While I have watched a few movies in the past week, including Transformers and Once, both of which were good each in their own ways, for what they were, a guy and a chick flick, respectively, the one on which I’d like to focus is an underrated one by John Wayne from 1954.
Title: The High and the Mighty
Year: 1954
Director: William Wellman, based on a book and screenplay by Ernest K. Gann (who also directed Gann’s Island in the Sky, which also starred John Wayne)
Awards: Nominated for six Oscars in 1955, winning one, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Dimitri Tiomkin
Time: 148 minutes
Starring: John Wayne, Robert Stack, Claire Trevor
Review: As many movies that I watch now, this one came from our local library. Since I love John Wayne, especially his non-Western movies, such as The Quiet Man and The Long Voyage Home to name just a couple, and had only heard of this one in passing, I took this off the shelf just to see if it might be something I would be interested in. Reading the back of the box, I knew immediately that I would be interested, and I was not disappointed.
This, according to critic Leonard Maltin, who gives an introduction to the movie, started a slew of disaster-themed movies, including the Airport series. In the commentary, he mentions that the movie grossed $8 million, which was only show in a few hundred theaters, compared to the thousands of theaters movies are shown in today, and for much cheaper prices back then. I didn’t listen to all of the commentary, but Maltin was joined by director Wellman’s son and others on the cast and crew. I’ll have to borrow the DVD again to listen to the commentary and see the second disc, which includes, of course, the trailer, but also several featurettes on the movie, which was made by Batjac, Wayne’s own production company.
The story starts with, of course, Wayne, who is a co-pilot on a DC-4 bound from Hawaii to San Francisco. However, a fine ensemble cast of characters, including Claire Trevor and Jan Sterling, both of whom were nominated for best supporting actresses, is what really makes this movie work. Unlike later disaster-themed movies, this one isn’t caught up with all the special effects. Instead, this one focuses on the characters and their thoughts and interactions with the other passengers as the plane becomes damaged en route to its destination. The question is “not only will the plane survive to the coast of California with one engine damaged and losing fuel?”, but also “will its passengers survive the mental stress that such a flight takes on a group of people?” The answer may or may not be surprising, but how Wellman, Wayne and the cast get there is: with outstanding performances by all that make this movie well worth the watching.
