The Spirit of St. Louis
Short description
Charles "Slim" Lindbergh, a young aviator, sets out to win the Orteig Prize by flying nonstop from New York to Paris. The task demands a machine light enough to cross the ocean on a single engine, and Lindbergh spends months persuading backers to fund the project while working with a small team to design and build the plane. On 20 May 1927 he takes off alone, carrying minimal supplies and no radio, and faces a long, exhausting flight over the Atlantic before reaching his destination.
Billy Wilder directed the film, his twelfth of twenty-two, made between Love in the Afternoon and Some Like It Hot. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Wendell Mayes and produced alongside Leland Hayward. James Stewart plays Lindbergh, heading a credited cast of eighty-one that includes Murray Hamilton and Arthur Space.
The production was mounted on a large scale for its time, with a budget of seven million dollars, but it returned roughly three million dollars worldwide, a commercial shortfall for a Warner Bros. Pictures release. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.1 from about 9,300 votes, while its TMDB rating is 6.7 from around 151 votes. A film critics' rating of 6.6 from twenty-three reviews places it in similar territory to the audience scores, rather than markedly above or below them.
What's left behind the scenes
- “The Spirit of St. Louis” is the name of the airplane used for the flight. It was named after the city of St. Louis, whose residents, infected by Lindbergh’s ambition, helped him raise money for its construction. It cost $10,580, without the engine.
- Lindbergh was a fan of Billy Wilder's films and gladly sold him the rights to adapt his biography for the screen. During filming, the director corresponded with the pilot, trying to learn as many details about his life as possible in order to portray his image more accurately on screen. According to those who knew Lindbergh personally, when he saw the finished film, he said it truthfully and accurately recounted his historic flight.
- Contrary to expectations and despite a large advertising campaign, the film was not a commercial success.
- The film was released in 1957 – to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's nonstop transatlantic flight.
- In 1953, Lindbergh also published an autobiographical book with the same title, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize.
Similar movies
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
