‘The High and the Mighty’: Danger in the Skies, Drama in the Seats

The personal stories of the pilot and passengers on a doomed flight takes center stage over the disaster that awaits them.

Pilot Dan Roman (John Wayne) deals with his inner demons, in “The High and the Mighty.” Warner Bros.

NR | 2h 27m | Action, Adventure, Drama | 1954

My first impression of “The High and the Mighty,” directed by the legendary William A. Wellman (of “A Star is Born” (1937), “The Ox-Bow Incident” (1942) fame) was that it was an air disaster flick.