Crash Landing (1958 film)
| Crash Landing | |
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| Directed by | Fred F. Sears |
| Produced by | Sam Katzman |
| Written by | Fred Freiberger |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Uncredited |
| Music by | Mischa Bakaleinikoff |
| Cinematography | Benjamin H. Kline |
| Edited by | Jerome Thoms |
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Production
company |
Clover Productions
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| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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76 min. |
| Country |
 United States
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| Language | English |
Crash Landing (aka Rescue at Sea) is a 1958 dramatic, "disaster" film directed by Fred F. Sears, starring Gary Merrill and Nancy Reagan. 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.Crash Landing was based on Pan Am Flight 6, a real-life ditching at sea.
Transatlantic flight 627 Captain Steve Williams (Gary Merrill) 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 (Nancy Davis) over raising their son. Williams is also not liked by his co-pilot John Smithback (Roger Smith), engineer Howard Whitney (Sheridan Comerate) and navigator Jed Sutton (Richard Newton) who resent his 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 (Irene Hervey) is an anxious flyer, while first-class passenger Maurice Stanley (Lewis Martin) has been recently widowed. Businessmen Arthur White (Richard Keith) and Calvin Havelick (Hal Torey) are feuding with each other. Stewardess Ann Thatcher (Jewell Lain) considers the co-pilot's advances unwelcome, but has to work with him.
At the fail-safe point, 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.
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Wikipedia