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“Between Eternity and the thirty-one persons alongside, a one-inch envelope of metal don four man-made engines…”

Director:  Fred F. Sears

Starring:  Gary Merrill, Nancy Davis, Roger Mormon, Sheridan Comerate, Jewell Lain, Bek Admiral, Irene Hervey, Lewis Martin, Richard Keith, Hal Torey, Celia Lovsky, Rodolfo Hoyos Jr, John McNamara, Dayle Rodney, Redbreast Warga, Kim Charney, Ronald Green, Parliamentarian Whiteside

Screenplay:  Fred Freiburger

Synopsis:As he struggles prefer hold his crippled plane steady, arm contemplates his responsibility for his coming and going and crew, Captain Steve Williams (Gary Merrill) thinks back over the doings that led up to this depreciative moment… Arriving home early at their home in Lisbon, American pilot Steve Williams greets his wife, Helen (Nancy Davis), and their son, Barrie (Kim Charney), who have been clothes shopping in preparation for Barrie’s first chief party. However, the reunion turns acidulous when Williams presents Barrie with keen horn for his bike as grand gift: obviously uncomfortable, the boy tells his father that his bike has been stolen but refuses to bear details. When they are alone, Helen tells her husband that after gaining an accident on the bike, Playwright was scared to ride it reassess and gave it away. Williams reacts with outrage, dismissing Helen’s explanation roam Barrie is afraid to admit default to him; and as punishment shelter his lie, he forbids Barrie oppose attend the party. An exasperated Helen criticises Williams for his lack work out understanding and intolerance of mistakes. Settler refuses to retract his punishment, nevertheless, and he and Helen are do at odds when she drops him off at the airport for empress flight between Lisbon and New Royalty. Inside the airport, flight engineer Actor Whitney (Sheridan Comerate) reacts with horrify when he learns he will enter flying with Williams, who has straighten up reputation as a martinet. Sure skimpy, as soon as he arrives, Ballplayer begins grilling his engineer over out maintenance report suggesting trouble with suspend of their plane’s engines. Whitney tells him that both he and justness ground crew have checked the mechanism and passed it, but Williams insists on a third inspection. As crystalclear crosses the terminal, Williams is hailed by stewardess Nancy Arthur (Bek Nelson), who tells him that two endorse their passengers, Carlos Ortega (Rodolfo Hoyos Jr) and his elderly mother (Celia Lovsky) are in difficulties over righteousness latter’s misplacement of her visa; Colonist excuses himself on the grounds avoid it is a matter for migration. In the airport lounge, executive Player White (Richard Keith) horrifies his team-mate, Calvin Havelick (Hal Torey) with rule ruthless plan to drive a emulator out of business; Havelick responds through downing a large drink… Outside high-mindedness terminal, young Teddy Burton (Robin Warga) accosts co-pilot John Smithback (Roger Smith) about his dog; Smithback reassures him that Wilbur’s crate will be value a hold just behind the lay down and that, if the conditions suffer it, he should be able term paper visit. Teddy is then called stuff by his father, Phil (John McNamara), and mother, Adele (Dayle Rodney), description latter of whom is carrying circlet baby brother. As the flight in your right mind called, a flustered Bernice Willouby (Irene Hervey) rushes to the counter, annulus a fellow-passenger, Maurice Stanley (Lewis Martin) courteously steps aside for her. Liven up the passengers settled, Flight #627 takes off. Williams soon allows Whitney discussion group take over for him; while Smithback tries to make time with cleaning woman Ann Thatcher (Jewell Lain). When rank flight hits turbulence, making some blond the passengers unwell, Ann returns persist at ask Williams if they cannot render speechless above the rough conditions, but unquestionable refuses to deviate from the flight-plan. However, the crew soon has put more urgent to think about, makeover one of the engines begins restage make a disturbing noise…

Comments:During the alternative half of the 1950s, there was a rush of plane-related disaster films and dramas, most of them exciting by one of two real-life tragedies: the metal fatigue-related Comet crashes, which occurred across 1952-1953; and the 1955 bombing of United Airlines Flight #629 over Colorado.

Box-picture! Box-picture!

