THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY

DIRECTED BY WILLIAM A. WELLMAN
MUSIC BY DIMITRI TIOMKIN
WAYNE-FELLOWS PRODUCTION
WARNER BROS

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c187/john-wayne/John%20Wayne/B0009ML2KQ01LZZZZZZZ.jpg..http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c187/john-wayne/John%20Wayne/ham.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c187/john-wayne/John%20Wayne/duke002-4.jpg

INFORMATION FROM IMDb

Full 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 Gonzales-Gonzales .... 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
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)

Writing Credits
Ernest K. Gann also novel

Produced
Robert Fellows .... producer (uncredited)
John Wayne .... producer (uncredited)

Original Music
Dimitri Tiomkin
Capt. Francis S. Van Boskerck (song "Semper Paratus" ["Always Ready"])
John Qualen (cues) (uncredited)

Cinematography
Archie Stout

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Andrew V. McLaglen

Other crew
William H. Clothier .... aerial photographer
Muzzy Marcellino .... whistler: dubbing for John Wayne
Dimitri Tiomkin .... conductor
Ned Washington .... lyricist

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.

Jan Sterling reportedly shaved her eyebrows for her role in the film and they never grew back.

John Wayne's first film in CinemaScope.

Producer John Wayne chose Robert Cummings as his co-star for the role of Captain Sullivan. Director William A. Wellman, however, overrode his producer and chose Robert Stack for the part.

Joan Crawford, Ida Lupino, Barbara Stanwyck, Ginger Rogers, and Dorothy McGuire all turned down roles in this film.

Spencer Tracy was originally cast as Dan Roman. He backed out of the film, however, after hearing several negative comments about how strict a disciplinarian director William A. Wellman was.

Average Shot Length (ASL) = 11 seconds

The actual DC-4 aircraft used to film the passenger boarding and flying sequences was a former military surplus Douglas C-54A-10-DC built in 1944. When filmed, the aircraft (then registered as N4726V) was being operated by Transocean Airlines for whom the film's author, Ernest K. Gann, had flown these planes over the Hawaii-California routes. Known as the "The Argentine Queen," before being acquired by Transocean in 1953 it had been the personal aircraft of Argentine dictator Juan Domingo Perón. Ironically, a little more than a decade after appearing in the film this aircraft and the nine persons on board were lost on March 28, 1964, when the plane was forced to ditch in the Pacific Ocean about 700 miles west of San Francisco. The plane was about eight hours into a charter flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles when the pilot reported a serious fire in engine #2. The Coast Guard searched for the aircraft for five days but no trace of it was ever found.

Towards the end of the movie, when Robert Stack tells John Wayne to whistle something (because he works better with music), the tune that John Wayne whistles is, "I'm a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech".

John Wayne's role was first offered to Spencer Tracy. However, Tracy, a Democrat who opposed blacklisting, wanted nothing to do with Wayne's Batjac production company and turned the part down.

Goofs
* Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): At the missile testing site, the word "missile" is misspelled "missle" on the sign.

* Continuity: When Dan Roman stumbles from the burning wreckage of an airliner in a flashback sequence, he sees and reaches for a burning teddy bear. When he picks it up, it's no longer burning.

* Revealing mistakes: In the flashback story her husband tells, Clara Joseph falls down some stairs and kicks a waiter's tray in the process. However, when they cut from the closeup of her feet, she is obviously sitting on the bottom step. She then leans back, takes aim, and kicks the tray. She then lies back like it was all one continuous motion.

* Factual errors: The sound of the yellow flying bomb is wrong. It is audibly a jet engine, but the flying bomb is actually a German V1 which is powered by a ram jet: slats on the nacelle let in air that was mixed with fuel and ignited by a spark plug. The machine in flight sounded like a backfiring automobile.

* 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".

* Revealing mistakes: When co-pilot Dan Roman was walking down the isle to explain to the passengers what was wrong with the engines, you could see the whole right wall of the plane was missing as the camera tracked him.

* Revealing mistakes: When stewardess Spalding was preparing the liquor drinks, a problem with the plane caused a severe vibration. The table and the drinks shook, jumped and nearly fell, yet she did not shake, nor did the walls, or the curtain right behind her.

* Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Jan Sterling showed a newspaper article to Robert Stack, it was dated 1948. Jan commented that the article was "8 years old". The movie was released in 1954, only 6 years after the article was written.

* Miscellaneous: In the Columbia crash sequence the tail of a burning DC-3 is clearly visible. However, among the wreckage was the front flashing of a B-29 nacelle, having one large circular opening with a crescent shaped opening on either side. The DC-3 has a simple circular opening.

Memorable Quotes (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047086/quotes)

Filming Location
Samuel Goldwyn/Warner Hollywood Studios - 1041 N. Formosa Ave., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. Now known as The Lot
(studio)

Watch the Trailer:-

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTY1MTM1MDMwNl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjQwNDEwMg@@._ V1._SX200_SY150_BO200,0,0,0_PIimdb-blackband-204-28,BottomLeft,200,-199_PIimdb-bluebutton-big,BottomLeft,372,-201_CR200,200,200,150_ZAPromo,4,121,19,200,verdena b,8,255,255,255,1_ZAThe%20High%20and%20the%20Might y,4,136,19,200,arialbd,7,255,255,255,1_ZA02:51,164 ,1,14,40,verdenab,7,255,255,255,1_FMpng_.png (http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3981443097/)The High And The Mighty (http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3981443097/)

Previous discussion:- on this 'super' thread

The High And The Mighty (http://www.dukewayne.com/showthread.php?t=96)

Memorable 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.

[last lines]
Tim Garfield: So Long. So long, you ancient pelican.

Gonzales: [shipboard radio operator Gonzales is advising the pilots of surface conditions they can expect if they ditch the aircraft] Heavy northwest swells. We're rolling about thirty degrees. Very rough. Keep that ship in the air if you can, boy, it's wet down here!
Hobie Wheeler: [acknowledging the transmission from the ship] Roger, Cristobal Trader. We'll try.
Gonzales: Attaboy, papa!

INFORMATION IMDb

Hi,
Based on the Ernest K. Gann, of the same name, this film was shot mainly
on the Goldwyn lot, in Hollywood.
It was to be Duke's first film in Cinemascope, and the last he would make,
under the Wayne-Fellows name.
It is unique, because all the action, mainly takes place within the airplane,
and director Wellman.had the nerve to film the whole thing in Cinemascope!
The actors had to endure, tedious hours,
sat in one place, in the cold climate, of the sound stage.
Duke was forced by the studios, to star in the film, after Spency Tracy,
suddenly bowed out.
Duke acquitted himself as the co-pilot., Dan Roman.
Roman was a steadfast character, and it was, belief in himself and the aircraft,
that eventually secured everyone's safety. with the help of lifetime pal Claire Trevor and his other female co-star Larraine Day.
Another lifetime friend Paul Fix, played the part of an ageing passenger.
Robert Stack,the Captain, was fascinated, with Duke, in the way he made the lines that were written, always sound like John Wayne, no matter what!!
Stack commented,
I'd get behind a flat and listen to his reading the dialogue....
and I'd think, Man, that's not really very good, and for Radio.
it wasn't very good.But the minute you saw that great American face, up there*
on the screen, it didn't matter.He could have been talking in Esperanto, and nobody would give a damn.
THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY, proved a huge critical and commercial success, and made millions, for Wayne-Fellows.
Even if the plot was a little contrived, the special effects and performances, made for an engaging film.
The action inside the aircraft was electric, and I thought more exciting, than,
any other airplane disaster movies, that followed.
The theme music, soared to the top of hit parade, and this contributed
greatly to the films success.
The closing scene, of Duke limping along.into a foggy evening, whistling the theme tune, is a classic.
Rating 8/10

I haven't seen this movie but would like to, especially seeing another of my favourite actor is in it, Robert Stack.

Hopefull we won't have to wait another fifty years before its released in the UK and Europe.



Regards

Arthur

This John Wayne adventure is on AMCtv RIGHT NOW...10:06pm Central.

Hi

At this moment Sky Cinema 1 is showing The High And the Mighty and with a bit of luck I am taping it.

It's amazing some of the things you learn reading the credits I find that John Qualen who I intend to review next month composed some of the music for the film.

Talking about the music I have lost the original thread regarding this question but I recall somebody saying that they didn't know that the song The High and The Mighty had words.

