The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Lukas Heller (screenplay)
Trevor Dudley Smith (novel)

Release Date:

15 December 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

One of the most startling twists of fate you have ever experienced in a motion picture!

Plot:

After a plane crash in the Sahara, one of the survivors says he's an airplane designer and they can make a flyable plane from the wreckage.

Plot Keywords:

Airplane | Sahara | Sandstorm | Cargo Plane | Manic Laughter

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 nominations

Cast

James Stewart	...	Frank Towns
Richard Attenborough	...	Lew Moran
Peter Finch	...	Captain Harris
Hardy Krüger	...	Heinrich Dorfmann (as Hardy Kruger)
Ernest Borgnine	...	Trucker Cobb
Ian Bannen	...	Crow
Ronald Fraser	...	Sergeant Watson
Christian Marquand	...	Dr. Renaud
Dan Duryea	...	Standish
George Kennedy	...	Bellamy
Gabriele Tinti	...	Gabriel
Alex Montoya	...	Carlos
Peter Bravos	...	Tasso
William Aldrich	...	Bill
Barrie Chase	...	Farida
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stanley Ralph Ross	...	Arab Singer (uncredited) (voice)

Directed by
Robert Aldrich

Writing credits
Lukas Heller		(screenplay)
Trevor Dudley Smith		(novel) (as Elleston Trevor)

Produced by
Robert Aldrich	....	producer
Walter Blake	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Frank De Vol		(as DeVol)

Cinematography by
Joseph F. Biroc		(as Joseph Biroc)

Film Editing by
Michael Luciano

Art Direction by
William Glasgow

Set Decoration by
Lucien Hafley

Costume Design by
Norma Koch

Makeup Department
Edwin Butterworth	....	makeup artist (as Ed Butterworth)
Terry Miles	....	makeup artist
Ben Nye	....	makeup supervisor
Jack Stone	....	makeup artist
William Turner	....	makeup artist
Frank Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alan Callow	....	assistant director
Clifford C. Coleman	....	assistant director (as Cliff Coleman)
Oscar Rudolph	....	second unit director
William F. Sheehan	....	assistant director

Art Department
John La Salandra	....	construction coordinator (as John LaSalandra)
John Orlando	....	property master

Special Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects
Howard Lydecker	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Ted Mapes	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Homer Plannette	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Ronald Vidor	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Music Department
Albert Woodbury	....	orchestrator (as Al Woodbury)

Transportation Department
Chris Haynes	....	driver (uncredited)
Frank Khoury	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Adell Aldrich	....	script apprentice (as Adell Aldrich Bravos)
Michael Audley	....	dialogue supervisor
Robert Gary	....	script supervisor
Paul Mantz	....	aerial sequences
Don Niehaus	....	title designer: main titles
Robert Sherman	....	dialogue supervisor

Thanks
Paul Mantz	....	in memory of

Production Companies

• Associates & Aldrich Company, The

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1965) (USA) (theatrical)
• Centfox (1966) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1969) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• CBS/Fox (1985) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Fox Film (1966) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Key Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• National Screen Service  main title

Runtime:

142 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #21017) | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-12 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Buttercup Valley, California, USA

Company:

Associates & Aldrich Company, The

Trivia:

In the Italian version the song "Senza fine" is the original one, sung by the singer Ornella Vanoni.

Goofs:

Continuity: Right after Cobb attacks Capt. Harris and is subdued, George Kennedy's character, Bellamy, is seen standing under the plane's wing while Watson (Ronald Fraser) lies on the ground next to the doorway. In the very next shot, Bellamy is seen sitting in the doorway next to Watson.

Quotes:

Lew Moran: Time was you could take real pride, in just getting there, flying used to be fun Lou, it really was.
Frank Towns: He's crazy Lou, he builds toy airplanes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Odd Couple: The Fight of the Felix (#1.2)" (1970)

Soundtrack:

Senza Fine

An enjoyable performance driven spin on the disaster movie genre

Returning from an oil field with a plane full of crew etc going on leave, Frank Towns' plane enters a sandstorm over the Sahara desert and crashes. As various attempts at rescue or escape fail one passenger, Dorfmann suggests his plan to rebuild the plane as a smaller version and attempt to fly out, leaving the bulk of the damage craft behind. However tensions mount as personalities conflict as all the men face death.

I had only ever heard of this film before I finally got round to watching it last night on television. I was aware of the basic plot and had assumed it was more recent that it actually was. I watched it assuming that it was made in the early seventies when the disaster movie genre was just starting to take off (sorry – accidental pun). However this was made prior to this and is probably a much better film for it – in the seventies the film would have required more spectacle, so the crash would have been much more dramatic and horrifying. As it is now, the film is more about the men under stress than it is about anything else.

This is brought out well and the majority of the drama and tension within the film is as much from these conflicts as it is from the pressure to escape the desert. The film is longer than I expected it to be but it pretty much sustains itself for that length. The main reason for the film working so well is the cast, which has it's fair share of famous faces but also has more than it's fair share of good performances.

Stewart is really strong in the lead (although, in fairness, there is no one main character) and becomes increasingly grizzled as the film goes on. His character is not without flaws even if he does come out of this well. Attenborough is also good but is less evident in the film than some of the others. Krüger has the least pleasant of the roles given that he plays a tough German. He manages to make the character likeable while still going about his task with a strict organised German air to him. Finch is good and is well supported by Fraser. The support cast includes strong performances from Borgnine, Bannen, Kennedy, Marquand and the director's own son is thrown in for colour!

Overall this is much better than the disaster-type movie I had expected as it is a film where the plane crash isn't a blaze of spectacle and the death scenes aren't played out for full effect. Instead it is a tension adventure story that is driven by some great performances by a cast full of well known actors.