Fate Is the Hunter (film)
| Fate Is the Hunter | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ralph Nelson |
| Written by | Ernest K. Gann (book) Harold Medford |
| Produced by | Aaron Rosenberg |
| Starring | Glenn Ford Nancy Kwan Rod Taylor |
| Edited by | Robert L. Simpson |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
Release date | November 8, 1964 (US) |
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
Fate Is the Hunter is a 1964 film about the crash of an airliner and the subsequent investigation. It was nominally based on the bestselling 1961 book of the same name by Ernest K. Gann, but the author was so disappointed with the result, he asked to have his name removed from the credits. In his autobiography A Hostage to Fortune, Gann wrote, "They obliged and as a result I deprived myself of the TV residuals, a medium in which the film played interminably."
The movie starred Glenn Ford and Nancy Kwan and included performances by Suzanne Pleshette, Rod Taylor, Jane Russell (playing herself entertaining for the USO in a flashback sequence), Wally Cox, and included an unbilled appearance by Dorothy Malone.
Plot
Pilot Jack Savage is suspected of drinking and causing an airliner crash that kills 53 people and leaves only a single survivor, Martha Webster, a flight attendant. The captain's wartime buddy, airline executive Sam C. McBane, is convinced of his friend's innocence and investigates doggedly.
Eventually, a test flight re-creating the actual flight shows that the crash was caused by a series of events -- including a cup of coffee spilling and shorting out wiring which falsely indicated an engine fire -- and not by pilot negligence.
Cast
- Glenn Ford as Sam McBane
- Nancy Kwan as Sally Fraser
- Rod Taylor as Jack Savage
- Suzanne Pleshette as Martha Webster
- Jane Russell as Guest Star
- Constance Towers as Peg Burke
- Wally Cox as Ralph Bundy
- Nehemiah Persoff as Ben Sawyer
- Mark Stevens as Mickey Doolan
- Max Showalter as Dan Crawford
- Dorothy Malone as Lisa Bond (uncredited)
- Howard St. John as Mark Hutchins
- Robert J. Wilke as Stillman
- Bert Freed as Charles J. Dillon
- Dort Clark as Ted Wilson
- Mary Wickes as Mrs. Llewlyn
- Robert F. Simon as Proctor
Cultural references
An excerpt of this movie was used in the 1980 comedy film Airplane!.
The film is mentioned several times in the 1995 television episode "JAG: Pilot Error"; it provides the protagonist with a clue in solving a fighter jet crash shown in this T.V. film.
Props used in the film
The "Consolidated Airways" jet aircraft used in the filming was one of two fabricated from DC-7(B) donors, the second was used to create the crash scene (on the beach). The wings were reportedly removed and reversed, a B 707 nose cone along with "supersonic spike" were also added in order to achieve the appearance of a modern jet airliner. Modifications to the rear section of the aircraft included the addition of two nacelles to accommodate the simulated jet engines. A rear-mounted B 707 spike - styled HF antenna isolator, and antenna were also added to the tail section. A section of the Fox back lot was converted into the tarmac, taxiway, and runway seen in the film. Reportedly, no airframe manufacturer or airline at the time was willing to cooperate in the production of the film, making these steps necessary. The aircraft was later used in the filming of an episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and remained parked for several years afterwards on an overpass adjacent to the 20th Century Fox Studios.
External links
- Fate Is the Hunter at IMDb
- Fate Is the Hunter at the TCM Movie Database
- Fate Is the Hunter at AllMovie
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