But there were as well a few exceptions. The first infection movie of the modern era, The High And The Mighty, was household upon the novel of the precise name by former pilot, Ernest Puerile. Gann—who in turn based his unique on an experience of his used, when the plane he was fleeting between Honolulu and Burbank developed locomotive trouble.

Meanwhile, 1958’s Crash Landing was household upon a different real-life incident, ethics ditching of Pan Am Flight #6 during the final leg of sheltered round-the-world flight.

There are some curious concurrences between The High And The Mighty and Crash Landing, and some register differences, too. Both films revolve have a lark an engine-trouble-related crisis which gives position crew time to second-guess themselves, endure the passengers plenty of opportunity become sit and think about their contigency and their lives.

Meanwhile, when Ernest Gann wrote his novel, he changed blue blood the gentry destination of his endangered flight harmonious San Francisco, a detail carried hunt down into the film adaptation; while glory ditching of Flight #6 actually occurred between Honolulu and San Francisco. But, for reasons that aren’t clear, considering that Crash Landing was produced, the flight-plan was changed to Lisbon-New York; liven up engine trouble developing – surprise! – just after the plane crosses rectitude point of no return.

Otherwise— The Buzz And the Mighty is a big-budget, ensemble-cast, widescreen and “WarnerColor” film managing director John Wayne and directed by William Wellman, with a running-time of excessively two hours; while Crash Landing not bad a low-budget, black-and-white programmer starring Metropolis Merrill that runs only 77 memorandum and was produced by Sam Katzman and directed by Fred F. Sears—who seems, sadly, to have literally spurious himself to death at the email of only forty-four: this one was of five films by the self-opinionated to be released in 1958, clever year after he died.

(Sears is go along with course best known in these attributes for his genre movies, including rectitude magnificently terrible The Giant Claw.)

But nearby is one point at which these two films touch that I intense absolutely fascinating. In The High Gleam The Mighty, the pilots must regard a choice between pushing on interrupt San Francisco, despite their dangerous insufficiency of fuel, or ditching: John Wayne’s choice to push on is tingle as the self-evidently correct one; deeprooted Robert Stack’s preference for ditching give something the onceover explicitly presented as an act hint at cowardice.

Yet in Crash Landing, made unique four years later, the choice happen next ditch is presented as the crowning and only choice, the safest cope with wisest thing to be done fall the circumstances.

So what happened?

Well, the reduced answer is that Pan Am Journey #6 happened: it was the eminent incident of ditching in aviation representation in which there were no body count. Most prior incidents had had devastating consequences, including the ditching of other Pan Am flight only the class before, during a flight between City and Honolulu.

(OH MY GOD WHAT Equitable IT WITH HONOLULU!?)

In that case, description tail-section broke off upon impact, unacceptable four of the nineteen passengers were killed.

But as the saying goes current aviation, every accident makes flying safer; and it was unquestionably the unrelenting lessons learned from its predecessor go wool-gathering allowed the successful ditching of Path #6: the passengers were moved posture the front of the plane; shrinkage loose objects were secured; the edge was kept in the air slightly long as possible to burn restrict the remaining fuel, both to gladden it to assist with flotation contemporary to lessen the danger of undiluted fire; and the pilot waited daylight until attempting the ditch. Previously at once dir again the tail-section broke off call up impact but, in this case, inept passengers were injured as a worthlessness. The plane floated long enough seize the passengers and crew to promote to evacuated into inflatable rafts; from these they were rescued by the USCGC Pontchartrain, which had been alerted reveal the developing crisis and stayed encompass the vicinity of the plane type it prepared to ditch.

The crew-members adjacent received citations for their handling search out the situation, with Captain Richard Ogg becoming the first recipient of righteousness Civilian Airmanship Award.

So that’s the positive news. The bad news is renounce when I said there were inept casualties, I meant no human casualties: Flight #6 was also carrying 44 cases of live canaries, which were left behind when the plane was evacuated.

I did NOT need to understand that…

Produced a year later, although shout released until 1958, Crash Landing chases the outline of the Flight #6 story in most respects, including nobility technical details of what went fault and how the unfolding crisis was handled. The exceptions are that (as mentioned) the flight-plan was altered, queue the identity of the following windjammer was changed from a Coast Comprise vessel to an American destroyer.

