The High And The Mighty (1954)

[Scott]

THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY (1954)	Small | Large

- John Wayne and Robert Stack star in the original airplane trouble movie. John Wayne really keeps a level head as Robert Stack plays the serous stiff just like he does in AIRPLANE (1980) only this time he's the pilot. The movies 147 minute run time is very long and this may be why we don't see it on TV, but it's a real treat all the way through. The film has the look and even occasionally the feel of the later more famous comedy. Their are funny moments in this film and we see a few things here that become the hallmark of other films. Like the reporters meeting the passengers as they get off the plane at the end because we also had the chance to follow their individual stories as well. You'll like the little whistle tune that John Wayne whistles in the film. Now I would like to see ZERO HOUR ! (1957) which is also suppose to be another film that contributes to the movie AIRPLANE (1980).

(7 out of 10 Stars)  Recommended viewing. In color ! ! !



[youtube=425,350]http://youtube.com/watch?v=LHVOAl3jSRc

[trekgeezer]

This movie along with another John Wayne air disaster movie (Island in the Sky) were tangled in some legal issues and neither were on TV for 20 years.

In 2005 both returned to TV on AMC and were released on DVD that year. THATM required a good deal of restoration.


Of the two I like Island in the Sky the best. It's a more straight forward survival picture without all the soap opera elements.


Scott, did you notice who the young copilot on the Coast Guard plane was ?   He was in the Little Rascals.

[Scott]

Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer.........saw a biography on TV recently about how he died. Sad ending shot and killed, but it sounds like he wasn't a very nice person. They say he never adapted after his early success in the LITTLE RASCALS.

[trekgeezer]

Alfalfa is also in Island in the Sky.

He did pull some mean stunts while working on the Little Rascals.  He put fish hooks in Spankie's back pocket once and tricked Carla into putting her hand in his pocket where he had an open switchblade.  He also sabotaged their production once by urinating on some lights for a rear projection setup.  When the lights came on they exploded sending a terrible stench over the set.

You're right he wasn't a very good person, still a shame the way he died.

[Hammock Rider]

Weren't all those "Little Rascals" kids orphans owned by the studios?