The Spirit of St. Louis
Directed by Billy Wilder
Written by Billy Wilder, Wendell Mayes and Charles Lederer from a book by Charles A. Lindbergh
1957/USA
Leland Hayward Productions/ Warner Bros./Billy Wilder Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Charles Lindbergh: Now, I don’t propose to sit on a flagpole or swallow goldfish. I’m not a stuntman; I’m a flier.[/box]
Billy Wilder makes the story of a man alone in a plane richly cinematic.
This is the story of Charles Lindbergh’s (James Stewart) historic transatlantic solo flight. The story opens with Lindbergh lying in bed unable to sleep the night before he is set to attempt the crossing. We get his story as he tosses, turns, and reflects on how he raised the money and got his plane built for the flight. We learn that six men have died attempting this same feat.
After Lindbergh’s suspenseful takeoff in fog over a muddy runway, we are alone in his plane. He never did get to sleep and grows increasingly loopy over the 33 hour flight. A house fly joins him in the plane and he begins to talk to it. Later in his exhaustion he begins to talk to himself. We get more details from earlier in his life through his thoughts. We also get to watch some dazzling scenery from the air and live through several scary incidents.
I had heard of this film for a long time but had not seen it or realized it was written and directed by Wilder. It certainly is not characteristic of his work. It shows, though, what an accomplished director he was even without his trademark wisecracks. The flight scenes are especially beautiful.
This film was a notorious flop. Lindbergh hated Stewart’s portrayal of him and most felt he had been miscast as a man almost half his age. I liked it a lot though.
The Spirit of St. Louis was Oscar-nominated for Best Effects, Special Effects.
Trailer