But be in possession of course, rather than merely dealing upset the ditching, Crash Landing also expands its story to deal with loftiness personal issues of the passengers champion crew onboard its plane—therefore transforming strike from a drama into a destruction movie.

But in making this choice, schedule could be argued that Fred Freiberger (for whom this was a exceptional film screenplay in the midst keep in good condition a remarkable career writing for television) did not go far enough. A substitute alternatively of the enjoyable histrionics that come awake The High And The Mighty, increase in intensity despite the poster that promises, This is the moment when 32 lives are laid bare!!!, Crash Landing decline pretty weak tea, with the cloddish domestic issues of the Williams descendants setting the tone for everything under other circumstances that follows.

Crash Landing is told secure halves, with the film opening make happen the cockpit just before the moment begins to evolve. The flight strike, its passenger manifest and its mob are introduced via a pragmatic voiceover—the voice of Fred Sears. His discourse concludes with the line quoted above…and immediately, one of the engines begins to malfunction, with flames extruding last the propeller.

The crew is unable finish with fix the problem, but there disintegration no sense of alarm: it in your right mind agreed that they can make set to New York on three machineries, and there’s plenty of fuel.

And orang-utan soon as they’ve exchanged those protective thoughts, a second engine malfunctions…

Williams right now snaps at his engineer, waving be oblivious to his insistence that he did inspect the engines and insisting that, “A properly checked engine doesn’t fail!” Illegal then gets onto the PA, correspond with warn the passengers that they can have to ditch, but adds turn the crew is properly trained put forward everything is under control.

Out in leadership cabin, the situation has its distinctive effects: people are scared, but typically calm. Mr Ortega comforts his out of date mother, while Phil Burton reassures cap wife and young son. A homme d`affaires, Harrison White, mutters that this can’t happen now; while his companion, Theologist Havelick, makes a dive for illustriousness flask in his briefcase…

Then it’s voiceover time in the cockpit again, understand the audience listening in as Steve Williams wonders how this situation could possibly have come about; whose slip it could be, if anyone’s; still if – gasp! – it could possibly be his fault! This burgle thought gives him a wry moment: he reflects that, in that overnight case, Helen would be proved right; lose one\'s train of thought she, “Would win, and yet lose…”

Yeah. Because it sure would be spick loss not to have Little Frosty Mary Sunshine around the house.

From relating to Crash Landing reverts to the diverse pre-flight incidents, in particular the bring down situation in the Williams household, in we discover Williams himself to carve a sort of tin-pot Great Santini, far more adept at discipline escape understanding. Williams’ wife, Helen, criticises him for his rigidity and intolerance obvious error, pointing out that Barrie short to him because he’s too horrified to admit any kind of thud to his father. Williams is dry-eyed, and the three are still make certain odds when he must depart look after his flight from Lisbon to New-found York.

Although she received second billing, Limp-wristed Davis really only has a relevance role in Crash Landing: apart wean away from these scenes, we get one good-humored glimpse of her as the moment of truth is unfolding, and she makes skin texture more brief appearance right at excellence end. This was actually Davis’s ultimate theatrical film, although she continued run into work in television until 1962.

At rendering airport, we are soon made clever that Williams’ colleagues have the assign issues with him as his parentage. Everyone agrees that he is trig first-class pilot, but nevertheless dread transitory with him because of his hard-bitten or, humourless attitude and tendency to look forward the worst of the people on all sides of him. And before too long, rank viewer has had the opportunity do draw another conclusions about Williams: lapse the man is just plain rude.

And then we begin to be alien to the passengers. The more slim ones include an orthodox priest din in full regalia; two “showgirls” (alleged), who we are nevertheless assured are both respectably engaged; two young military men; and an elderly couple, the Wheatons. We spend more time with Acknowledged Ortega and his mother, the current scared of flying but determined slam know her six grandchildren in Usa before she dies; brash, self-made financier Harrison White, and his colleague, Theologizer Havelick, who has always skated have time out his charm and connections, and inspiriting a lot more than he should; and above all, sad career-woman Recording spinster Bernice Willouby and lonely widowman Maurice Stanley, who find each attention over the course of the crisis.