I have the original sheet music which originally cost 2/- (10 pence in Decoimal currency)

I obviously can't read music or know how the stanzas are put to-gether but if anyone is interested here goes:-

'I was high and mighty,
How I laughed at love,
And the stars above,
Then you came like a gentle flame
And helped me find my way!

I was high and mighty
And I told my heart
Where to stop and start,
Now I find that I was blind,
I'm learning it day by day!
Love can change things,
Re-Arrange things,
Oh, what strange things love can do!

I'm not high and mighty
But I have what's worth
All the gold on earth,
I have you and I give my heart
For - ev - er and ev - er to you
you, you, you!



Regards

Arthur

Hi

:lol:
AT LONG LAST :D

I have a watchable copy of The High And The Mighty. it has no adverts , Its in a split screen but I can live with that. its only taken me 52 years from first seeing the picture as an eleven year old at the local TROXY cinema to have a watchable copy.


Regards


Arthur

Hi Arther

I don't have the luxury of sky, so was THATM worth the wait, is it a good movie?

:agent:

Hi Robbie

One of the problems with waiting for so long to see a film you have waited for years to see is that it sometimes fails to live up to the expectations and many people thought this would be tha case with The High And the Mighty.

In my case I enjoyed it the first time round and seeing it for the second time only brougt back the previous enjoyment.

As to the merits of whether its a good film or not this is down to conjecture. For me personally it was enjoyable and under that criteria I think its a good film.

Regards

Arthur

Originally posted by arthurarnell@Aug 20 2006, 12:33 PM
Hi Robbie

One of the problems with waiting for so long to see a film you have waited for years to see is that it sometimes fails to live up to the expectations and many people thought this would be tha case with* The High And the Mighty.

In my case I enjoyed it the first time round and seeing it for the second time only brougt back the previous enjoyment.

As to the merits of whether its a good film or not this is down to* conjecture. For me personally it was enjoyable and under that criteria I think its a good film.

Regards

Arthur
33746


I couldn't agree with you more Arthur. I was afraid that I wouldn't care far it because of all the hype from this board and the days before the release. But, I was pleasently surprised and find myself thinking about the film occasionally and have the need to see it again. That's how I can tell I like a film.

Originally posted by arthurarnell@Aug 20 2006, 02:00 PM
Hi

:lol:
AT LONG LAST :D

I have a watchable copy of The High And The Mighty. it has no adverts , Its in a split screen but I can live with that. its only taken me 52 years from first seeing* the picture as an eleven year old at the local TROXY cinema to have a watchable copy.
Regards
Arthur
33737


Hi Arthur,
you haven't multizone player? There is ways to make any player multizone, only I don't know how. Some instructions in Internet must be.
I myself like this film very much too, enjoyed it and it's music. But never read the words - very interesting.
Regards,
Vera :rolleyes:

Arthur and Vera;

In the Early 1950s I Flew that same Flight across the Pacific Many Times in a B-29 and that was a Very Long Trip of 2500 Miles at 300 M.P.H. :fear2:

Of course all of us Pilots that had Flown over the Pacific loved the Film :wub:

DUKE AND THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY (http://www.ranch26bar.com/WHISTLING.html)

Bill :cowboy:

Dear Bill,
For the first, I can say that you are the most romantic figure I ever known.
I read this story in Pat's book, but I never know before that it was your campany's plane in which Duke traveled to the Ranch when some problems occured.
It is all so interesting.
Regards,
Vera :rolleyes:

Hi Vera

No Our DVD player in the lounge dosen't work very well and after my son reconnected the DVD recorder it doesn't work.

The best thing I have is a portable DVD played my wife bought me for my birthday. As you can see when it come to matters electrical I am not that clever.

Regards

Arthur

Originally posted by arthurarnell@Aug 20 2006, 12:33 PM
it was enjoyable and under that criteria I think its a good film.

It was far from his worst but equally far from his best.

I just watched it and found it to be very enjoyable. Perhaps it's a little too long though. At 148 minutes, it kept my attention, but just barely. (I'm a part of the short attention span generation!) I think it was a pretty good ensemble cast, and the duke wasn't in it for every scene which was something different.

