The High and the Mighty and Skyjacked

John Wayne as "Whistling" Dan Roman.

The High and the Mighty (1954). When a passenger airliner en route from Honolulu to Los Angeles experiences engine problems, the pilot faces a critical decision: Does he attempt a dangerous landing in the ocean and hope the Coast Guard can rescue the passengers? Or does he try to make it to the closest airport in San Francisco—even as the plane starts leaking fuel? Directed by former fighter pilot William A. Wellman, The High and the Mighty is considered the granddaddy of the modern disaster film. The now familiar formula augments the tense scenes with a menagerie of characters with background stories of varying interest. Their tales range from a newlywed couple facing the realities of married life to an armed husband who thinks his wife is cheating on him with another passenger. The airplane's crew has its challenges, too, with the lead pilot (Robert Stack) coping with aviation fatigue. There's even the proverbial child on the plane--though, unlike future young passengers--he seems pretty healthy! Bolstered by Dimitri Tiomkin's Oscar-winning score and John Wayne's steady, low-key performance, The High and the Mighty overcomes its weaker characters and subplots (e.g., a gun fired in-flight is quickly forgotten). The result is an engaging film that overstays its welcome at a bloated running time of almost two-and-a-half hours. Here's some interesting trivia: Tiomkin also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Song, though the lyrics are only heard briefly at the end. The tune, with different words, became a pop hit.

Yvette Mimieux and Charlton Heston.

Skyjacked (1972). The first theatrical film inspired by the 1970 blockbuster Airport was not, surprisingly, one of the three Airport sequels. Instead, it was Skyjacked, an satisfactory all-star disaster film based on a David Harper novel. The "all-stars" aren't of the same caliber as Airport, with Charlton Heston on-hand as the only big name star. Still, the best part of Skyjacked is its mix of familiar faces (Yvette Mimeux, Claude Akins, Mariette Hartley), TV stars (Susan Dey, James Brolin), and classic film icons (Walter Pidgeon, Jeanne Crain). The plot concerns a potential bomb aboard a commercial jet flying to Minneapolis. The hijacker, whose identity remains a mystery for the film's first half, wants the flight diverted to Alaska--and then on to the Soviet Union. The film might have been more fun if the hijacker's identity was a surprise, but it's obvious from the beginning. John Guillermin, who would go on to direct the disaster movie megahit The Towering Inferno (1975), keeps the pacing tight for much of the film. However, it lags toward the end, with a flashback romantic subplot involving Heston's pilot and Mimieux's flight attendant adding nothing to the story. Still, Skyjacked makes an interesting pairing with Airport 1975Airport 1975, in which Heston plays a pilot-turned-instructor that gets involved in the rescue of a jet damaged in flight.

Earthquake Rumbles and Rattles!

Genevieve Bujold and Charlton Heston.

Rumble...rumble. That's the sound of Earthquake (1974), one of several big budget, all-star disaster movies made in the 1970s. Airport (1970) perfected the formula, but it was The Poseidon Adventure (1972) that inspired a dozen or so imitations (not counting the spoofs The Big Bus and Airplane!). Still, Earthquake had one thing that these other disaster pics didn't have--and that was Sensurround. But before we delve into that thunderous technology, let's take a look at the plot.

Ava Gardner and Loren Greene.

Charlton Heston stars as Stewart Graff, a former football player-turned-engineer who, along with other Los Angeles residents, feels an earth tremor in the film's opening scenes. Stewart is coping with a high-strung wife (Ava Gardner) who fakes suicides, while becoming attracted to a young widow (Genevieve Bujold).

Disaster film vet Kennedy also played
a cop on The Blue Knight TV series.

Meanwhile, street cop George Kennedy is suspended after punching a fellow officer (who deserved it, of course) and a motorcycle daredevil (Richard Roundtree) prepares to perform a stunt worthy of Evel Knieval. And then there's the creepy grocery store employee (Marjoe Gortner) who moonlights as a National Guardsman.

While all these folks shrug off the tremor, a young seismology student (Kip Niven) predicts that the Big One is coming. Little does he know that one of his bosses has already died as a result of a crack in the Earth and that a city employee has mysteriously drowned in an elevator shaft at the dam....

