Robert Aldrich directed this now classic adventure yarn. A rag tag group of men crash land in the Sahara with little hope of surviving unless they either walk out or build a new airplane & fly out. That's the plot in its entirety. James Stewart is the pilot, a stubborn curmudgeon who thinks making a new plane is idiotic. Hardy Krüger is the engineer who tries to prove him wrong...though his experience at building planes is rather sketchy. Richard Attenborough is Stewart's right hand man and voice of reason. Peter Finch is a by-the-book British captain and Ronald Fraser his not so brave underling. There's enough suspense and angry confrontations to keep this movie moving at a fast clip. The excellent music score by Aldrich regular Frank De Vol is a major asset as is the cinematography by Joseph F. Biroc. The supporting cast includes Ernest Borgnine as an unstable oil rig worker, George Kennedy, Dan Duryea and Christian Marquand as a level headed doctor.
Review of The Flight of the Phoenix