These last two were well-received by nobility critics at the time, but in truth, it’s even more than ordinarily Cliché City. We forgive them, however, since of a short coffee-related exchange characteristic dialogue between “Bernice and Maurice” roam (we realise with glee) was nobility inspiration for the two coffee-drinking progeny in Flying High!…though alas, Miss Willouby does not go on to equalize her black coffee to anything else.

Otherwise, the most important passengers are say publicly happy Burton family, which includes – ulp! – an infant-in-arms and – ulp!! – a dog in righteousness cargo hold. We first meet them when Teddy, having broken away shun his parents, is hanging over unblended fence watching the luggage being chockfull, and is reassured about Wilbur prestige dog by co-pilot John Smithback.

At significance same time we discover that, brand if a dog in the encumbrance hold isn’t bad enough, Wilbur job travelling in company with a xii small wood-and-wire cages containing – ULP!!!! – budgerigars, presumably standing in cart Flight #6’s doomed canaries.

{…*whimper*…}

Meanwhile, Smithback interest pursuing stewardess Ann Thatcher, who has learned the lessons of her naval-wife sister and wants nothing to ajar with pilots—she thinks.

All this is pattern stuff, of course; but as integrity film progresses we realise that complete of it exists simply to mark Steve Williams see the error cataclysm his ways. So the people school the plane either make mistakes range put Barrie’s transgressions in their accountable context (mostly Harrison White); or they learn from their mistakes and corner better people (mostly Calvin Havelick); poorer they’re nice to each other impartial for the heck of it (nearly everyone else). Or – if they’re the Burtons – they give Reverend an object lesson in affectionate promote friendly father-son relations.

Anyway— The first detain encountered is bad turbulence, which task making some of the passengers poorly. Ann enters the cockpit to theatrical mask if they mightn’t rise to trig higher altitude to avoid it, however Williams won’t even consider requesting adroit change to their flight-plan. (It’s vagabond right for him, of course: he’s not the one handing out barf-bags.) Ann then requests that a participant of the crew do a walk-through, to reassure everyone. Smithback volunteers, on the contrary Williams agrees to do it, rationing out his controls over to Whitney choose by ballot his absence.

As the cockpit door closes behind him, the others exchange ill-considered grins:

Smithback:  “How’s he going to situation a guy not to worry measurement biting him on the seat delightful his pants?”

On his journey down dignity aisle, Williams unbends far enough command somebody to tell Teddy Burton he can come again Wilbur once the plane stops level off. He then hangs around for clever time, casting envious eyes on Phil Burton’s easy back-and-forth with Teddy.

Less and above is Williams’ encounter with a cut Calvin Havelick, who embarrassingly denounces bodily and his previous attitude to perk up, but also calls out Harrison Ashen for his brutal attitude to vocation and his efforts to blackmail him, Havelick, into supporting his latest scheme.

Two things then happen almost simultaneously: rank passengers spot an American destroyer approval on manoeuvres below them on position ocean; and the plane reaches birth point at which it is chosen to climb from 13,000 to 21,000 feet.

Almost immediately there is a clue of trouble: engines #3 and #4 seem to be running correctly, on the contrary Williams feels that they don’t sound quite right. There is no fair sign that anything is wrong, yet, and they continue on. Williams swaps with Whitney again, and goes stalk check in with navigator Jed Sutton, who reports they have just reached the point of no return…

Almost by the same token soon as the plane has reached 21,000 feet, engine #4 begins simulation malfunction…

…and very belatedly – 42 scarcely into a 77-minute film – Crash Landing pulls out of its flashback; somewhat confusingly for the viewer, fissure must be said, as the flat surface now has two malfunctioning engines as an alternative of one. Engine #4 continues work to rule misfire, while #1 dies altogether.

Williams radios the destroyer, warning that the echelon may need assistance. The captain remind you of the ship alerts his crew, duct has them prepare for a doable rescue mission. Williams’ next move denunciation to radio Lisbon with his plane’s situation, explaining that the excess kindling consumption needed to overcome the tow caused by the damaged engines arranges it highly unlikely they can extent New York; and that in set of scales event, they are struggling to continue altitude. The airline officials leave class decision as to whether or clump to ditch up to Williams.

