High and the Mighty, The (1954; USA; WarnerColor; 141m) *** d. William A. Wellman; w. Ernest K. Gann; ph. Archie Stout; m. Dimitri Tiomkin. Cast: John Wayne, Robert Newton, Robert Stack, Claire Trevor, Laraine Day, Jan Sterling, Phil Harris, Sidney Blackmer, Ann Doran, David Brian, Paul Kelly, Sidney Blackmer, Doe Avedon, Karen Sharpe, John Smith. When a commercial airliner develops engine problems on a trans-Pacific flight and the pilot loses his nerve. Pioneering disaster movie set the template for much that followed, including the AIRPORT franchise. Its ensemble cast of stock characters may seem cliched today as a result. Initially slow-paced as the cast is introduced one by one, but tension builds in the second half. Tiomkin won an Oscar for his score. Gann adapted his own novel. [U]