The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

An interesting variation on the 'Hollywood Bomber Crew' plot line with strong casting which is puzzling at times; for example by 1965 Ernest Borgnine had built on his breakout role of Fatso Judson in From Here To Eternity and his Oacar-winning Marty and had been prominent in several memorable titles like Bad Day At Black Rock, The Poseidon Adventure etc but here he is killed off in the first half hour, similarly Peter Finch is given little to do whilst people like Dan Duryea and George Kennedy seem to be there only to make up the numbers. The bulk of screen time is shared between James Stewart, Hardy Kruger and Dickie Attenborough who was competent in a part that any Hollywood supporting actor could have played just as well. It's a good example of the Boy's Own Paper School of plotting and holds up reasonably well.

Frank Towns (James Stewart) is flying a oil drilling crew from Jaghbub to Benghazi in Libya. Lew Moran (Richard Attenborough) is the navigator. The plane gets hit with a sandstorm and crash in the middle of the desert. The passengers are British army Capt. Harris (Peter Finch) and Sgt. Watson (Ronald Fraser), Dr. Renaud (Christian Marquand), odd aircraft designer Heinrich Dorfmann (Hardy Krüger) and from the oil company accountant Mr. Standish, crazy foreman Trucker Cobb (Ernest Borgnine), Ratbags Crow, Carlos with his monkey, Bellamy (George Kennedy) and others. Harris has a plan to walk out. Watson pretends to sprain his leg to avoid the walk and Cobb goes nuts demanding to go along. Dorfmann claims to have a plan to fly out.There are probably way too many characters. Some of the lesser used characters should be left off the plane. Jimmy Stewart's character is way too much of a boy scout. It makes no sense that he goes on a search for Cobb. It puts him completely over the top into unreasonable. As for the plot being unreasonable, that is also a problem but it is a movie after all. With so many great actors, this could be a better character-based thriller.

This is a great movie, where plane crashes in desert, and, well, tough to say "spoiler" , since it is almost 50 yrs old and when the movie title says it all. Not to add that 90% of the movie is directed to this one, and ,as movie goes on, only possible outcome.This is like a Shakespeare play or something as sparse as "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?" Initially one would call it a 'small' movie.... a few characters and a one set stage. But after watching it, seems like a much bigger stage.It's a good story that allows an amazing ensemble of great actors to strut their stuff. Well, maybe a couple didn't get a chance to fully develop, and one or two might have been a bit 'over the top', but the three keys players were outstanding.May catch hell for this, but I think one of Jimmy's best. What I didn't know till quite a bit after watching this movie for first time, was how much a Flyboy Jimmy was. It was in his DNA. When he said in the movie: "Time was you could take real pride, in just getting there, flying used to be fun Lou, it really was..." You knew that character he was playing and he were one and the same.

Jimmy Stewart plays a pilot of a cargo plane which flies into trouble when a sand storm hits, and it crashes in the middle of the Sahara desert, stranding the passengers in a life and death struggle for survival as they must deal with a limited water supply(though they have plenty of food...pressed dates!) as some of them succumb to madness or cowardice, all the while trying to make a desperate plan work: to use the one undamaged wing to make a new aircraft.A fine cast that also includes Richard Attenborough, Ian Bannen, Ernest Borgnine, Peter Finch, and Hardy Kruger. Exciting and interesting film is a bit long, but also quite entertaining, and creates a believable atmosphere of desperation that makes the ending all the more satisfying.