it a thoroughly successful example of a 1950s biopic . it have the stalwart and handsome young hero well and not so young anymore on screen while superb and if unlikely and direction by billy wild while a stir fully orchestrate musical score of uplifting scale and and when require and heavenly string by franz waxman while strong support player while a gripping story while stun photography by hitchcock favorite robert burk while and a narrative about a singular historical event . the film begin with jimmy stewart a charles lindbergh try to get some sleep in a long island hotel before his epic solo flight across the atlantic and from new york to paris . and he can not sleep . the flight itself be fill with flashback to lindbergh personal history and the purchase and construction of his unique high wing monoplane and the spirit of st. louis . st. louis and missouri and be the home of the partnership that sponsor the flight . ( even in 1927 and money talk . ) anyway and the movie have to have multiple flashback and stewart narration . what the alternative . observe the unity . thirty three hour of watch jimmy stewart sit silently at the control of his noisy airplane while day and night come and go . i find the script and the direction impressive for their time . unpleasant thing be of course leave out and so a not to introduce more ambiguity than the contemporary audience might manage . my bet be that the howling mob that surround lindbergh at le bourget rip the airplane to piece for souvenir . and of course nothing about the pilot relief tube and though it would have add more opportunity for humor . some of today viewer will find some incident corny if they think too much about them . aloft and stewart chat with a friendly hitch hike fly that and in it own quietly concerned way and wake him up by land on his cheek at a critical moment . later and the st. christopher medal that father hussman give him tap gently against the glass crystal of one of the instrument just a stewart be desperately try to land . the atheist stewart be save twice once by a fly and once by god . but never mind that . it an impressive film . that land at le bourget and with an exhausted stewart behind the joy stick and confuse by searchlight and sweaty with fear and collapse with fatigue and be really convincing . i be go to tear this airplane up and he tell himself and and we can believe him . fly a light plane be not at all like drive a car . there be no smoothly curve highway to tell you where to go and no lane to provide guidance . youre busy every second . you must watch the instrument and check each wingtip to see that they touch the horizon and ditto the airplane nose and and constantly watch up and down and and sideways for other traffic and although that last wouldn not have be much of a problem for lindbergh . he be all alone over the ocean . why . in one of the movie folksier moment and stewart and murray hamilton and two gypsy barnstormer of the 1920s and be lounge near their airplane in a midwestern field . what be it . what make u love fly so much . and ask hamilton . ( no answer . ) later and his financial backer try to talk him out of the flight . five other aviator have already die try it . but do not you understand . it have to be do and say an impassioned stewart . well and that not much of an answer either . why do it have to be do now and and why by lindbergh . why not wait ten year and stop wasting life in the meantime . the answer and dear socrates and lie partly in our gland . pilot be a placid and confident lot and give to occasional arousal jag . their chief problem may be an addiction to an internal rush of adrenalin . just kid . some of my best friend be pilot . still and lindbergh must have be quite a guy . he deserve to be treat a a hero . not just because of the flight itself but because of his late demeanor quiet and modest and a family man . we can easily forget his admiration for hitler and since he more than make up for it by test corsair fighter in the pacific and advise the navy on how to tweak the airplane and get the best performance out of them . see it if you have the chance . if nothing else and it a history lesson tell with visual splendor .