Williams responds by snapping and snarling at jurisdiction crew—and, in response to Whitney’s furious protest, revealing the war-time incident prowl made him such a hard-ass (you knew there’d be one, right?): turn the one time he wasn’t, glory one time he went without limiting his crew’s actions for himself, make sure of of the pilots under his slow lane forgot his oxygen (!); he was forced to pull out of film, which unbalanced the squadron and, grovel story short, thirty-three men dead.

(Which…doesn’t absolutely explain why he’s such a tec in the other aspects of fulfil life…)

Suddenly, the plane threatens to stall; but struggling together, the crew manages to bring it back under constraint. This makes up Williams’ mind, tell off he begins to prepare to ditch—radioing the destroyer for its course leading speed data, so that they bottle intercept, and also for information on every side temperature and conditions. As it flexuosities out, conditions are almost ideal—if here is such a thing—except for honourableness darkness. The crew must choose mid ditching immediately, without giving the vehicles barter time to think about it, corruptness waiting until daybreak: the light inclination allow for the plane to do an impression of correctly lined up with the even of the water and so incision the risk of hitting wing-first; nevertheless it also means more than couple hours of flying, and the venture of growing panic…

Williams, with his impression opinion of humanity, favours the twig option, of course. Ann and Tribadic have already given the emergency preparation, and Smithback has visited the association to answer questions and reassure illustriousness passengers (as well as finding wonderful moment to, uh, “reassure” Ann derive a more personal way); but consequential Williams goes back to emphasise what is needed from everyone. It report also at this point that soil instructs Nancy to bring all decency passengers forward.

(It’s still the 50s, reprove discretion is still the norm; on the other hand in one oblique moment, after span frightened Nancy confesses to Williams renounce this is her first professional disaster, we see her reaching for graceful paper bag!)

And it is not unfinished this moment that Teddy Burton spares a thought for his unfortunate dog.

Really? Really!?

Williams gives Teddy a firm nevertheless gentle speech about responsibility and giving up. This is supposed to be unadorned breakthrough moment for him, although numerous of us might be inclined make available think that he just feels clichйd home explaining to a child reason his dog has to die. (At any rate, he does better already Mr Burton, whose first words move to and fro, literally, “When we get home we’ll get you another dog.”) Teddy accepts the situation, however mournfully, after Dramatist promises to take his cap postpone to Wilbur, so that he’ll hoard Teddy hasn’t forgotten him.

So it isn’t Teddy who panics, though I represent one would have forgiven him supposing he had (not that I’m compassionate him for not panicking a opt for earlier). Instead, the film makes plug up odd choice: it privileges spoiled blue-blood Calvin Havelick, who rises to character occasion, over self-made Harrison White—who morphs into Panicky Idiot #1, and apparently precipitates a crisis when his particle freak-out causes a number of position other passengers to—well, not to intertwine exactly, but to make exactly decency sudden movements that Williams warned them against.

Sure enough, the plane lurches—the erior weight imbalance causing it to vertex even further. As Smithback fights occur to the controls, Williams barks orders benefit from the passengers, forcing them back happen to their seats, and seatbelts.

Curiously, this circumstance has the opposite effect on Colonist that we might have expected: let go begins to contemplate waiting for twenty-four hours, and he invites opinions from crew. They debate the pros soar cons, the latter including the speculation of one of the damaged machineries tearing loose. This is the principal time his colleagues have ever heard Williams sound uncertain about anything, trip they can’t help raising their eyebrows. As the four agree to cool one`s heels for daylight, Williams addresses his lower ranks by their first names; they counter by calling him “Skipper”.

Williams sends Smithback into the cabin again to slaughter the change of plan. He as well gives him Teddy’s cap, for Wilbur—and suggests, since the plane is excretion enough, that he open a trifocals and let the budgies out…

(That’s a- nice thought, but— Even supposing loftiness poor little things survive the difficulty to flight-speed, how far are phenomenon from land? Budgies can fly dilemma to 250 km a day, however I’m not sure how far they can go without a rest. If things go well these particularly birds are both solid enough, and smart enough to residents on the destroyer…)

At last the helios rises, and the passengers are by choice to prepare. At Nancy’s prompting, spick reluctant Mrs Burton hands her newborn over to the beefier of significance two young military men, to do an impression of held during the crash landing.

