Suuri seikkailu (1946) Online
Director William A. Wellman adds another to his long line of salutes-to-aviation films in this bio of an aviation pioneer, John Montgomery (Glenn Ford.) In 1883 he built a practical glider despite the opposition of his friends, who thought he was crazy, and of his family, who were afraid that his dreams of flying would hurt his father's political ambitions. He pursues his education at Santa Clara University where the Jesuits lend a helping and understanding hand. An earthquake destroys what appears to be a working model for an airplane, but a gold-sorting machine Montgomery invented, and then neglected, promises to provide for his financial needs to keep working on his aircraft until he gets involved in costly lawsuits defending his invention.
Credited cast: | |||
Glenn Ford | - | John J. Montgomery | |
Janet Blair | - | Regina 'Ginny' Cleary | |
Charles Ruggles | - | Jim Montgomery | |
Henry Travers | - | Thomas Logan | |
Jimmy Lloyd | - | Dan Mahoney / Prof. LaSalle | |
Charles Kemper | - | Father 'Dickie' Ball | |
Arthur Shields | - | Father Kenton | |
Willard Robertson | - | Zachary Montgomery | |
Selena Royle | - | Mrs. Zachary Montgomery | |
Robert De Haven | - | Jim Logan, as a boy (as Robert DeHaven) | |
Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Robert Hoover | - | Dick Ball as a Boy (scenes deleted) | |
Joe Palma | - | Waiter (scenes deleted) |
As part of the advance publicity, Columbia Pictures sponsored a cross-country Boston to Los Angles tour featuring a 1911 Locomobile car.
Montgomery was killed on October 31, 1911, when his glider, the Evergreen, crashed. His head hit a bolt on the glider, just behind an ear, penetrating his brain. His death was instantaneous, despite the more sentimental ending shown in the film, which was not a critical success upon its release.
When Orville Wright's closest associate (Fred C. Kelly) found out about the theme of the movie, he (with Orville' s frequent input) launched an extensive letter writing campaign to the management at Columbia Pictures in an attempt to get them to abandon the project. He called it a "falsification of history". All of this back story is chronicled in the biography "Quest for Flight:John J.Montgomery and the Dawn of Aviation in the West" (University of Oklahoma Press).
"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on November 11, 1946 with Glenn Ford and Janet Blair reprising their film roles.
User reviews