Earthquake, which was co-written by Mario Puzo--yes, the author of The Godfather!--differs in scope from most disaster films. Its tapestry is an entire city, not just a towering inferno or a cruise ship turned upside down. Puzo and co-writer George Fox do a nice job of introducing the characters and then weaving them into a single storyline after the earthquake decimates the city.

The big quake, which constitutes a seven-minute sequence--still looks impressive. Yes, there are some obvious miniature sets in some clips, but one can see why Earthquake earned an Oscar for Best Special Effects. The effects team included acclaimed matte artist Albert Whitlock, who was likely responsible for the eerie closing shot of a crumbling, burning L.A. Earthquake also won an Oscar for Best Sound and that brings us to...

Los Angeles in shambles after the first big quake.

Sensurround, which was the brand name for a sound system that allowed theater audiences to "feel" the rumbles from the earthquake by using low-frequency sound waves. According to Shared Pleasures: A History of Movie Presentation in the United States, theater owners rented special speakers and an amplifier for $500 a week when showing a Sensurround movie. While the new technology may have contributed to Earthquake's boxoffice clout, it barely survived the 1970s. It was used in a handful of other films such as Midway (1976) and Rollercoaster (1977). However, the introduction of Dolby high-fidelity stereo had attracted far more attention by the end of the decade.

When Earthquake made its broadcast television debut on NBC in 1976, the movie was expanded into a two-night "event." The running time was extended by inserting leftover footage and filming new scenes, including a subplot about an airplane unable to land due to the quake. My recommendation is to steer clear of that inflated edition and stick with the 123-minute version. It may not be great filmmaking, but it's one of the better disaster movies and the cast seems fully engaged.

By the way, that is Victoria Principal (shown on the right) as the the frizzy-haired Rosa, four years before she starred in Dallas. At one time, she and George Kennedy were among those scheduled to star in an Earthquake sequel. Also, although you may not see Walter Matthau's name in the credits, that's him (of course) as the drunk in the bar. He asked to be credited as Walter Matuschanskayasky.

Jane Wyman Romances Charlton Heston and Natalie Wood Befriends a Miracle Dog

Compared to Jane Wyman's other "women's pictures" of the 1950s, Lucy Gallant is neither as good as All That Heaven Allows nor as bad as Magnificent Obsession. It also wasn't made by Douglas Sirk, though director Robert Parrish clearly intended to imitate Sirk's glossy melodramas.

Wyman stars as the title character, a plucky young woman who finds herself stuck in White Sage Junction, Texas, when her train is delayed. She quickly realizes that the town is undergoing rapid growth as its citizens gain wealth from oil fields. When Lucy sees the female residents admiring her New York fashions, she decides to sell all her clothes (we later learn this was her trousseau from a wedding that never happened). With a tidy profit in hand, she borrows enough money from the bank to open an upscale ladies' fashion store called Gallant's.

Meanwhile, she becomes attracted to Casey Cole (Charlton Heston), a rugged rancher who returns her affections. Unfortunately, Casey's old-fashioned values about marriage conflict with Lucy's business ambitions. It quickly becomes clear that one of them will have to bend if these two lovers are going to find happiness.

The opening scenes of Lucy Gallant are captivating, with Wyman creating a sassy, appealing heroine who knows what she wants and how to get it--from a business perspective. Alas, Lucy doesn't know what she wants when it comes to love. She obviously cares for Casey, but he's a boot-wearing outdoorsman and she's a stylish socialite. It's the Green Acres conundrum...except that Casey stops short of forcing Lucy into a life on the ranch.

Eventually, it becomes tedious watching this couple trying to find a compromise as the years roll by. A good supporting cast--which includes Thelma Ritter, Claire Trevor (shown at right), and William Demarest--maintains viewer interest (though one wishes they had more to do, especially the spunky Trevor). There's also a high-end runway show introduced by none other than Edith Head! That almost makes up for the film's ending, which I personally found unsatisfying and a little depressing.

