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Movie Description
John Wayne delivered one of his most memorable performances in THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY, a suspenseful thrill ride that presaged the disaster films of the 1970s with the story of a commercial jetliner that suffers engine trouble on a transpacific flight from Honolulu to San Francisco. With pilot John Sullivan (Robert Stack) too panic-stricken to act, it's up to second-in-command Dan Roman (Wayne) to guide the aircraft to safety--despite being traumatized by the death of his own wife and child in a plane crash years earlier. Wayne's self-doubting copilot presides over jittery crew members and passengers whose stories are told in flashbacks and fleshed out by a stellar supporting cast that includes Claire Trevor, Jan Sterling, Laraine Day, Phil Harris, Robert Newton, and Sidney Blackmer. Directed by William Wellman from a script penned by aviation writer Ernest K. Gann from his own novel of the same name, THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY garnered six Oscar nominations (including Best Director and Best Supporting Actress for both Trevor and Sterling) and an actual win for Dimitri Tiomkin's indelible, whistle-themed film score. Long held out of print by a legal dispute, this little-seen disaster classic has finally been restored and remastered to its pristine Cinemascope glory for a truly riveting tale of terror in the skies.
Industry Reviews
"Often cited as among the first examples of the disaster film....THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY remains superb entertainment."
New York Times - Dave Kehr (08/02/2005)
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