It reminds me a bit of the tv show lost. (If your unfamiliar, I'll give a tiny recap) A plane flying from Australia to LA crashes on an uncharted island. Losts of weird things happen. But half of every episode are flashbacks. In the first season they mostly showed what the people were doing before they boarded the plane. A lot of times the flashbacks ended with them actually at the airport. So I see a similarity there.

Hi

Talking about the music from the film this is the sheet that I got the words of the song from.

[ATTACH]726]

Regards

Arthur

Watched High & the Mighty for the first time tonight.

Good solid movie if not usual the John Wayne movie.

Nice to see some old favourites in the cast like Claire Trevor and Paul Fix.



Mike

Hi

Using this thread to comment I find it slightly ironic that in Mike's (Hondo Lane's) 2007 poll only one voter so far has included TH&TM in his list of favourite pictures.

Regards

Arthur

Hi Arthur

I think two factors score against High & Mighty both of which are not it's fault.

The movie really doesnt get much air play on TV and is difficult to get unless on Region 1 DVD. This means a lot of John Wayne fans havent seen it. Island in the Sky is the other movie that comes to mind in that category.

The second factor I suppose against it is that it is not the usual John Wayne fare that we all know and recognise.

That said it is a good movie although when compiling 25 favourites it is easy to fall into the trap of picking the most popular and well known.

This year. I included Tall in the Saddle which I have watched recently and thought it was worth including in my 25.


Mike

It was I who voted for THATM. I don't really know if its one thing that I can put my finger on that makes me like this movie. Yes, it has its flaws. I think one of the things is that it has a strong character development. I like to see a movie where they give us the people's story, that way I can actually care about what might or is happening to them. The other thing is that its not Duke's typical roll. The first time I watched it, it was very refreshing to see John Wayne in this type of roll.

True, this was not a typical John Wayne picture. It was one of the first that becamed identified an "ensemble" movie, but Duke was still the primary focus. Wayne was one of the producers on "The High and the Mighty," so he was in at the earliest stages of getting the movie made. If you think about it, Duke was responsible for a lot of innovation in the movie industry.
Cheers - Jay:beer:

This is a film I think we need to watch again!

Here is a picture of the theater poster -

Hi


Here' another poster advertising the picture

Regards

Arthur

Hi


For its day besides John Wayne as Dan Roman it boasted a very good supporting cast including:-

Robert Stack as Captain John Sullivan -Whose nerves of steel were starting to rust
Claire Trevor as May Holst - Strictly a night-time woman
Laraine Day - Low as High Society could get



Regards

Arthur

Hi


It also included Jan Sterling (who would win the Academy Best Supporting actress Award for her role of Sally McKee - 'who lived in a world of whistles'

Ed Harris as Ed Joseph - a gag man who should have been wearing one

and Robert Newton - A 'ham' caught with his hair down.


Regards

Arthur

Hi

Other passengers included:

David Brian as Kent a collector of other mens wives

John Qualen as Jose Locota

and Sidney Blackmer as Humphrey Agnew a man bent on revenge.



Regards

Arthur

Hi


It also included Jan Sterling (who would win the Academy Best Supporting actress Award for her role of Sally McKee


Sorry, Arthur, but Eva Marie Saint won the Best Supporting actress Award for On the Waterfront. Jan Sterling and Claire Trevor both recieved nomination for The High and the Mighty, though.

When in doubt, you can always look it up here (http://www.oscars.org/awardsdatabase/index.html).

Hi Arthur,
Thank you for wonderful photos.
Regards,
Vera

Hi

My mistake that what comes of relying on the memory.

Among the passengers was

Paul Kelly playing Donald Flaherty the scientist
John Howard as Howard Rice
and
Paul Fix as Frank Briscoe


Regards

Arthur

Hi

Other passengers were


Doe Avedon as Miss Spalding Her film career was brief comprising a handful of pictures
before she married the film Director Don Siegal.

Karen Sharp Kramer as newly married Nell Buck.

Try as I could I couldn,t find a photo of Milo Buck played by John Smith.


