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Crash Landing (1958 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Crash Landing' (aka 'Rescue at Sea') is a 1958 dramatic "disaster" film directed by Fred F. Sears starring Gary Merrill and Nancy Reagan.[http://www.allmovie.com/movie/crash-landing-v88068 "Review: 'Crash Landing' (1958)."] 'allmovie.com'. Retrieved: July 29, 2016.CRASH LANDING
Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 25, Iss. 288, (Jan 1, 1958): 61.
This was the last film in which Nancy Reagan (billed as Nancy Davis) appeared, though she continued to work in television for some years thereafter.[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/45332%7C115968/Nancy-Davis/ "Overview for Nancy Davis."] 'tcm.com'. Retrieved: July 29, 2016. It was one of the last films of director Fred Sears who died of a heart attack after filming completed.Movie Director Sears Found Dead at Studios
Los Angeles Times 1 Dec 1957: 17.
'Crash Landing' was based on Pan Am Flight 6, a real-life ditching at sea.Piggott 2016, p. 104.
This was the final film role of Nancy Reagan, before retiring from acting and eventually becoming the First Lady of California and the First Lady of the United States.
Plot
Transatlantic flight 627 Captain Steve Williams is piloting a DC-7C commercial airliner on a flight from Lisbon to New York when two engines fail. One of the propellers cannot be feathered, causing drag that makes it uncertain whether New York can be reached. The crippled aircraft is not the only concern for Williams as he has been faced with family complications. He is at odds with his wife Helen over raising their son. Williams is also not liked by his co-pilot John Smithback, engineer Howard Whitney and navigator Jed Sutton, who resent Williams's overbearing attitude.
The other crew and passengers have a variety of concerns. They include Teddy Burton, a child on the flight whose dog Wilbur is in the rear cargo area of the airliner. Bernice Willouby is an anxious flyer, while first-class passenger Maurice Stanley has been recently widowed and establishes a relationship with Willouby during the course of the flight. Businessmen Arthur White and Calvin Havelick are feuding with each other. Stewardess Ann Thatcher considers the co-pilot's advances unwelcome, but has to work with him.
Williams radios to a nearby U.S. destroyer for help, and alerts everyone on board to ready themselves for a crash landing at sea. As they prepare for the ditching, the pilot realizes that landing at night is too perilous, and they circle until sunrise. During the delay Williams realizes that his attitudes have been too harsh and Ann Thatcher reconsiders her attitude to the co-pilot. When the airliner hits the water, the passengers, who are violently tossed about, recover and climb out to deployed life rafts. All are saved, and Williams rescues the dog, which he had previously told the boy would have to be abandoned. Eventually Williams reunites with his wife and son in Lisbon.
Cast
Production
Prolific B-Movie director Fred F. Sears had been renowned for "quickies", films that were shot on tiny budgets and often worked on a number of projects at once, from feature films to television shows. After his death in 1957, 'Crash Landing' (originally known by the working title "Rescue at Sea") was one of five films that were finished but remained unreleased for a year.Kelat, David. [http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/71707/Crash-Landing/articles.html "Articles: 'Crash Landing'."] 'Turner Classic Movies'. Retrieved: July 29, 2016.
The real ditching of Pan Am Flight 6 had occurred in October 1956. Sears quickly completed all pre-production efforts, including script, casting, crew, and budget, so that production of 'Crash Landing' was able to start on August 6, 1957, and wrapped in 10 days, with both studio and location photography completed in the typical Sears fashion.[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/71707/Crash-Landing/original-print-info.html "Original print information: 'Crash Landing'."] 'Turner Classic Movies'. Retrieved: July 29, 2016.
Principal location photography took place at the Hollywood Burbank Airport, playing the part of Lisbon Airport. The aircraft seen in the film include a United Airlines Convair CV 240 and Douglas DC-6 as well as DC-6s from American Airlines and Western Airlines. The principal airliner featured in 'Crash Landing' was a Douglas DC-7C, seen in miniature and in stock footage.Santoir, Christian. [http://www.aeromovies.fr/articles.php?lng=fr&pg=1174 "Review: 'Crash Landing'."] 'Aeromovies', 2016. Retrieved: July 29, 2016.
Reception
Released
'Crash Landing' was released on a double bill with 'Going Steady' (1958)."Teen-age story to be screened." 'Los Angeles Times', January 25, 1958, p. B3.Critical
'Crash Landing' was an early disaster film that had its antecedents in 'The High and the Mighty' (1954). Following some of the now-familiar plot devices in disaster films, as a recent review by Jeff Stafford noted, "Theres also plenty of drama going on in the passenger section with an assortment of disagreeable and problematic travellers caught up in their own personal crisis." Stafford further described the climactic crash as "As for the final splashdown in 'Crash Landing', its bound to be a disappointment for most considering the big dramatic buildup to it, but did you really expect much from a Sam Katzman-Fred F. Sears production? A miniature model airplane, some jerky camera movements, a water tank and some intensely dramatic music, courtesy of composer Mischa Bakaleinikoff ..."Stafford, Jeff. [http://moviemorlocks.com/2009/12/12/fear-of-flying/ "Fear of Flying."] 'moviemorlocks', December 12, 2009. Retrieved: July 29, 2016.In popular culture
A scene where passenger Maurice Stanley offers Mrs. Willouby a cup of coffee is parodied in the satirical comedy film 'Airplane!', with their respective roles assumed by child actors David Hollander and Michelle Stacy.
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* Piggott, Peter. 'Brace for Impact: Air Crashes and Aviation Safety'. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Dundurn Press, 2016. .
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