The High and the Mighty

"The 2-Year Best-Seller Sensation! The Year's Greatest Cast!"

1954 2h 27m EN

😐

5.9

MID

🥫

46%

ROTTEN

⭐

6.6

IMDB

★5.9TMDB · 90🥫46%Rotten Tomatoes★6.6IMDB · 6,756

AdventureDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Dan Roman is a veteran pilot haunted by a tragic past. Now relegated to second-in-command cockpit assignments he finds himself on a routine Honolulu-to-San Francisco flight that takes a terrifying turn when disaster strikes high above the Pacific Ocean after the point of no return.

“The 2-Year Best-Seller Sensation! The Year's Greatest Cast!”

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Cast

John Wayne
Dan Roman
Claire Trevor
May Holst
Laraine Day
Lydia Rice
Robert Stack
John Sullivan
Jan Sterling
Sally McKee
Phil Harris
Ed Joseph
Robert Newton
Gustave Pardee
David Brian
Ken Childs

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: William A. Wellman
Writers: Ernest K. Gann
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

72 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by William A. Wellman, shot by Archie Stout. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Dimitri Tiomkin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ralph Dawson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Wayne and Claire Trevor and Laraine Day carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The 2-Year Best-Seller Sensation! The Year's Greatest Cast!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0047086 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 90 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

William A. Wellman directs. Archie Stout behind the camera. Dimitri Tiomkin scores. Ralph Dawson cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

172 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by William A. Wellman, shot by Archie Stout. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Dimitri Tiomkin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Ralph Dawson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5John Wayne and Claire Trevor and Laraine Day carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The 2-Year Best-Seller Sensation! The Year's Greatest Cast!".
7IMDB entry: tt0047086 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 90 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.