Regards

Arthur

Hi


Also

Ann Doran as Claire Joseph


Regards

Arthur

Hi

Two of the Male Members of the crew

William Campbell as Hobie Wheeler

and

Wally Brown as the Navigator Lenny Wilby




Regards


Arthur

Hi

The collection is completed with the additions of

Pedro Gonzales Gonzales as Gonzales
Douglas Fowley as Alsop

and

Regis Toomey as Tim Garfield


Regards

Arthur

This has always been one of my favorite of the Duke's films, even though at times it grows wearisome, like the flight itself. I flew the same route in reverse, from Travis AFB outside of 'Frisco in 1963 to Hickam in Hawaii in a prop-driven MATS C-118 flown by my Dad. Luckily I was just 10 and the seats were for adults, so I could move freely around in it during the 8-hour flight. The only diversions were the meals, just cold box lunches, and the roar of the 4 engines made it almost impossible to talk; you had to shout to make yourself heard. I can still smell the interior of the C-118, metal, old upholstery, av gas, all in an un-plasticized, un-pressurized, un-airconditioned aircraft. If you had a window seat and the plane flew north or south and the sun was on your side, you baked during your flight!

While the movie faithfully follow Gann's book, there are some scenes I wish they had not added, like Joyce Chen's simpering "Dumb bunny, dumb bunny..." it makes you want to shake her. I much prefer her smart-aleck busy-body Chinese servant to Betty Bacall ("Sailor-man clazy, you ling bell, I come chop chop!!) in "Blood Alley"!

But I still choke back the tears as the relieved passengers disembark in 'Frisco to the joyous paen of Tiompkin's orchestra, especially when Milo & Nell meet her parents. If it were me, I would have gotten down and kissed the concrete runway! (And I got the new DVD when it came out last year, and enjoyed it again & again, from Tiompkin's soaring, wonderful score to the whistling ancient pelican sauntering down the ramp.)

Hi

Finally The High and The Mighty made its debut on DVD in the UK on Monday looks pretty good, can't wait to watch the film and the special features..

Regards
Arthur

Hi Arthur

High & Mighty is £6.00 in HMV

Also included is In Harms Way, Big Jake El Dorado and True Grit.

I didnt see what price Mc Lintock was but it was there too.

Hondo is £10.00.

Most are just widescreen versions with I believe a A3 poster included.

No extras other than that


Best


Mike

I know this is late, but tonight is John Wayne night on TCM. We are about to enjoy The High and the Mighty followed by Island in the Sky. Needless to say, I'm about to kick back, relax, and enjoy.:teeth_smile:

I don't know if this has been asked before, but does anyone know what airline company the crew of TH&TM were flying for? Any ideas?

Hi Ej

Well the fictional name was

Trans-Orient-Pacific Airlines

I saw this one for the first time about 30 years ago. I remember liking it then and when AMC "world premiered" it, I looked forward to nothing else but watching it again. Being it was so long ago when I first saw it, it was like watching it for the first time for me. I have to say I really liked it but, I favor Island in the Sky over this one.

I watched THATM for the first time last night. While I will say it wasn't what I expected it still was a good film. The best performances IMO were from The Duke & Robert Stack - which is why I tuned in to watch it. The only real problem I saw with it was that it was very long, and some of the parts of the actual flight I didn't feel were needed :)

Either way, I enjoyed it, to see your two favourite actors working together is always enjoyable.

I think anyone who has been on a flight with problems like heavy turbulence can relate to this film.

Another memorable theme by Dmitri Tiomkin!

VOXhriapdgs

Last night after another long day I sat infront of the 'box' with a glass of 'medicine' and looked for anything half decent to watch. THATM had just started on Sky, so the phones were switched off.

I enjoyed it, but as has been stated before, somewhat long. I think if a few more seat gripping tense moment had been included it would have been better. It tended to just drift along quietly, and the ending seemed like they ran out of ideas.

Why was Duke limping?

Bob

he limped from a injury from a previous plane accident, that haunted him.:teeth_smile:

Must have missed that comment.