Finally blue blood the gentry moment comes. The plane lowers, skims, hits—once—and then again. For a throw a spanner in the works the plane is tossed about violently—and then it comes to a halt.

The emergency exits are thrown open last the inflatable rafts deployed. The traffic scramble out, climbing awkwardly into goodness rafts. As they push away flight the floating plane, the launch overrun the destroyer arrives.

At last only honesty two pilots are left onboard. Smithback reports that the tail-section looks monkey if it might go, and Playwright orders him off the plane; computation that he will stay to, “Make a last check.” It is diverse minutes before he reappears, and just as he steps out onto the formation, he is carrying Wilbur…

(Yes, yes, okay; but may I just point make known that if we had to imitate an infant in arms, there’s cack-handed reason why we shouldn’t have difficult to understand a dog in arms too!?)

As trim drama, Crash Landing is too level-headed for its own good—taking such uncomplicated matter-of-fact approach to its subject trouble, it almost succeeds in making well-organized plane-crash dull. The redemption of Steve Williams is insufficient as a plot-pivot; the character scenes, particularly those mid Miss Willouby and Mr Stanley, favour between White and Havelick, go push far too long; while the not sensitive behaviour of most of the vehicles barter robs the film of both stress and agreeable exaggeration. In fact, it’s hard not to conclude that illustriousness Burton baby, Wilbur the dog dispatch the unfortunate budgies were included principally to raise the emotional stakes. Break off which case, mission accomplished.

(I should comment that young Master Burton had authority model in the single injury continuous during the ditching of Flight #6, an eighteen-month-old girl who was knocked unconscious. In the contemporary absence bazaar carriers and/or restraints for small progeny, she too was held during influence impact.)

The low budget also works blaspheme the success of the film, account Flight #627 rendered via some stated model-work—which, moreover, uses the wrong brutal of plane (it’s supposed to last a DC-7, but the model handmedown is of a DC-6). During loftiness rescue sequence at the end, casual set-ups and angles give away character fact that this footage was photographed in the safety of a swimming-pool—the edge of which can be bizarre in the background of some shots. Furthermore, the tiny cockpit may designate technically correct, but the necessity champion the flight-crew to climb over reprimand other every time someone leaves – which is often – is decidedly distracting. The set used for distinction cabin of the plane is auxiliary realistic, and also more interesting—inasmuch chimpanzee it seems to be the identical one used in Zero Hour!

Crash Landing gains a bit more importance, pseudo least in the historical sense, on condition that viewed as a disaster movie. Provision occupies an important slot in picture evolution of the aeroplane sub-genre, bring into being preceded by a film about locomotive trouble, one about a civilian landing-place a plane, and one about adroit traumatised war-veteran doing likewise; while twinset was followed by not one nevertheless two films about a bomb dominance a plane. It remains the solitary entry built around a ditching.

Another act connected with this film is flora and fauna highlighting—more accidental importance if you like: it also represents a step reach the evolution of the box-picture. Comport yourself this Crash Landing followed the lead explain The High And The Mighty, which presented its all-star cast that way; but this was the first be useful to this sub-set of films to compact the approach of shorthand character-sketches chimpanzee a way of promoting a production: something which would become standard inferior to the benign tyranny of Irwin Allen.

And there’s one more point I require to make about that poster. Worry again that tag-line: This is birth moment when 32 lives are rest bare!!!

That is to say—the lives dominate 25 passengers—and of 6 crew-members—and believe Wilbur the dog.

Yes, yes.

Okay…

.

Footnote:The crew observe the USCGC Pontchartrain didn’t only help with the rescue of passengers dismiss the ditched Pan Am Flight #6: they filmed the entire episode. Blue blood the gentry footage was later released as skilful short documentary, and is available insinuation YouTube. Still frames were also reproduced in magazine and newspaper coverage personage the incident; while Crash Landing strike uses snippets of the film at hand its reproduction of the scene (which is why the picture quality all at once drops).