Natalie Wood and collie.

Just like Lucy Gallant, Jenny Hollingsworth--the young protagonist of Driftwood--finds herself in a strange town when she wanders from her home after the death of her grandfather. Fortunately, Jenny (Natalie Wood) meets an apparently stray collie that becomes her protector. En route to the town of Panbucket, she and the dog are befriended by a kind small town doctor. Steve Webster (Dean Jagger) is not a country practitioner, though; he's conducting research on Rocky Mountain spotted fever. And while he treats Jenny affectionately, neither Steve nor his older friend Murph (Walter Brennan) intend for Jenny to spend longer than a single night in their house.

Driftwood, a Republic Pictures "B" movie, was made the same year as Miracle on 34th Street. While it lacks the magic of that Natalie Wood film, Driftwood remains a pleasant family drama. Yes, there's never any doubt how Driftwood will end. Each plot turn is telegraphed well ahead of time (hmm...will someone get Rocky Mountain spotted fever? Just where did that collie come from?). I didn't mind that, though, principally because it was played so well by the cast.

Natalie Wood was a natural on the screen--a gift she displayed as a child and later an adult actress. In films such as 34th Street, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and in Driftwood, the young Natalie charms subtly and realistically without overplaying cuteness.

Ruth Warrick and Dean Jagger.

Of course, it helps when a youthful star is surrounded by screen veterans. Indeed, the best part of Driftwood may be watching its exceptional cast, most of whom carved out successful careers as performers known for their supporting roles in bigger films and on television. In addition to Brennan and Jagger, the cast includes Ruth Warrick (Phoebe on All My Children), Margaret Hamilton, Alan Napier (Alfred on TV's Batman), James Bell (The Leopard Man), H.B. Warner, and Charlotte Greenwood (Aunt Eller in Oklahoma).

Eleanor Parker and Charlton Heston Find Love--and a Lot of Ants--in "The Naked Jungle"

The producing-directing team of George Pal and Byron Haskin followed up their classic The War of the Worlds with The Naked Jungle (1954), a well-written character study which builds to a lively climax involving billions of soldier ants.

Eleanor Parker is ideally cast as Joanna Selby, a young woman who has traded her cultured lifestyle in New Orleans for a more challenging existence on a South American plantation buried in the jungle. She makes this sacrifice willingly for her new husband Christopher Leiningen—a man she has never met.

Her first encounter with Leiningen (Charlton Heston) does not go well. She greets him in her bedroom, looking quite fetching in a lacy nightgown. But Leiningen, his clothes soiled and dripping with sweat, coldly replies: “You're not dressed, madam. I should come back at another time.” This unexpectedly frigid greeting sets the tone for Leiningen's brusque attitude toward his young bride. Clearly, he is attracted to Joanna physically, for he watches her undress in silhouette and breaks down the door to her bedroom in a drunken state. But Leiningen is, as Joanna observes, afraid of her. She is more beautiful, more intelligent, and more courageous than he ever expected.

Leiningen eventually realizes the cause of his own behavior and decides that the best course for the newlyweds is a quick divorce. However, as he escorts Joanna to the river, he learns of a column of soldier ants approaching his plantation—thus setting the stage for a memorable, and surprising, climax.

It's easy to remember The Naked Jungle for the exciting ant attack, although it's not quite as thrilling as its build-up (the local commissioner notes that the ant column is “twenty miles long and two wide, forty miles of agonizing death—you can't stop it”). However, when placed in context of the entire film, the ant attack constitutes a subplot which serves the purpose of bringing Leiningen and Joanna together. In that sense, The Naked Jungle is no more about ants than The Birds was about birds. In both films, an “attack by nature” was used to resolve a conflict between two characters.

The Yordan-MacDougall screenplay sparkles with sharp dialogue and intriguing plot ambiguities. When Leiningen reels off his rigid daily schedule, Joanna (still wearing her enticing nightgown) quips: “What time is bedtime?” Later, Leiningen tells Joanna how he came to the jungle at the age of 19 and had not “been with a woman” for the past fifteen years. Judging from his awkward behavior around Joanna, one has to wonder if Leiningen had ever been with a woman. He could easily be a 34-year-old frustrated virgin male.

