The Flight of the Phoenix (1965 film) The Flight of the Phoenix (1965 film) The Flight of the Phoenix is a 1965 American drama film starring James Stewart, produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, and based on the 1964 novel "The Flight of the Phoenix" by Elleston Trevor. The story describes a small group of men struggling to survive their aircraft's emergency landing in the Sahara Desert, and stars Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger and Ernest Borgnine. The ensemble cast includes Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea and George Kennedy as other passengers on the aircraft. Though the film was a failure at the
Sword in the Desert a British patrol boat arrives sooner than expected, Dillon is forced to join the Jews in their flight for freedom. There are casualties on both sides before the illegal refugees get away, including one of Dillon's men. The screenplay was based on a short story by Robert Buckner, who came up with the idea after a visit to Palestine in 1934. Bucker later expanded this into a short story about Christmas in Palestine as experienced by a visiting American. In the 1940s he expanded this into a novel, then a screenplay, originally called "Night Watch", then later "Desert Legion". Stephen