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The High and the Mighty

The High and the Mighty

Adventure · Drama · 1954

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.

Movie details

The High and the Mighty

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

1954 Adventure · Drama 2h 27m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The High and the Mighty?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

William A. Wellman

Written by

Ernest K. Gann

John Wayne

John Wayne

Dan Roman

Claire Trevor

Claire Trevor

May Holst

Laraine Day

Laraine Day

Lydia Rice

Robert Stack

Robert Stack

John Sullivan

Jan Sterling

Jan Sterling

Sally McKee

Phil Harris

Phil Harris

Ed Joseph

Robert Newton

Robert Newton

Gustave Pardee

Court is in session

Put The High and the Mighty on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.