The High and the Mighty (1954)
-
25% of critics liked it
(8 reviews) -
59% of users liked it
(3,465 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
- Directed By
- William A. Wellman
- Written By
- Ernest K. Gann
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- May 27, 1954 Wide
- On DVD
- Aug 2, 2005
- Studio
- Paramount Pictures
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.
-
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...
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
Also available on
UltraViolet Retailers
Other Retailers
Subscription Services
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
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
