# New hope for John Wayne's ''The High and Mighty?'' **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 9, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622 "2003-04-09T19:09:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/1 "2003-04-09T19:09:29Z")
This is the Holy Grail of John Wayne movies. The grand-daddy of airplane disaster movies, and probably the inspiration for the 1980 parody _Airplane_. This movie is owned by the John Wayne Estate, who have steadfastly refused to let it out of their dusty vaults. Money is apparently not an issue, because (I think) Ted Turner made them a very handsome offer. However, Michael Wayne, the eldest son, and “manager” of all of Waynes proprietary, um, property died recently. Maybe there’s a chance that his successor will let a new generation see this lost classic. (Black market copies do show up on Ebay occasionally. I’ve seen the items for sale but have never purchased one. I’ve also heard the quality is. . . not.) ---
**Author:** ![Zhen\_ka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecccb3/32.png) [@Zhen\_ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zhen_ka)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/2 "2003-04-09T20:01:56Z")
I sure hope so! Every year at Christmas I lament that I can’t give a copy of this movie to my father. Why do they keep it from being released and is it ever shown on television? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/3 "2003-04-09T20:11:07Z")
The quality is not extremely good, but whaddya want? An imperfect copy, or none at all? (Erm… Or so I’ve been _told_… I mean, if I _had_ seen a bootleg tape… 😉😃 ) Let’s hope they release it on DVD. Great film! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/4 "2003-04-10T13:55:05Z")
“Airplane!” was based on an obscure movie called “Zero Hour”. The producers simply bought the old copyright to forestall any infringement complaints. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/5 "2003-04-10T14:55:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElvisL1ves \* > \*\*“Airplane!” was based on an obscure movie called “Zero Hour”. The producers simply bought the old copyright to forestall any infringement complaints. \*\* IIRC, they used a couple of lines directly from that movie too. For example, I think the line “We have to find someone who can fly a plane who didn’t have fish for dinner.” is directly from _Zero Hour_. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/6 "2003-04-10T15:25:09Z")
Aha! Zero Hour! > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zhen’ka \* > \*\*Why do they keep it from being released and is it ever shown on television? \*\* Good question. Nobody knows. I did read somewhere that the John Wayne Estate said that the film had been damaged. But elsewhere I read that they haven’t given reasons. They just say “No.” This isn’t unusual, though. Lots of films are just “sat on” by the owners (_Song of the South_ for example). Since its their legal property, that’s their right, and they’re not obligated to give a reason. Another example is the classic _The Conqueror_, which Howard Hughes sat on for many years. It’s said that he watched it frequently, but denied movie fans the enjoyment of this thriller. It was not until a number of years after his death that it was made available to the general public, and we were able to see the incredible range of character actor John Wayne. Who can forget that immortal opening line, “Who’s this ridin’ on muh desert?” ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/7 "2003-04-10T18:57:55Z")
I LOVED this movie when I was a kid! And I can remember John Wayne slapping some sense into Robert Stack when Stack was ready to ditch the plane. Perhaps the movie was actually Robert Stack’s inspriation when he did Airplane! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/8 "2004-10-26T19:01:25Z")
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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/9 "2004-10-26T19:11:09Z")
> [@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker](#): > > Who can forget that immortal opening line, “Who’s this ridin’ on muh desert?” I haven’t been able to watch it all yet…Mrs. Plant becomes ill. He sounds like he’s reading greeting cards: Greetings, My Mother. I decide who enters our house. My Brother amuses himself. Hmmm…maybe Haiku on acid. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/10 "2004-10-26T23:01:27Z")
I wanted to be a co-pilot when I grew up so I could slap my captain, too! ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/11 "2004-10-27T03:34:43Z")
I always wanted to see the movie because it’s apparently based on a book by Ernest K. Gann, who was one of my favorite authors. But I’ll probably be horribly disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/12 "2004-10-27T06:11:21Z")
I get chills just remembering the theme music. Beautiful piece. Anyone remember a whistled version? I’ve tried to find this for my mother’s boyfriend who is a retired pilot and a big John Wayne fan. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/13 "2004-10-27T06:41:46Z")
> [@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker](#): > > Lots of films are just “sat on” by the owners (_Song of the South_ for example). Since its their legal property, that’s their right, and they’re not obligated to give a reason. Disney has given a reason: racial sensitivities. But apparetly that’s not a universal concern for Disney: _Song of the South_ was released on [home video](http://www.songofthesouth.net/memorabilia/collectibles/media/japanvhs.html) in Japan, Great Britain, France, Germany, Argentina, and The Netherlands. _Song of the South_ was in U.S. theatrical release as late as [1986](http://www.songofthesouth.net/memorabilia/theater/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-hope-for-john-waynes-the-high-and-mighty/167622/14 "2004-10-27T06:49:36Z")
> [@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker](#): > > Who can forget that immortal opening line, “Who’s this ridin’ on muh desert?” “And gettin’ footy-prints all over it, too!”