High And The Mighty (DVD)

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John Wayne is an American cinema icon. Everyone knows The Duke; his cocky swagger, stilted dialogue delivery and strong presence. Growing up, my father would regale me with stories of his experiences watching Wayne´s films as a youth and the impact he had on his own life. I felt like John Wayne was a member of my own family. When we would get together with a few dozen members of my extended family for Christmas, the television would invariably flash between football and whatever cable network was airing a Wayne western.

What may amaze you, then, is that "The High and the Mighty" is only the second complete Wayne movie I´ve ever seen. And the other was "The Green Berets," which I used as part of an analysis of the cinematic presentation of the Vietnam War over the decades. "Stagecoach," "Hondo" and "McLintock" are familiar to me in name only. I know the work of John Wayne through clips and reputation alone.

Perhaps that´s why I was able to accept him quite simply as a copilot with a tragic history in "The High and the Mighty." I don´t have the baggage or need to see him as a leading man or oppressively strong figure like those familiar with his staring roles in the past. In "THatM," Wayne is relegated to a supporting role as part of a larger ensemble. He has an admittedly tragic backstory, one which is force-fed to the audience as the film opens. Suffice it to say that "Whistling Dan Roman" would have every right to walk away from aviation, but his drive to continue provides a strength to the crew when they need it the most.

As I said, however, this movie is certainly not a John Wayne vehicle; rather it is an ensemble piece that focuses more on the interrelationships of the crew and passengers during a tense 13-hour flight from Hawaii to San Francisco. The cast list reads like a veritable "Who´s Who" of b-list actors: Phil Harris (Baloo in "The Jungle Book"), Robert Stack and Claire Trevor (who played opposite Wayne in "Stagecoach"). A lot of their portrayals are over the top, as was the style of the period, and overtly stereotypical. Having a cast of 25 in a two-hour movie means that not all the characters will be completely developed, but by and large I felt satisfied with the work that was done in the script.

The essential story of "THatM" surrounds an engine that goes bad during a transpacific flight. The result is a compression of the emotional range that an ordinary person would experience in a half-day. People who may be manic or depressive have their conditions accentuated. Conflicts, like between a jealous husband and a philanthropist who he perceives cheated with his wife grow hostile quickly. People´s emotions are readily worn on their sleeves, often to melodramatic conclusions.

Despite the contentions to the contrary in Leonard Maltin´s upbeat introduction, a lot of the ideas in "The High and the Mighty are quaint at best. A man fires a smuggled gun in the cabin of the plane and suffers no consequences. Broad stereotypes are perpetrated for the sake of simplifying the storytelling. The film is definitely mired in a bygone era and my enjoyment of it was completely dependent upon my ability to take the mindset of a viewer of that time.

"The High and the Mighty" does some great things, cinematically speaking. The contrast of the open ocean the plane is sailing over as compared to the claustrophobia of the cabin is wonderful. As you can imagine, a cloistered airplane is hardly a varied environment and could grow old rather quickly. Fortunately director William Wellman is able to use a variety of camera angles to cast some diversity on the proceedings and breaks up the narrative to focus on different members of the cast to prevent the story from getting stagnant.

Is "The High and the Mighty" any good? That´s a completely subjective question. I think the movie does a lot of things right… but a similar number of elements simply have not aged well. This is a film that has a place in history. One of the first to fully utilize the sweeping vistas made available through the extra-wide lenses used during filming. A John Wayne movie that brings out a tragic hero who ultimately is only the lynchpin in a larger story. He is a catalyst… but not the kind of dynamic, central figure he is in the majority of his films. Enjoy this as a piece of nostalgia, but don´t expect it to hold up as well as most Wayne movies.

Video:
The video quality on this DVD is outstanding. Considering the age of the print; over fifty years, it looks marvelous. The Anamorphic widescreen presentation has a nice saturated color palate and there are few artifacts of its previous five decades in storage. There is an extra feature that goes into the restoration process for this movie which will make you all the more appreciative.