The High and the Mighty (1954)

Directed by

William A. Wellman

Genre

drama film, action film, war film, disaster film

Country

United States

Runtime

2h 21m

Rated

NR

Rating

5.9 of 10 from 84 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A veteran first officer and his crew struggle to keep their damaged airliner aloft over the Pacific Ocean. The passengers and crew confront their own fears as they face possible disaster.

tensesuspensefuldramaticemotionalbriskheroicorchestralvintage

What happens

The High and the Mighty is a 1954 American aviation disaster film, directed by William A. Wellman, and written by Ernest K. Gann, who also wrote the 1953 novel on which his screenplay was based. Filmed in WarnerColor and CinemaScope, the film's cast was headlined by John Wayne, who was also the project's co-producer. Wayne stars as a veteran airline first officer, Dan Roman, whose airliner has a catastrophic engine failure while crossing the Pacific Ocean. The film's supporting cast includes Claire Trevor, Laraine Day, Robert Stack, Jan Sterling, Phil Harris, and Robert Newton. Composer Dimitri Tiomkin won an Oscar for his original score; while his title song was also nominated for an Oscar, it did not actually appear in the theatrical release prints, nor in its much later restoration. The film received mostly positive reviews and grossed $8.5 million on its theatrical release. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Port of Hell (1954)
• Men of the Fighting Lady (1954)
• The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)
• Hollywood Thrill-Makers (1954)
• Hell and High Water (1954)
• Dragonfly Squadron (1954)
• The Caine Mutiny (1954)
• Security Risk (1954)