The High and the Mighty

Hey, fella.

Ain't you Dan Roman?

Yeah.

I heard you whistling 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 milking cows somewhere on your own...

I mean, I thought you'd quit flying.

I thought you'd stay away from these things.

They're only a hunk of metal. They don't go no place in particular.

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

-What are you up to? -Crew chiefing with Far East.

It's a good job.

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. -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, right?

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 now arriving, Gate 1, from Los Angeles.

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? I'm 33,

and I was born in Ogden, Utah.

Thank you, immensely.

Aloha.

-Hey, 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.

-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. -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. 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. -A moon and a willow tree.

West Airlines, Flight 7 from San Francisco,

now arriving, Gate 11.

I'm sorry I'm late, Skipper. I got hung up buying a present for my wife.

Susie will sure be excited when she sees this.

Yeah.

I 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.

I hope Susie likes this tray.

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

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

It looks about 12 hours and 16 minutes,

if these winds are anywhere near correct.

Okay, 30-50 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.

Ten 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 into Okinawa.

I'll just lay you a bet he's got better than 20,000 hours.

-It sure is embarrassing. -What's embarrassing?

He's got so much time and all.

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.

-All ready, Lennie? -All set to sign, Skipper.

Attention, please.

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.

Come on, Tobey, let's go.

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

What are you looking at?

Attention, please.

You suppose it'll ever happen to me?

I'm sorry to bother you again, but where can I send a cable?

Just across from the souvenir stand.

You're sure about our connecting with that New York plane?

You'll make it with time to spare, Mr. Rice.

We'll make it with time to spare.

That little lady had a grandfather who left her both brains and riches.

She bought her husband an advertising agency not long ago

because he wanted a new toy.

How do you know these things?

I used to be a night clerk in a Nevada hotel.

Flight 7 for San Francisco now loading.

-Mr. Locota? -Yeah, that's me.

I'm a fisherman.

My family should be in fishermen for a couple of hundred years,

maybe more, I don't know.

The fish, they don't school up here,

like on the coast of California.

So, I'm gonna go back to San Francisco now.

Thank you, Mr. Locota.

Your plane will be announced in a few minutes.

Don't you want us to check that through for you?

But I got in here my things for to eat for the trip.

You've hurt my feelings, Mr. Locota.

Did you think you wouldn't eat my lunch,

or the steak we're gonna have for dinner?

Ma'am, miss, I don't know about these things.

I never fly before. I don't want to make no trouble for nobody.

Serving you will be a pleasure, Mr. Locota.

Thank you.

Just a minute, Mr. Locota. There you are.

Thank you. Excuse me very much.

You didn't know all about that little man.

The ticketing sheet had nothing on him except statistics.

I'm afraid he falls into the "nobody" category.

He's gonna be more than a statistic to me. I like him.

Oh, brother. Will I be glad to get on that plane.

Didn't you enjoy Honolulu?

Listen, honey, I always enjoy myself. But this place,

Coney Island with coconuts.

As far as I'm concerned, you can take all the Hawaiian Islands...

Tobey, will you tell your mother something for me?

Tell your mother that there shouldn't be an ocean between us.

Tell her I wish she'd come with you next time.

-Can you remember all that, Tobey? -Yes, Daddy.

I got him, Daddy. I got him.

-Everything okay, Dan? -Yeah. Everything's fine.

3,050 aboard.

There's a slight oil leak, Number 4. Nothing to worry about.

How long does it look like?

Lennie says 12 hours and 15 minutes, about.