Bob

In this Film Duke Plays a Broken Down Old Pilot with Many Years in The Air and Many Miss-Haps and was moved to the Co-Pilot's Seat and in Aviation that is The Right Seat in the Cockpit !
:yeaahh:
Chilibill
:cowboy:

Am I the only one who felt that Duke just wasn't OLD enough to be getting all the "old man" treatment in the film? He's great, actually everyone does a great job, but all those comments were distracting since Duke obviously wasn't old enough for that description.

i m confused as to whether i like this film or not - i bought it for £8 in HMV (a double disc including the making of) - i was really excited to watch it, but the film seemed to drift by with not enough suspense in general and not enough John Wayne action at all.
the music was the best part of the film. does anyone know what john wayne's thoughts on this film were? did he enjoy making it?
was robert stack later in airplane by the way?

having said that though, the 2 hours 20 minutes the film lasted, absolutely flew by - it was just that i kept waiting for something to happen and it never really did

Hi Badger


John Wayne wasn't due to make the High and the Mighty i think Spencer tracy was scheduled to make it but pulled out at the last minute.

Robert Stack later appeared in airplane playing the role that Sterling hayden played in a similar film the name of which I can't remember at the moment but starred Dana Andrews.

Airplane was based on the High and the Mighty and the Dana Andrew movie.

The problem with The High and the Mighty was that it had achieved cult status. Not many people had seen it and with the mystery of its non appearance for so long everyone wanted to see it.

In an early post I commented that I hope people would,nt be disappointed when it finally came out as although a good film it wasn't a great one.

Regards

Arthur

hi arthur
since then, i have watched the 2nd part of the double dvd. i liked it a whole lot better than the film. i enjoyed the making of the film and i took on board that it was a film made in the early 1950s, before such films as "airplane" and also the wide screen element to it as well.
TBH, I would have paid £8 to watch the tv trailer alone that duke put out, and i have never read the book, so i was only watching it cold as a film of today.
just for me, there wasnt enough john wayne action .
all he seemed to do was steer the plane and because we knew that duke, being duke, all would be well, it kind of made the film drag a bit to its conclusion. having said that, i also saw the effort put in to making it a film for today and i am very grateful for that

Hi Badger


John Wayne wasn't due to make the High and the Mighty i think Spencer tracy was scheduled to make it but pulled out at the last minute.

Robert Stack later appeared in airplane playing the role that Sterling hayden played in a similar film the name of which I can't remember at the moment but starred Dana Andrews.

Airplane was based on the High and the Mighty and the Dana Andrew movie.

The problem with The High and the Mighty was that it had achieved cult status. Not many people had seen it and with the mystery of its non appearance for so long everyone wanted to see it.

In an early post I commented that I hope people would,nt be disappointed when it finally came out as although a good film it wasn't a great one.

Regards

Arthur

That movie you're thinking of, Arthur, is called Zero Hour. Dana Andrews plays Lt. Stryker, same name as Robert Hays character in Airplane. Sterling Hayden is also in it along with a good cast. And just like Airplane, the crew and passengers get sick and another pilot on board has to take over. Dana Andrews was also in a similar movie a couple of years later called The Crowded Sky. It's about two planes on a collision course and the passengers and crew from each reflecting on their lives.

Hi Jim

Thanks for that I can never remember the name of that film, but although made on the cheap I think it set the trend for nearly all the other disaster airplane films.

Regards

Arthur

I saw the book "The High and Mighty" was for sale on Ebay. Has anyone here read it and if so does anyone recommend it as a good read?

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http://i17.servimg.com/u/f17/11/97/59/03/mon_fi15.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=1309&u=11975903)

http://i17.servimg.com/u/f17/11/97/59/03/mon_fi16.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=1310&u=11975903)

http://i17.servimg.com/u/f17/11/97/59/03/mon_fi17.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=1311&u=11975903)

http://i17.servimg.com/u/f17/11/97/59/03/mon_fi18.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=1312&u=11975903)

http://i17.servimg.com/u/f17/11/97/59/03/mon_fi19.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=1313&u=11975903)

http://i67.servimg.com/u/f67/11/97/59/03/a_duke26.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=6832&u=11975903)

http://i77.servimg.com/u/f77/11/97/59/03/a_duke88.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=7328&u=11975903)

http://i67.servimg.com/u/f67/11/97/59/03/west_d24.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=4203&u=11975903)

http://i47.servimg.com/u/f47/11/97/59/03/hmjohn10.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=9275&u=11975903)

I thought that it was a little too long. Spent a lot of time with everybody's personal issues. But other then that, a really good movie! Duke did a great job!