The High and the Mighty

Deliberate mistake: After the airplane loses its propeller and descends to lower altitude, the cockpit constantly shakes due to turbulence, and the flight crew complains about it in one scene. However, when the camera switches to the passenger cabin, everything remains perfectly still and serene until the airplane is on its final landing approach near the end of the movie.

Deliberate mistake: Throughout the movie, the din of the airplane's engines is consistently louder in the cockpit than in the passenger cabin, even though the engines are wing-mounted and therefore should be much louder in the cabin. This may have been done on purpose to allow the audience to hear the subtle dialogue in the cabin scenes. The cockpit scenes include lots of macho shouting, which is easier to hear over the engine drone.

Continuity mistake: As the crippled airliner nears the coast, John Wayne slips his life jacket over his head, then provides one for another crew member. He then turns toward the cockpit, and his life jacket has magically threaded itself around his waist, and tied itself in place.

More mistakes in The High and the Mighty

Alsop: She may be put together with paste and flour, but that woman has something. What would you say it was?
Miss Spalding: Practice. Plenty of practice.

More quotes from The High and the Mighty

Trivia: When Dr. Flaherty is painting on the beach, his tranquillity is broken by the nearby launch of a military weapon test. The film seen of the launch is stock footage of a U.S. built, back-engineered copy of the V-1 buzzbomb, one of the cutting edge weapons used by the Nazis during World War 2.

More trivia for The High and the Mighty

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