The High and the Mighty

Hey, fella.

Ain't you Dan Roman?

Yeah.

I heard you whistlin' and I said to myself,

only one guy does that just so.

I'd know that ugly face of yours anywhere.

But you don't remember me, I bet you.

Sure I do. Ben Sneed.

I thought you'd be milkin' cows somewheres

on your own far...

I mean, I, I thought you'd quit flying.

I... I, I thought you'd stay away from these things.

They're only a hunk of metal.

They don't go no place in particular.

Well, I guess I just haven't got much willpower, Ben.

What are you up to?

Crew chiefin' with Far East.

It's a good job.

Well, I gotta go, Dan.

I just thought I'd say hello.

Sure. Good luck.

Either one of you know that man?

Sure looks old for a copilot.

Didn't know we were so hard up.

Oh, he weren't always a copilot.

We used to call him "Whistling Dan."

One of the finest men you'd ever know.

And the most miserable.

He was down in Colombia same time I was.

He's taking off one night with a full load

and one of them South American line squalls

decided to hit the field at the same time.

The wind shifts too late for him to stop

and he don't quite make it over a little hill

at the end of the field.

I remember that one. Right after the war, wasn't it?

Yeah. Dan hits flap, but the ship breaks in half

and there's nothing but fire in 10 seconds.

Dan gets tossed through the cockpit window

and only gets a few scratches plus that game leg of his.

Which leaves him alive to blame himself.

Everybody else gets killed.

Sounds to me like he was pretty lucky.

It don't work out quite that way.

I knew two of the passengers.

They were off to the coast for a holiday.

Blonde girl, name of Mary

and a little boy, name of Tony.

Everybody thought they were wonderful people,

including Dan Roman.

Mary was Dan's wife

and little Tony was his only kid.

Yup.

Dan is the only guy I ever knew

who had guts enough not to commit suicide.

Flight 21.

Flight 21 now arriving, Gate 1, from Los Angeles.

Flight 21. Flight 2-1.

Now arriving, Gate 1, from Los Angeles.

Miss Betty Emsley, please report to the information desk.

Miss Betty Emsley, please report to the information desk.

Nice to have you with us, Mr. Flaherty.

Please check with immigration now.

You'll board in about 30 minutes.

This is Miss Spalding, your stewardess.

I'll be in the bar.

We'll call you, Mr. Flaherty.

Trouble.

Mr. And Mrs. Joseph?

Yes, sirree. The Waikiki Kids.

Just put us down as a float for the Rose Bowl Parade.

Your age, Mr. Joseph?

Today?

No, I'm 38, so help me.

Birthplace? Passaic, New Jersey.

That's the Garden State.

Motto, "Liberty and Prosperity."

Bounded on the north by New York, on the south by...

And Mrs. Joseph?

Shall I tell him? Yeah.

I'm 33,

and I was born in Ogden, Utah.

Thank you, immensely.

Aloha.

Hey, look, look. Remember?

Yeah.

My name is Sally McKee.

I'm 30 years old.

I was born in Riverside, California.

You're still a United States citizen?

Yes, of course.

Thank you, Miss McKee.

Please check with immigration.

Your flight will be announced.

She may be put together with paste and flour,

but that woman has something.

What would you say it was?

Practice. Plenty of practice.

Aren't you... Yes, I'm Gustave Pardee.

I've enjoyed your New York shows very much.

Good. Delighted.

Here are our tickets.

I'm 47 and I was born in New York City.

Mrs. Pardee?

I'm 30, and I was born in Owosso, Michigan.

Uh, how will the weather be?

Fine, Mr. Pardee.

You should have a very pleasant trip.

He looks like a tired walrus on a rock.

She looks like she's done all right,

for a slender redhead from Owosso.

Ken Childs, 53. Born in Philadelphia.

Oh, yes, Mr. Childs.

I don't know where my luggage is.

The Royal was supposed to send it down.

We'll check right into it, sir.

May I introduce your stewardess, Miss Spalding.

Hello, sister. New here, aren't you?

Four months now with the company, Mr. Childs.

Good, good.

I don't know where they get some of the girls,

but things are improving.

One of the few men who has ever made

any real money out of aviation.

He's one of our stockholders. Treat him accordingly.

If you please.

Dorothy Chen? Yes.

Born in Antung, Manchuria?

Yes, but I am Korean.

You have your passport handy, of course.

Please take it to immigration.

It's just over there.

It's a real pleasure to have you with us, Miss Chen.

Thank you, sir.

That face.

West Airlines,

Flight 7 from San Francisco now arriving, Gate 11.

Gee, I'm sorry I'm late, Skipper.

I got hung up buyin' a present for my wife.

Susie will sure be excited when she sees this.

Yeah.

I've already been up to weather. The winds aren't too bad.

Let's try 9,000 for a change.

I'll have a flight plan in 15 minutes, Skipper.

God, I hope Susie likes this tray.

3,050 gallons be all right for takeoff, Captain?

Sounds all right, let's see what Leonard says.

Well, it looks about 12 hours and 16 minutes,

if these winds are anywhere near correct.

Okay, 3,050 takeoff.

West Airlines,

Flight 7 from San Francisco now arriving, Gate 11.

Say, Skipper, how old would you say Dan Roman is?

He was flying planes before I was born.

Look at it yourself.

He flew the airmail in the open-cockpit days.

I think he learned to fly in the First World War.

And endurance flights, racing, old-time barnstorming.

10 or 15 years with TransWorld.

In the Second World War,

he flew a bomber in the Ploiesti oilfield raid.

He took his cracks at Germany in B-17s,

finally wound up with a B-29 squad in Okinawa.

Well, I'll just lay you a bet

he's got better than 20,000 hours.

It sure is embarrassing.

What's embarrassing?

Well, well, he's got so much time and all.

You know, they must've been out of their heads

to hire an old fire-horse like him.

Why not let him graze in the pasture?

All ready, Lennie?

All set to sign, Skipper.

Attention, please.

Mrs. Helen Bell, please report to the ticket office.

Mrs. Helen Bell, please report to the ticket office.

Me, too.

Twenty-one souls onboard. The rest, cargo.

73,000 pounds gross.

I said it to Orville, I said it to Wilbur,

and I say it to you,

the thing will never leave the ground.

You may rely on Miss Spalding

to take good care of your son, Mr. Fields.

He's not the first young man to cross the ocean alone.

It will be quite an adventure for him.

He's, unfortunately, quite an experienced traveler.

His mother will meet him in San Francisco.

She's brunette, and quite beautiful.

If you'll wait at Gate 4, Mr. Fields,

you may put Tobey aboard yourself.

Thank you.

(MIMICKING AIRPLANE ENGINE WHIRRING)

Come on, Tobey, let's go.

Flight 1-4 from Los Angeles arriving, Gate 11.

What are you looking at?

Attention, please. Flight 14.

Flight 1-4 from Los Angeles arriving, Gate 11.

You suppose it'll ever happen to me?

I'm sorry to bother you again,