Rating: NR
Genre: Action
Release Date: 08/02/2005
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: English
Sound: DDS2.0/DD5.1
Run Time: 148 Minutes
Flags: Suitable for Children
Distributor/Studio: Paramount

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, All Movie Guide

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  A reviewer from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The Duke Spreads His Wings.
William Wellman, the Oscar-winning director of Wings, Public Enemy, and A Star is Born brings Ernest K. Gann's (who wrote the adapted screenplay) novel to life on the silver screen as John Wayne trades his cowboy hat for a pilot's cap in this high-flying adventure as he plays a veteran pilot, who must take control of a stricken plane bound for San Francisco and to guide her in safely. The movie features an all-star cast including Claire Trevor, Robert Stack, Phil Harris, Laraine Day, William Campbell, Karen Sharpe, Wally Brown, Ann Doran, John Qualen, Jan Sterling, Paul Fix, Julie Bishop, Regis Toomey, and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer.

Cast:
John Wayne - Dan Roman
Claire Trevor - May Holst
Laraine Day - Lydia Rice
Robert Stack - Sullivan
Jan Sterling - Sally McKee
Phil Harris - Ed Joseph
Robert Newton - Gustave Pardee
David Brian - Ken Childs
Paul Kelly - Flaherty
Sidney Blackmer - Humphrey Agnew
Julie Bishop - Lillian Pardee
John Howard - Howard Rice
Wally Brown - Lenny Wilby
William Campbell - Hobie Wheeler
Ann Doran - Mrs. Joseph
John Qualen - Jose Locota
Paul Fix - Frank Briscoe
George Chandler - Ben Sneed
Joy Kim - Dorothy Chen
Douglas Fowley - Alsop
Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer - Ensign Kelm
Robert Keys - Lt. Mowbray
William Hopper - Roy
William Schallert - Dispatcher
Julie Mitchum - Susie
Doe Avedon - Spalding
Karen Sharpe - Nell Buck
John Smith - Milo Buck

Production:
William Wellman - Director
Robert M. Fellows John Wayne - Producer
Dimitri Tiomkin - Composer
Ralph Dawson - Editor
Ernest K. Gann - Screen Writer
Alfred Ybarra - Art Director
Archie J. Stout - Cinematographer
Louis Clyde Stoumen - Cinematographer
William H. Clothier - Cinematographer
Gwen Wakeling - Costume Designer
Ernest K. Gann - Book Author

1954 Directors Guild of America

1954 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie

1954 Golden Globe