Ernest K Gann, the author of Fate is the hunter,reportedly was unhappy with this interpretation of his 1961 memoir of the same name. Having read the book, I can understand why he might have felt that way. Gann's memoir is a rich tapestry of a flyer's life from biplane to four engine passenger airliner,while Harold Medford's screenplay is really just a pastiche of some of the story threads in the book.Having said that, Fate is the Hunter the film, stands on its own as an immensely satisfying story that takes an increasingly strong grip on the viewer and never lets go. Rod Taylor plays airline captain Jack Savage, who's killed along with his crew and passengers in the crash of the fictional Consolidated Airlines flight 22. Airline VP McBain, played by Glenn Ford, believes something other than pilot error was responsible for the disaster, but must battle his own colleagues and public perception of Savage in order to clear the dead pilot's name. The film, shot in cinemascope, uses the wide screen effectively, and the crisp editing advances the story without sacrificing the narrative flow. All of the actors acquit themselves well,and Jerry Goldsmith's haunting score hits just the right note of melancholy. This is a sad, yet ultimately uplifting film, and although Gann might not have liked the result, the finished movie does manage to retain the tone and philosophy of his fabulous book.
Review of Fate Is the Hunter
