It's sad that THE HIGH AND MIGHTY has vanished into thin air. The Ernest Gann novel was translated into a star-filled drama of the highest degree. This was the first movie I attended upon my return from Korea in l954 and the memory of this movie is still vivid as is THE QUIET MAN which was one of the last movies I viewed before leaving for Korea. As you can see, I am an unabashed fan of the Duke and in these two movies he displayed an acting range that had been barely recognized by the average movie-goer. THE HIGH AND MIGHTY is unique because almost all of the action is inside a stricken luxury airliner and the director,William Wellman,had the nerve to photograph this action in a wide-screen process. But Wayne as the first officer,Dan Roman,is not the only outstanding character although it is Roman's steadfast belief in his skills and the aircraft that brings the passengers to safety. Robert Stack as the Captain, Paul Fix as an aging passenger, Phil Harris as a jokester who has just endured a painful vacation in Hawaii with his wife, John Howard and Lorraine Day as an at-odds married couple, David Brian(Mr,D.A.) as a man suspected by Sidney Blackmer of being the gentleman in whom Blackmer's wife is having an affair and Doe Avedon as the flight attendant all play major roles in this dated, but still relevant movie. But the ladies, Claire Trevor and Jan Sterling as hardened women of the evening also bring to us a mix of pathos, self doubt and humor. John Qualen, a fixture in a number of John Wayne movies,plays a patented role as a simple fisherman on his way home to his rather large family. Paul Kelly plays a disillustioned scientist. The story of THE HIGH AND MIGHTY ,written by Ernest Gann, is simple; A four-engined aircraft bound for San Francisco from Hawaii, has an engine explode and hang at a precarious angle from the wing. The fates of the passengers are in the hands of the flight crew, headed by Robert Stack. The Wayne character, Dan Roman,is a veteran pilot who lost his wife and son in a crash of an airliner he was piloting years before.While the drama is unfolding in the cockpit the passengers review their lives and most make promises to change if they survive. Wayne's character has to convince the captain that they can make it to the mainland. The action inside the aircraft is electric and more exciting that any of the aircraft disaster movies that followed. Of course John Wayne prevails and the passengers walk off into a rainy San Francisco night to return to the lives they had known before they made their promises. Dimitri Tiomkin's score is highlighted by threading the familiar HIGH AND MIGHTY theme throughout the movie. The closing scene is classic; Wayne walking with a limp into the foggy evening and whistling the theme. Ernest Gann's novel rings true because of his first-hand knowledge of aviation. As the author of several flying novels, most notably FATE IS THE HUNTER, Gann is able to make us understand that flying in those days was a mixture of wisdom, experience and a feeling in the seat-of-the-pants. I give this adaptation the highest marks although the story is dated, the characters are of another age and the formula is now tried-and-true. But the story does emphasis that there are unseen heroes that walk among us and come forth when needed.How many times did John Wayne portray this character?
Review of The High and the Mighty
