The High and the Mighty (1954)

The High and the Mighty might be called Muzzy Marcellino's movie since it was his wonderful, masterful whistling of the theme that made this movie not just good, but great. It is a pity that his talents were not more appreciated, but then most people think that anyone can whistle a sonorous tune. Far from it! Very few people could whistle in orchestral color and range which is what this man did for Dimitri Tiomkin's wonderful score which well deserved the 1955 Academy Award for "Best Music" and Scoring. Yes, John Wayne did indeed make the film his own and turned in a multi-layered performance, and yes, this is the granddaddy of the 'disaster films,' which has never been surpassed in quality, but its distinction is not the primacy, nor the casting, nor even the story by a professional pilot, but the distinctive music - distinctly rendered - which one may not notice at first, but which imbues this non-epic with the caliber of stardom.

I can remember when I was in high school in the '60s some ten years after the movie was released (I have never seen it since) and Mr. Marcellino was a guest at one of our assemblies and demonstrated his amazing versatility at whistling and even performed the letters of the alphabet as an example of how he had mastered his craft. His range was phenomenal as he portrayed the instruments of the orchestra and then performed the entire Rhapsody in Blue as well as popular works all by whistling without accompaniment, but admitted that the theme for TH&TM was his proudest achievement. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has never recognized the contributions of all musical forms to the success of pictures as gauged from their mention in passing at the annual telecast Oscar ceremonies, but if they had, this singular performance would have been guaranteed a Special Oscar. Truly, once it is heard, neither it nor the film can ever be forgotten, but will haunt one for years to come! This classic film is the fitting epitaph for Messrs. Wayne, Tiomkin, and Marcellino. Would that we all could be remembered for such an achievement.

Fmovies: This is a predecessor in the "Airport" series that achieved splendor in the 70s and 80s . It's exciting and entertaining but overlong , full clichés and stereotypes with passable acting by all star cast . The 2-year best seller written by Ernest K Gann blasts to the screen with every kind of love , thrills , and intrigue . During the initial scenes in Hawaii, characters are shown showing passports prior to boarding the airplane (this is because at the time the movie was filmed, Hawaii was not yet an actual state) . As when a commercial airliner develops engine problems on a trans-Pacific voyage , then a pilot called captain Sullivan (Robert Stack ; producer John Wayne chose Robert Cummings as his co-star for the role ; Director William A. Wellman, however, overrode his producer and chose Stack for the part) loses his nerve but co-pilot named Dan Roman (John Wayne) gets to bring the plane in safely . Meanwhile , the passengers are helped by a flight attendant named Lydia Rice (Laraine Day) but suffer every range of problems and remember by means of flashbacks , such as May Holst (Claire Trevor) , Clara Joseph (Ann Doran) , Jose Locota (John Qualen) , Frank Briscoe (Paul Fix) , Gustave Pardee (Robert Newton), Ed Joseph (Phil Harris) and Sally McKee (Jan Sterling, reportedly shaved her eyebrows for her role in the film and they never grew back) , among others . The airplane heading to San Francisco from Hawaii has a dangerous journey .

The picture contains drama , suspense , moderate tension and is quite entertaining although with some flaws and gaps . Plastic acting and stock characters detailing a hectic flight . The film is detailing hectic flighty piloted by a nervous pilot and the relationship among passengers . All clichéd and stock roles with regurgitation of all usual stereotypical situations from disaster films . John Wayne's role was first offered to Spencer Tracy. However, Tracy, a liberal Democrat who fiercely opposed the blacklisting of alleged "subversives" in Hollywood that was rampant at the time, wanted nothing to do with Wayne, an arch-conservative Republican who strongly supported blacklisting and whose Batjac company was producing the film, and turned the part down. Filmmaker Wellman was an expert pilot , as during his World War I service as an aviator and shooting various pictures about aviation theme such as ¨Wings¨, ¨The young eagles¨, ¨Central airport¨ , ¨Island in the Sky¨ and ¨Lafayette Escadrille¨ . In the 1950s Wellman's best later films starred John Wayne, including this influential aviation picture for which he achieved his third and last best director Oscar nomination . Colourful cinematography ,and final film of veteran cinematographer Archie Stout ; furthermore cameraman helper William Clothier , being John Wayne's first film in CinemaScope. Emotive as well as unforgettable musical score by Dimitri Tiomkin , the lyrics to the famed title song are only heard at the very end, are sung by a large choral group.

This old-fashioned motion picture was professionally directed by William A Wellman . He was called "Wild Bill" during his World War I service as a pilot , a nickname that persisted in Hollywood due to his larger-than-life personality and lifestyle . Wellman was an expert in all kind of genres as Gangster, drama , Film Noir , Western and adept at comedy as he was at macho material , helming the original ¨ A star is born ¨(1937) (for which he won his only Oscar, for best original story) and the biting satire ¨Nothing sacredÂ

I saw The High and the Mighty when I was 16 in a theater when it first came out. Every woman walked out in love with John Wayne and every man wanted to BE John Wayne. We all hummed, whistled or la-la-la'd the theme song all the way home.