The Naked Jungle has its faults, to be sure. Leiningen's transformation from rude host to caring companion is a bit too rushed. The rear-screen projection, always a problem in color films, and the stagy sets constantly remind the viewer of the artificiality of the setting. (The poor rear-screen is a surprise since the cinematographer was the famed Ernest Laszlo.) Overall, though, The Naked Jungle is a well-written, well-played character study with an unexpected turn of events in the final stretch.

Going Ape: A Review of the "Planet of the Apes" Film Series

My young friends Joel and Jonah recently completed a Planet of the Apes marathon with their father, so this seemed like an appropriate time to reflect on the five films comprising the Apes series. It’s impossible to discuss these films without addressing the twist at the end of the first one...so if you haven’t seen any of them, then count this as your spoiler alert!

That twist involves time travel, of course, and that’s what makes the Apes series unique. Chronologically, the series’ plotline ends and starts with the second film Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) and the films form an endless loop. At the climax of Beneath, the Earth is destroyed…but three characters travel back in time and initiate the events that ultimately lead to the destruction of the world. It’s both confusing and cool! And now, here are my capsule reviews of each film, plus my rankings and a second perspective:

1. Planet of the Apes (1968). Four astronauts crash land on a planet where apes rule and humans are a primitive race. The apes are divided into three classes: the chimpanzees are scientists; the orangutans are politicians; and the gorillas comprise the military and police. When astronaut Taylor (Charlton Heston) is captured, the apes learn that he can speak and reason like them. Scientists Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) and Zira (Kim Hunter) help Taylor escape. At the end of the film, Taylor sees the Statue of Liberty buried in the sand along the shoreline and realizes that his ship landed on the Earth of the future. Rod Serling was among the writers who adapted Pierre Boulle’s novel Monkey Planet for the screen. He is typically credited with adding the time travel twist (which wasn’t in the book). The film was a big boxoffice hit in ’68 and critics were kind to it as well. John Chambers’ amazing ape make-up earned a special Academy Award. Seen today, Planet of the Apes is a solid picture with fine performances by McDowell, Hunter, and Maurice Evans as apes. The concluding revelation seems anti-climatic, but the ape civilization is nicely realized and the dialogue occasionally witty. The American Film Institute voted Heston’s famous line (“Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!”) as the 66th most memorable in film history. Joel, Jonah, and I all the original Planet as 3rd best in the series—but it’s the most historically significant as the one that started it all. It’s the only one in my film library (thanks to my sister).

2. Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970). Another astronaut, Brent (James Franciscus), lands on the planet and eventually discovers a race of telepathic mutant humans who live underground and worship a nuclear bomb. When the apes attack the humans, a dying Taylor (Heston) sets off the bomb, thereby destroying the Earth. This glum sequel is content to rehash elements from the original without adding anything new of interest (the mutant humans are a rather boring addition). McDowall is sorely missed (David Watson took over as Cornelius) and Heston’s role is merely a cameo. At least, critics thought the explosive climax put an end to additional sequels. Little did they know! Joel, Jonah, and I all rate it as the worst of the five films.

3. Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971). We learn that Zira (Kim Hunter), Cornelius (McDowall), and Dr. Milo escaped prior to the Earth’s destruction in Taylor’s repaired spaceship. They go through the same time warp that Taylor and Brent did…and wind up on Earth in 1971. Shortly after an uncivilized gorilla kills Dr. Milo, Zira reveals that she and Cornelius are intelligent and can speak—thus becoming media celebrities! However, things go bad when an evil scientist learns that, in the future, apes revolt against humans and take over the world. Zira and Cornelius are killed, but not before their baby Milo is secretly smuggled to safety. Escape is the smartest film in the series on two levels. First, it cleverly circumvents the closed ending of the preceding film and sets the plot in motion for the rest of the series. Secondly, screenwriter Paul Dehn (Goldfinger) has a lot of fun with the celebrity status achieved by the intelligent apes. Joel and Jonah rank it as only the 4th best, but it’s my choice for No. 2.

4. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972). We learn that a disease has killed off the Earth’s dogs and cats and humans have taken apes as pets. As the apes evolve, they eventually became slave laborers. Milo, now known as Caesar, leads a successful ape revolt against human society and announces at the end: “Tonight, we have seen the birth of the Planet of the Apes!” The original ending had Caesar ordering the execution of his former master. When that tested poorly with audiences, a new ending was filmed with Caesar’s wife speaking for the first time to plead her husband to show mercy. A thought-provoking and worthy sequel to Escape, the fourth film provides the crucial motivation for the apes’ takeover. It also showcases McDowall, who gives a strong performance as the son of his previous character (Cornelius). The reworked ending is very effective, concluding the film on a positive note. I rate it the best in the series, while Joel and Jonah have it at No. 2.

5. Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). Told in flashback, the final installment picks up ten years after Conquest with a world divided after a nuclear war. Caesar learns the future of Earth after watching historical footage of his parents discussing it. Meanwhile, the post-nuclear humans mount an attack against the apes. Caesar defeats the humans and also General Aldo, a gorilla military leader who has been plotting a coup. Caesar learns that the world cannot exist with apes and humans fighting one another—they must learn to co-exist peacefully. Battle is an adequate conclusion in terms of wrapping up the plot and suggesting a future of hope. However, it’s not as inventive as the previous two installments and the battle scenes are unimaginative. Still, Joel and Jonah thought it was the best in the series; I ranked it at No. 4.

In 1974, CBS launched a short-lived TV series called Planet of the Apes starring Ron Harper and James Naughton as astronauts and Roddy McDowall as a chimpanzee named Galen (no relation to Cornelius or Caesar). Several episodes were strung together and shown as made-for-TV movies, starting with Back to the Planet of the Apes. There was also an animated 1976 series called Return to the Planet of the Apes that lasted for 13 episodes. And finally, there was Tim Burton’s best-forgotten 2001 remake of the 1968 film that started it all.

31 Days of Halloween: Vincent Price Confronts a World of Vampires in The Last Man on Earth

As far as he knows, Robert Morgan (Vincent Price) is the only remaining human in a world destroyed by a plague of vampirism. Each night, a horde of the bloodsucking creatures gathers around his fortified house and cry out in hunger for the man inside. Morgan waits through the night and, when dawn comes, his daily routine begins.

He shops for canned goods at the empty grocery store. He selects a new car to replace the one damaged by the vampires. He broadcasts a plea for other human voices on a short-wave radio. He piles dead bodies into his station wagon and transports them to an open fire pit. Then, with his “chores” done, Morgan continues his systematic search of the city-- finding weakened vampires lurking in dark rooms and driving homemade stakes through their hearts.

This first adaptation of Richard Matheson’s terrifying 1954 novel I Am Legend was made in Italy on a shoestring budget. Price is the only English-language actor in the cast. But, despite its financial limitations, it remains an impressive work filled with compelling images. The scenes of the vampires pounding nightly on Morgan’s door foreshadow similar images in the better-known Night of the Living Dead (1968). There are also some genuinely frightening sequences, such as the one where Morgan falls asleep in a church, only to awake at sunset and struggle to reach the safety of his fortress home.

Some critics have carped that Price gives a hammy performance, but I don’t find that to be the case at all. In contrast, he comes across effectively as both driven and lonely. My favorite part of the film is the portrayal of Morgan’s daily routine, which Price describes in voiceover.

Allegedly, Matheson was not pleased with this adaptation of his novel, even though he had a hand in the script (he had his screenplay credit changed to Logan Swanson). I think it’s easily the best version of his book, although two remakes were produced. In The Omega Man, Charlton Heston portrayed the last man on Earth, but he fights mutants created by biological warfare. After several failed attempts to produce a big-budget version in the 1990s (Arnold Schwarzenegger was attached at one time), Will Smith headlined 2007’s I Am Legend. It does retain some elements from the original, though the creatures are not technically vampires. For all its pricey special effects and action sequences, I don’t think it’s nearly as chilling as The Last Man on Earth.