Gallant Journey
| Gallant Journey | |
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| Directed by | William A. Wellman |
| Produced by | William A. Wellman |
| Written by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Marlin Skiles |
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Al Clark |
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Production
company |
Columbia Pictures Corp.
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| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Gallant Journey (aka The Great Highway) is a 1946 American historical film written, produced and directed by William A. Wellman and starring Glenn Ford, Janet Blair and Charles Ruggles. The film is a biopic of the early U.S. aviation pioneer John Joseph Montgomery. Gallant Journey depicts his efforts to build and fly gliders, from his childhood through to his death in 1911. The chief stunt pilot for the film was Paul Mantz.
When Father Dick Ball (Charles Kemper) in San Diego, California, recalls his childhood friend, John Joseph Montgomery (Glenn Ford), he recounts the story of the first American to ever fly a glider in 1883. As early as 1879, John told his girlfriend Regina Cleary (Janet Blair) about his dreams of flying, although his family was very much opposed to this idea and considered him a fool. Regina believed in him, and secretly supported his work, until the first test flight in 1883, which was successful. John named his flying machine, an "aeroplane".
John's prominent father, Zachary Montgomery, who had become Assistant Attorney General of the United States was keen on keeping his reputation intact. When he received news of his son's endeavors, he told him to stop his foolishness and continue his clergy studies instead.
Father Ball became interested in John's work and supported his research and experiments. Another priest, Father Kenton (Arthur Shields), turned out to be an aviation enthusiast, and helped John with his inventions, arranging a job for him at a Santa Clara workshop.
John continued his work for a few years, and built several model aircraft, preparing for a full-scale test flight. The only thing standing in his way is a medical condition making him dizzy and causing him to collapse. He is told by a doctor that he will never be able to fly safely suffering from this illness. John is disappointed, but his confidence is renewed when he encounters the parachute enthusiast and performer Dan Mahoney, who offers to pull the glider up in the air with his hot air balloon. The two fathers help John to complete a successful test flight with his new glider. Unfortunately his poor finances prevent him from pursuing his passion for flying any longer, even though many people show their interest in his work.
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Wikipedia