu to Los Angeles]</ref>
+There is a brief clip of a [[V-1]] launch supposedly at the atomic missile test site and it is a [[B-17 Flying Fortress|PB-1G/B-17]] that the Coast Guard sends for the rescue.
+===''Island in the Sky'' and ''The High and the Mighty'' Similarities===
+''[[Island in the Sky (1953 film)|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 (movie)|Airport]] and its sequels 20-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 1990s, 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 20 years, and also released as special edition [[DVD]]s that August.
 ==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|the sixties]] and [[The Seventies|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 (TV network)|TBS]] cable channel, and on Cinemax in March/April, 1985, though it was also broadcast on [[Turner Classic Movies]] on October 27, 2007.
+In [[1960s]] and [[1970s]], ''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 (TV network)|TBS]] cable channel, and on Cinemax in March/April 1985, though it was also broadcast on [[Turner Classic Movies]] on [[27 October]] [[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.
@@ Line 50: / Line 99: @@
 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 (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.
+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 20 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<br>
-[[Claire Trevor]] ''as'' May Holst<br>
-[[Laraine Day]] ''as'' Lydia Rice<br>
-[[Robert Stack]] ''as'' John Sullivan<br>
-[[Jan Sterling]] ''as'' Sally McKee<br>
-[[Phil Harris]] ''as'' Ed Joseph<br>
-[[Paul Fix]] ''as'' Frank Briscoe<br>
-[[Robert Newton]] ''as'' Gustave Pardee<br>
-[[David Brian]] ''as'' Ken Childs<br>
-[[Joy Kim]] ''as'' Dorothy Chen<br>
-[[Paul Kelly (actor)|Paul Kelly]] ''as'' Donald Flaherty<br>
-[[Sidney Blackmer]] ''as'' Humphrey Agnew<br>
-[[William Campbell (actor, b. 1926)|William Campbell]] ''as'' Hobie Wheeler<br>
-[[Julie Bishop (actor)|Julie Bishop]] ''as'' Lillian Pardee<br>
-[[John Howard (American actor)|John Howard]] ''as'' Howard Rice<br>
-[[John Qualen]] ''as'' Jose Locota<br>
-[[Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez]] ''as'' Gonzales<br>
-[[Doe Avedon]] ''as'' Stewardess Spalding<br>
 ==Awards==
@@ Line 82: / Line 111: @@
 * [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]] - [[Claire Trevor]]
 * [[Academy Award for Directing|Best Director]] - [[William A. Wellman]]
-* [[Academy Award for Film Editing|Best Film Editing]] - [[Ralph Dawson]]
+* [[Academy Award for Film Editing|Best Film Editing]] - Ralph Dawson
 * [[Academy Award for Best Song|Best Music, Original Song]] - [[Dimitri Tiomkin]] & [[Ned Washington]] ("[[The High and the Mighty (song)|The High and the Mighty]]")
@@ Line 89: / Line 118: @@
 * '''[[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actress]]''' - [[Jan Sterling]]
-====Trivia====
+==References==
+===Notes===
+{{reflist}}
-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.
+===Bibliography===
+{{refbegin}}
-In 1964 the aircraft used in this this film was lost without a trace on a flight from [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19640328-0&lang=en Honolulu to Los Angeles].
+* Hardwick, Jack and Schnepf, Ed. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies." ''The Making of the Great Aviation Films''. General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.
+{{refend}}
-There is a brief clip of a [[V-1]] launch supposedly at the atomic missile test site and it is a [[B-17 Flying Fortress|PB-1G/B-17]] that the Coast Guard sends the the rescue.
 ==External links==