The High and the Mighty (1954)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Ernest K. Gann (novel)
Ernest K. Gann (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 July 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

The 2-year best seller blasts to the screen with every kind of love there is!

Plot:

When a commercial airliner develops engine problems on a trans-Pacific flight and the pilot loses his nerve...

Plot Keywords:

Disaster | Military | Newlyweds | Womanizer | Life Jacket

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

John Wayne	...	Dan Roman
Claire Trevor	...	May Holst
Laraine Day	...	Lydia Rice
Robert Stack	...	John Sullivan
Jan Sterling	...	Sally McKee
Phil Harris	...	Ed Joseph
Robert Newton	...	Gustave Pardee
David Brian	...	Ken Childs
Paul Kelly	...	Donald Flaherty
Sidney Blackmer	...	Humphrey Agnew
Julie Bishop	...	Lillian Pardee
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez	...	Gonzales (as Gonzales Gonzales)
John Howard	...	Howard Rice
Wally Brown	...	Lenny Wilby, navigator
William Campbell	...	Hobie Wheeler
John Qualen	...	Jose Locota
Ann Doran	...	Clara Joseph
Paul Fix	...	Frank Briscoe
Joy Kim	...	Dorothy Chen
George Chandler	...	Ben Sneed
Michael Wellman	...	Toby Field
Douglas Fowley	...	Alsop
Regis Toomey	...	Tim Garfield
Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer	...	Ensign Keim (as Carl Switzer)
Robert Keys	...	Lieutenant Mowbray
William Hopper	...	Roy (as William DeWolf Hopper)
William Schallert	...	Dispatcher
Julie Mitchum	...	Susie Wilby
Doe Avedon	...	Miss Spalding
Karen Sharpe	...	Nell Buck
John Smith	...	Milo Buck
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Close	...	Mechanic (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Mrs. Joseph's Doctor (uncredited)
Robert Easton	...	Cargo Clerk (uncredited)
Dorothy Ford	...	Mrs. Wilson (uncredited)
Al Hill	...	San Francisco Ground Crewman (uncredited)
William Hudson	...	Reporter (uncredited)
John Indrisano	...	Radar Operator (uncredited)
Douglas Kennedy	...	Boyd, Reporter (uncredited)
David Leonard	...	Scientist (uncredited)
Al Murphy	...	Lighthouse Dispatcher (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Restaurant Cook (uncredited)
Walter Reed	...	Mr. Field (uncredited)
Philip Van Zandt	...	Mr. Wilson (uncredited)

Directed by
William A. Wellman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ernest K. Gann		novel
Ernest K. Gann		screenplay

Produced by
Robert Fellows	....	producer
John Wayne	....	producer

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
Archie Stout

Film Editing by
Ralph Dawson

Art Direction by
Alfred Ybarra

Costume Design by
Gwen Wakeling

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Andrew V. McLaglen	....	assistant director

Art Department
Patrick Wayne	....	props assistant

Sound Department
John K. Kean	....	sound recordist

Stunts
Bill Keating	....	DC-4 stunt pilot
Tom Hennesy	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
William H. Clothier	....	aerial photographer

Music Department
Dimitri Tiomkin	....	conductor
Dimitri Tiomkin	....	music arranger: "Aloha Oe", "Kaua I Ka Hua Hua'i" and "The Barber of Seville"
Manuel Emanuel	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
George Parrish	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
John Qualen	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
David Tamkin	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Herbert Taylor	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Bill Benge	....	aerial photography
Bill Benge	....	technical advisor
Bill Keating	....	aerial photography
Muzzy Marcellino	....	whistler: dubbing for John Wayne

Production Companies

• Wayne-Fellows Productions

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1954) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1979) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Post Logic Studios  digital restoration

Runtime:

141 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo | Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (f) | Australia:M (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #16801) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn/Warner Hollywood Studios - 1041 N. Formosa Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Wayne-Fellows Productions

Trivia:

The lyrics to the famed title song are only heard at the very end, are sung by a large choral group, and are different than the familiar lyrics heard in the popular-song record releases of the time.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Near the end of the film, Air Traffic Control clears the aircraft to land on "runway 39" This is impossible. Runways are numbered are within 10 degrees of their actual magnetic heading, and since there are only 360 degrees on the compass, the highest runway number possible is "runway 36".

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ben Sneed: Hey fella, ain't you Dan Roman?
Dan Roman: Yeah.
Ben Sneed: I heard you whistlin' and I said to myself only one guy does that just so.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "I Love Lucy: Lucy and John Wayne (#5.2)" (1955)

Soundtrack:

With Catlike Tread Upon Our Prey We Steal

The Wayne Family needs to open the vault and get this legendary film back to the public as a DVD or VHS before people forget about it.

I saw The High and the Mighty when I was 16 in a theater when it first came out. Every woman walked out in love with John Wayne and every man wanted to BE John Wayne. We all hummed, whistled or la-la-la'd the theme song all the way home.

I would love to add The High and the Mighty to my collection of John Wayne films, but the Wayne Family Trust has got to allow this film to be converted to either a DVD or a VHS format. I know they are waiting for the time when they can squeeze the maximum number of dollars out of it, but if they aren't careful, they will wait too long and the world will have moved so far beyond the ideas, concepts and technology of the 50's that the film will not appeal to the younger generation of purchasers of movies.

It's more than just Wayne's performance that is being withheld from the public. I am also a great admirer of the work of the great British actor, Robert Newton and he turned in a marvelous performance here. So did Jan Sterling, Claire Trevor, Paul Fix, Lorraine Day and all the rest of the cast. Their fans deserve to see these actors in this film too. The only actor I could live without is Robert Stack. He has never done a thing for me. But the film as a whole is wonderful and should be released...ASAP