Actors - The High and the Mighty

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	Actors - The High and the Mighty

The High and the Mighty is a 1954 disaster movie released through Warner Brothers. The film starred and was co-produced by John Wayne, directed by William A. Wellman, and written by Ernest K. Gann, who also wrote the novel (The High and the Mighty) on which the film is based. Dimitri Tiomkin earned an Academy Award for his score, and the film's theme ("The High and the Mighty") was nominated for an Oscar. The High and the Mighty was one of the first all-star disaster films, which paved the way for the Airport films.

"Island in the Sky" and "The High and the Mighty" Similarities

Island in the Sky
and "The High and the Mighty" are film oddities as they are two of the first all-star disaster films, which paved the way for Airport and its sequels twenty-plus years later. Both films are also two of the early John Wayne co-productions and starred Wayne. This production practice would not become widespread until the 1980s and 90s, when stars from Robert Redford to Sandra Bullock took control of productions. Both films also had many of the same crew members: producers, director, writer, cinematographer, and editor.

"Island in the Sky" and "The High and the Mighty" were out of circulation for about a quarter-century due to legal issues. Finally, they were rebroadcast on television in July 2005, the first broadcasts in twenty years, and also released as special edition DVDs that August.

Plot

The plot follows the personal dramas and professional doubts of the passengers and crew aboard a Trans-Orient-Pacific flight that develops engine problems over the ocean, causing a fuel leak. Among the troubled passengers are a "broken-down old broad" named May Holst (Claire Tervor), mail-order bride Sally McKee (Jan Sterling), Donald Falherty (Paul Kelly), a scientist who is conscious-stricken about his work on the atomic bomb, rich snob Lydia Rice (Laraine Day) and her sponging husband Howard (John Howard), selfish playwright Gustave Pardee (Robert Newton) and his placating wife Lillian (Julie Bishop), playboy Ken Childs (David Brian), Humphrey Agnew (Sidney Blackmer), who thinks Childs is having an affair with his wife, Ed Joseph (Phil Harris) and his wife Clara (Ann Doran), returning from the vacation from hell, Nell and Milo Buck (Karen Sharpe and John Smith), a honeymooning young couple, ailing Frank Briscoe (Paul Fix), Korean refugee Dorothy Chen (Joy Kim), fisherman Jose Lacota (John Qualen), and Toby Field, a young boy returning to his mother (the director's son, Michael Wellman).

The flight crew includes John Sullivan (Robert Stack), Dan Roman (John Wayne), a washed-up pilot who piloted the plane that killed his family, Lenny Wilby (Wally Brown), Hobie Wheeler (William Campbell), and a novice stewardess (Doe Avedon).

When pilot Sullivan suffers a bout of hysterics and breaks down, the troubled co-pilot Dan Roman is left to fly the plane to safety.

Reception

When released in July of 1954, The High and the Mighty found great success, becoming one of the most successful films of that year. Being a film oddity, one of the first all-star disaster dramas, the film garnered much praise by critics. In addition to lead actor and producer John Wayne in a memorable role against type, its supporting stars Claire Trevor and Jan Sterling, earned Academy Awards nominations for Best Supporting Actress. The film's theme, written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington, was also nominated for an Academy Award and found popularity upon release.

Legacy

The High and the Mighty was one of the earliest airplane disaster films, and the first to focus attentions on the personal dramas of the passengers. The film predated such all-star affairs as Airport and its sequels by nearly twenty years.

In the sixties and seventies, The High and the Mighty became a staple of network television. Due to tighter broadcast schedules and several royalty disputes, the film's last appearance on television was in 1982 on the cable channel, TBS. {also Cinemax - March/April 1985} As result of the film's rarity, it has developed a cult following, and lead to petitions to get the film released on DVD. Finally, the film was rebroadcast on television in July 2005, the first broadcasts in twenty years. Together with another "lost" John Wayne film, Island in the Sky
, the film was released in a special edition DVD in August of the same year.

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