Gallant Journey (1946)

This historical drama is a biopic of the U.S. aviation pioneer John J. Montgomery who was the first American to fly a glider in 1883.

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Byron Morgan, William A. Wellman

Stars:

Glenn Ford, Janet Blair, Charles Ruggles

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Glenn Ford	...	John J. Montgomery
Janet Blair	...	Regina 'Ginny' Cleary
Charles Ruggles	...	Jim Montgomery
Henry Travers	...	Thomas Logan
Jimmy Lloyd	...	Dan Mahoney / Prof. LaSalle
Charles Kemper	...	Father 'Dickie' Ball
Arthur Shields	...	Father Kenton
Willard Robertson	...	Zachary Montgomery
Selena Royle	...	Mrs. Zachary Montgomery
Robert De Haven	...	Jim Logan, as a boy (as Robert DeHaven)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Hoover	...	Dick Ball as a Boy (scenes deleted)
Joe Palma	...	Waiter (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Director William A. Wellman adds another to his long line of salutes-to-aviation films in this bio of an aviation pioneer, John Montgomery (Glenn Ford.) In 1883 he built a practical glider despite the opposition of his friends, who thought he was crazy, and of his family, who were afraid that his dreams of flying would hurt his father's political ambitions. He pursues his education at Santa Clara University where the Jesuits lend a helping and understanding hand. An earthquake destroys what appears to be a working model for an airplane, but a gold-sorting machine Montgomery invented, and then neglected, promises to provide for his financial needs to keep working on his aircraft until he gets involved in costly lawsuits defending his invention.

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Plot Keywords:

year 1883 | airplane model | carnival | san diego california | airplane accident | 

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Taglines:

One Of The World's Most Exciting Adventures!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Great Highway

Filming Locations:

Malibu, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Montgomery was killed on October 31, 1911, when his glider, the Evergreen, crashed. His head hit a bolt on the glider, just behind an ear, penetrating his brain. His death was instantaneous, despite the more sentimental ending shown in the film, which was not a critical success upon its release.

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Goofs

Montgomery's pilot was actually named Daniel Maloney, not Mahoney as portrayed in the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Bicycle Thieves (1948)

User Reviews

John J. Montgomery 1858-1911

Depending on whether you believe the plot of Gallant Journey verbatim or not, John J. Montgomery may have been the first man to make a heavier than air flight and he did it in 1883, twenty years before the Wright Brothers did their thing at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Whether you do or not there is no denying that Glenn Ford gave a wonderful performance as the earnest young man, consumed as so many were at that time of the dream of manned flight. Janet Blair played the ever helpful and supportive wife of Ford and does it well.

The film is directed by William Wellman, one of many he did in his career combining his two great loves, film and aviation. Of course Wellman reached the pinnacle of his aviation success with the first Academy Award winning Best film, Wings.

The film is narrated by Charlie Ruggles to a group of post World War II kids and he's Montgomery's brother who has outlived him by a considerable period. Montgomery when he wasn't doing his aviation glider experiments, earned a living teaching science at Santa Clara College where a couple of supportive priests are played by Arthur Shields and Charles Kemper. Best in the supporting parts in the film however is Jim Lloyd who plays the balloonist daredevil who helps pilot Ford's experiments when an inner ear problem forces him to stop doing the actual flying.

Aviation historians still debate Montgomery's actual contributions to the saga of manned flight. But I think Montgomery himself would have been well pleased with how Bill Wellman and Glenn Ford told his tale.