The Spirit of St. Louis

The Spirit of St. Louis. 1957 Warner Bros. Pictures.
Starring: James Stewart, Murray Hamilton, Patricia Smith, Bartlett Robinson, Marc Connelly, Arthur Space, Charles Watts
Director: Billy Wilder
Available at Amazon: Single DVD, or part of James Stewart: The Signature Collection.

A film adaptation of Charles Lindbergh's autobiography of the same name, it begins the night before his historical flight across the Atlantic Ocean, using multiple flashbacks of Lindbergh's (Stewart) aviation career dating back to his first solo flight in 1923. From there, we see him take a few aviation jobs, and eventually gaining support from the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce to design and build his own airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis.

Lindbergh deals with lack of sleep and icing during his flight overseas, while we see more flashbacks from his barnstorming days, and flying for the Army. He makes it to Paris to a hero's welcome.

James Stewart was 47 when cast for the role, which meant he was playing a character that was only 25 years old. He was also reportedly difficult to work with on the set, which was uncharacteristic for him.

Normally, I enjoy Billy Wilder's work, and James Stewart is always good, but this movie ran way too long. Slightly recommended for those curious, although I don't really think I'll be watching this one again any time soon.. Warner Bros., as always, should be commended for their transfer of the film to DVD and the extras included.