The High and the Mighty (film)

The High and the Mighty
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	William A. Wellman
Screenplay by	Ernest K. Gann
Based on	The High and the Mighty 1953 novel by Ernest K. Gann
Produced by	Robert Fellows John Wayne
Starring	John Wayne Claire Trevor Laraine Day Robert Stack Jan Sterling
Cinematography	Archie Stout
Edited by	Ralph Dawson
Music by	Dimitri Tiomkin
Production company	Wayne-Fellows Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release dates	May 27, 1954 (1954-05-27) (Los Angeles, premiere) July 3, 1954 (1954-07-03) (USA)
Running time	147 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1.47 million[1]
Box office	$8.5 million[2]

The High and the Mighty is a 1954 American aviation disaster film, directed by William A. Wellman, and written by Ernest K. Gann, who also wrote the 1953 novel on which his screenplay was based.^[3] Filmed in WarnerColor and CinemaScope, the film's cast was headlined by John Wayne, who was also the project's co-producer.

Wayne stars as a veteran airline first officer, Dan Roman, whose airliner has a catastrophic engine failure while crossing the Pacific Ocean. The film's supporting cast includes Claire Trevor, Laraine Day, Robert Stack, Jan Sterling, Phil Harris, and Robert Newton. Composer Dimitri Tiomkin won an Oscar for his original score, while his title song was also nominated for an Oscar; it did not actually appear in the theatrical release prints, nor in its much later restoration. The film received mostly positive reviews and grossed $8.5 million on its theatrical release.^[2][4]