I would love to add The High and the Mighty to my collection of John Wayne films, but the Wayne Family Trust has got to allow this film to be converted to either a DVD or a VHS format. I know they are waiting for the time when they can squeeze the maximum number of dollars out of it, but if they aren't careful, they will wait too long and the world will have moved so far beyond the ideas, concepts and technology of the 50's that the film will not appeal to the younger generation of purchasers of movies.

It's more than just Wayne's performance that is being withheld from the public. I am also a great admirer of the work of the great British actor, Robert Newton and he turned in a marvelous performance here. So did Jan Sterling, Claire Trevor, Paul Fix, Lorraine Day and all the rest of the cast. Their fans deserve to see these actors in this film too. The only actor I could live without is Robert Stack. He has never done a thing for me. But the film as a whole is wonderful and should be released...ASAP

The High and the Mighty fmovies. I just got done watching the DVD edition of this 1950s "peril in the plane" picture. Some fans have been extraordinarily critical of it saying it is full of "clichés" and unbelievable situations. What many of these critics seem to forget is that this film was made in the 1950's. You can't compare movies of that era with this era. If you want movies without clichés, then the director, screenwriters, and actors would have to have much more freedom than was allowed in the 1950s. The censorship boards of that time would not allow certain language in those days. Also remember that movies of that age where much more plot and character driven than today's Special Effects Bonanzas.

To me the thing about this movie that made it enjoyable was that there was a certain amount of tension. The script took time to give us some character studies of the passengers. We actually care for some of the passengers at the end of the movie. Any movie that puts you on the end of you seat worrying about the fate of the characters has done its job.

So for those of you who nit pick about clichés, unbelievable situations, melodrama etc. This film was produced as entertainment, not as a treatise on believability in movie stories.

The main question.....Did this movie entertain. The answer is a resounding YES.

When I read the comments of others who say this movie "does not wear well," I have to laugh at much of the trash Hollywood has made the last few years. Much of what is made today doesn't even stand up against today's low standards.

The High and the Mighty actually has a STORY and characters who have conflicts, hopes, fears and loves.

I was a young boy of about six when our family flew the first United Airlines DC-7 flight from Honolulu to San Francisco. I can remember what it was like to hang high above the Pacific for many hours with four massive radial engines roaring outside the cabin. This movie captures the realism of such a flight.

This movie also brings back memories of how passengers DRESSED UP to fly in those days. The sloppy appearance of today's airline passengers is in marked contrast to the class exhibited by airline passengers of the fifties.

I even remember the Honolulu Airport of the early fifties and the look of the counters and can remember the fragrance of fresh flower leis as we walked through the airport. I remember how we walked out into the sunshine to board the plane by climbing steps to the cabin door.

Yes, this movie is a different world. It's Hawaii as a U.S. Territory, as when I lived there. It's a throwback to a time when pilots were fresh from a World War. Men acted more like gentlemen then, as they do in this movie, and ladies had a lot more class before our modern age made it acceptable for both sexes to be so crass.

The writing may seem archaic by modern Hollywood standards but it fit perfectly the era in which it was made and gives us a wonderful glimpse of the beginning of the golden age of commercial aviation.

This movie captures all of this brilliantly and provides a complex mix of characters living an ominous threat to their survival.

I loved it as a boy and love it now. I bought the Special Edition DVD just recently and love it immensely.

It has a lengthy series of featurettes and will surely please lovers of John Wayne and the rest of the cast and of this movie in particular.

As an additional footnote, I want to add the following: In the late 1970's, after I received my own private pilot's license, and after reading one of Ernest K. Gann's other books, I wrote a fan letter to Mr. Gann, with my comments about sharing his love of flying. It was simply addressed to him at San Juan Island, Washington. I was overjoyed to receive a very nice personal reply from this talented writer of the book and screenplay, "The High and the Mighty." He was a brilliant writer and his writing really captured the essence of flying in those golden years.

Soundtrack music is important. Try thinking of 'Star Wars' without John Williams' symphonic score, and you'll see what I'm saying. Dimitri Tiomkin knew exactly how to write for this picture, and how to move the audience, for without his classic and at times choral-accentuated theme and the rousing orchestral cues throughout, this would have been merely a good film rather than the near-great film that it is. Had it been made this year, for example, using a contemporary film composer, I believe TH&TM wouldn't carry it off.

There doesn't seem to be a replacement for Tiomkin on the horizon, and we couldn't afford to lose him.

The best lines belong to Jan Sterling (that cosmetics scene is still gripping), Robert Newton, and lovely Claire Trevor, and there's a great low-keyed, anticlimactic finale.

A Nine from me.