The High and the Mighty (1954)

25% of critics liked it
(8 reviews)
61% of users liked it
(3,402 ratings)

For The High and the Mighty, director William Wellman made a point of using Cinemascope to heighten the dramatic content of a confined screen space -- in this instance, the cockpit of a plane in flight. Copilot Dan Roman (John Wayne) seems a lot more in control of things than Captain John Sullivan… More For The High and the Mighty, director William Wellman made a point of using Cinemascope to heighten the dramatic content of a confined screen space -- in this instance, the cockpit of a plane in flight. Copilot Dan Roman (John Wayne) seems a lot more in control of things than Captain John Sullivan (Robert Stack) when the plane loses an engine during a flight from Honolulu to San Francisco. Wellman crosscuts from the tension in the cockpit to the various subplots involving the plane's passengers, among them May Holst (Claire Trevor), Lydia Rice (Laraine Day), Howard Rice (John Howard), Sally McKee (Jan Sterling), Ed Joseph (Phil Harris), and Humphrey Agnew (Sidney Blackmer) (as a character named Humphrey Agnew -- a remarkable prescient cognomen given the future of the U.S. vice presidency!). Adapted by Ernest K. Gann from his best-selling novel, The High and the Mighty was one of the first (and most profitable) entries in the "terror in the sky" genre. Its theme music, written by Dimitri Tiomkin and whistled incessantly by John Wayne in the film, would later become a best-selling hit throughout the world. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 27 min.
Directed By: William A. Wellman
Written By: Ernest K. Gann
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Classics

In Theaters: May 27, 1954 Wide
On DVD: Aug 2, 2005

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
A forerunner of the disaster movies, this cliche John Wayne blockbuster could be described as Grand Hotel in the Air.
Michael Szymanski, International Press Academy
Rare classic, packaged nicely, perfect for a John Wayne fan...
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Ocasionalmente promissor, acaba sendo prejudicado por sua narrativa lenta e por sua duração excessiva.
Thomas Delapa, Boulder Weekly
Everyone aboard has so much personal baggage, it's amazing the plane can even get off the ground.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
A sharp, tense reading of a mushy script.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
Bloated and overlong...
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
The best twists that the movie can muster are a few miscalculations that the navigator makes -- he uses knots instead of miles in his fuel consumption math. Uh oh!
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Props are given to The High and the Mighty in honor of being the first ever disaster film.
Phil Hall, Film Threat
Wonderfully entertaining.

Read all 9 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dean M

Fanastic little disaster film classic of the airborne with John Wayne where it strikes high above the Pacific Ocean at the point of no return. This film has more than enough fine moments generated by a cast of familiar faces to keep me interest. I didn't know this adventure film… More
Fanastic little disaster film classic of the airborne with John Wayne where it strikes high above the Pacific Ocean at the point of no return. This film has more than enough fine moments generated by a cast of familiar faces to keep me interest. I didn't know this adventure film has six Academy Awards nominated that I was surprised to find out.
jay n

corny as kansas
Henrik S

A good "Danger in the Skies" movie, which features Wayne in a non-western role, playing an "ancient Pelican" that is, an airline Pilot with a grim past. Yet, when something goes wrong on an transcontinental flight, he might redeem himself. The film mixes both what… More
A good "Danger in the Skies" movie, which features Wayne in a non-western role, playing an "ancient Pelican" that is, an airline Pilot with a grim past. Yet, when something goes wrong on an transcontinental flight, he might redeem himself. The film mixes both what is going on within the faltering plane as well as discusses the passengers lives, through flashbacks, conversations on the plane and voiceovers. While it works superficially, it makes the movie feel episodic sometimes (like an episode of LOST), and flashbacks and voiceovers have never been my most appreciated tools of narration. Especially in an aviation disaster scenario, where density and continuity should be in focus. Still, the cast is solid and Wayne plays as great as ever. And the movie is shot in lushly coloured Cinemascope.

Cast

            John Wayne as Dan Roman

            Claire Trevor as May Holst

            Laraine Day as Lydia Rice

            Robert Stack as Sullivan

            Jan Sterling as Sally McKee

            Phil Harris as Ed Joseph

            Robert Newton as Gustave Pardee

            David Brian as Ken Childs

            Paul Kelly as Flaherty

            Sidney Blackmer as Humphrey Agnew

            Julie Bishop as Lillian Pardee

            John Howard as Howard Rice

            Wally Brown as Lenny Wilby

            William Campbell as Hobie Wheeler

            Ann Doran as Mrs. Joseph

            John Qualen as Jose Locota

            Paul Fix as Frank Briscoe

            George Chandler as Ben Sneed

            Joy Kim as Dorothy Chen

            Douglas Fowley as Alsop

            Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as Ensign Kelm

            Robert Keys as Lt. Mowbray

            William Hopper as Roy

            William Schallert as Dispatcher

            Julie Mitchum as Susie

            Doe Avedon as Spalding

            Karen Sharpe as Nell Buck

            John Smith as Milo Buck

            Robert Easton
            
            Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez as Gonzalez

            Regis Toomey as Garfield

            Philip Van Zandt
            
See full cast