Desperate Search
| Desperate Search | |
|---|---|
 1952 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Joseph H. Lewis |
| Screenplay by | Walter Doniger |
| Based on | Desperate Search 1952 novel by Arthur Mayse |
| Produced by | Matthew Rapf |
| Starring | Howard Keel Jane Greer Patricia Medina Keenan Wynn Robert Burton |
| Cinematography | Harold Lipstein |
| Edited by | Joseph Dervin |
| Music by | Rudolph G. Kopp |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 71 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $520,000 |
| Box office | $707,000 |
Desperate Search is a 1952 American adventure film directed by Joseph H. Lewis and starring Howard Keel, Jane Greer, Patricia Medina and Keenan Wynn.
Plot
After departing from Vancouver, a Canadian Western Airways Douglas DC-3 airliner catches fire and crashes in the Canadian north. On board are two young children, Don and Janet Heldon, who are the only survivors. Their father, pilot Vince Heldon and his wife Julie join forces with family friend and bush pilot Brandy and Nora Stead, the children's birth mother, to mount a desperate aerial search before incoming bad weather arrives.
Tensions mount as the children face the danger of exposure and a mountain lion that begins to track them. The searchers are in conflict, as the hotshot pilot Stead creates problems with her constant efforts to take command of the search.
A reconciliation and a successful rescue occur in the nick of time.
Cast
- Howard Keel as Vince Heldon
- Jane Greer as Julie Heldon
- Patricia Medina as Nora Stead
- Keenan Wynn as Brandy
- Robert Burton as Wayne Langmuir
- Lee Aaker as Don Heldon
- Linda Lowell as Janet Heldon
- Michael Dugan as Lou
- Elaine Stewart as Stewardess
- Jonathan Cott as Detective
- Jeff Richards as Ed
- Dick Simmons as Communicator
Production
Although authentic props are shown in Desperate Search, including a Douglas DC-3, most of the aerial scenes are composed of stock footage. Although director Joseph H. Lewis was offered the opportunity to shoot on location, almost all of the film takes place on MGM's backlot. Selected scenes from Captains of the Clouds (1942) are used, matching the action shot on the studio stage.[citation needed]
Filming took place primarily in the second half of June 1952.
Reception
Variety called Desperate Search "strictly a routine offering" but praised Lewis's directing skill, which "hammers home as much tension and suspense as possible."
According to MGM records, the film earned $465,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $242,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $88,000.
References
Citations
- 1 2 3 "The Eddie Mannix Ledger". Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study (Los Angeles).
- ↑ "Production Schedule". Citizen-News. Hollywood, California. June 21, 1952. p. 14.
Bibliography
- Mauro, Rudy. "Captains of the Clouds: Filming the Bush Flying Sequences of Canada's First Air Epic." Journal of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society, Vol. 29, No. 3, Fall 1991.
- Mauro, Rudy. "Captains of the Clouds: A Postscript." Journal of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society, Vol. 33, No. 1, Spring 1995.
- Medina Cotten, Patricia. Laid Back in Hollywood: Remembering. Los Angeles: Belle Publishing, 1998. ISBN 978-0-9649635-2-8.
External links
- Desperate Search at IMDb
- Desperate Search at the TCM Movie Database (archived)
- Desperate Search at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films