It's unfortunate that the story of Lindbergh's immortal flight to Paris was not made in the mid thirties before he got involved with the isolationist movement. If it had been James Stewart would have been perfect casting. Here with the help of some heavy duty makeup we have the 48 year old Stewart playing a 25 year old Charles Lindbergh. As earnest as James Stewart performance is, he just can't overcome that burden. He did much better in doing that in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance where both he and John Wayne played men much younger than they were. But there we didn't have a real person to measure it by.
This is also strange material for Billy Wilder to do. The cynical Mr. Wilder who's best at capturing the dark side of our nature and making fun of it, is kind of lost in a straight biographical picture about an All American Hero. Can you imagine what John Ford might have made of the Lindbergh story?
James Stewart had a life long love affair with aviation and I've always thought he approached the films he did on that subject with too much reverence. His best film on aviation was The Flight of the Phoenix which is a wildly improbable tale, made plausible by the fine collection of players, led of course by Stewart.
The Spirit of St. Louis is hampered by a reverential approach by the star and a director on unfamiliar ground.
This is also strange material for Billy Wilder to do. The cynical Mr. Wilder who's best at capturing the dark side of our nature and making fun of it, is kind of lost in a straight biographical picture about an All American Hero. Can you imagine what John Ford might have made of the Lindbergh story?
James Stewart had a life long love affair with aviation and I've always thought he approached the films he did on that subject with too much reverence. His best film on aviation was The Flight of the Phoenix which is a wildly improbable tale, made plausible by the fine collection of players, led of course by Stewart.
The Spirit of St. Louis is hampered by a reverential approach by the star and a director on unfamiliar ground.