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

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 | Aviation | Footsie Under The Table | Cigarette Smoking | Slap In The Face

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) | 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:

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.

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 Budd Boetticher: An American Original (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Semper Paratus

Muzzy Marcellino's movie!

The High and the Mighty might be called Muzzy Marcellino's movie since it was his wonderful, masterful whistling of the theme that made this movie not just good, but great. It is a pity that his talents were not more appreciated, but then most people think that anyone can whistle a sonorous tune. Far from it! Very few people could whistle in orchestral color and range which is what this man did for Dimitri Tiomkin's wonderful score which well deserved the 1955 Academy Award for "Best Music" and Scoring. Yes, John Wayne did indeed make the film his own and turned in a multi-layered performance, and yes, this is the granddaddy of the 'disaster films,' which has never been surpassed in quality, but its distinction is not the primacy, nor the casting, nor even the story by a professional pilot, but the distinctive music - distinctly rendered - which one may not notice at first, but which imbues this non-epic with the caliber of stardom.

I can remember when I was in high school in the '60s some ten years after the movie was released (I have never seen it since) and Mr. Marcellino was a guest at one of our assemblies and demonstrated his amazing versatility at whistling and even performed the letters of the alphabet as an example of how he had mastered his craft. His range was phenomenal as he portrayed the instruments of the orchestra and then performed the entire Rhapsody in Blue as well as popular works all by whistling without accompaniment, but admitted that the theme for TH&TM was his proudest achievement. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has never recognized the contributions of all musical forms to the success of pictures as gauged from their mention in passing at the annual telecast Oscar ceremonies, but if they had, this singular performance would have been guaranteed a Special Oscar. Truly, once it is heard, neither it nor the film can ever be forgotten, but will haunt one for years to come! This classic film is the fitting epitaph for Messrs. Wayne, Tiomkin, and Marcellino. Would that we all could be remembered for such an achievement.