The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)

Such a frustrating disappointment

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Good movie but grossly overrated

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Biopic of Charles Lindbergh, directed by Billy Wilder and starring James Stewart as the famed aviator. The story focuses mainly on his transatlantic flight with flashbacks interspersed throughout. It's not a bad movie by any stretch, just overlong and a little dull at times. One of the more traditional and, I suppose for many, uninteresting of Wilder's films. Stewart is too old for the role but the bigger problem is that he's never convincing here as anything other than Jimmy Stewart. That being said, he is always enjoyable to watch and since a lot of this film is him alone he really gets a chance to shine, even if he doesn't hit the mark on capturing Lindbergh. It's not like the script does him much favor in that regard, anyway.I won't complain about historical inaccuracies, nor about sanitizing Lindbergh's story. I've said many times in reviews for other biopics from Hollywood's Golden Age that this is not something that bothers me. The goal of these movies was to entertain. Whatever educational value they have is far down on the priority list. As long as the filmmakers are not going out of their way to assassinate someone's character or something along those lines, I don't have any issues with granting them artistic license with these types of films. Anyway, this is a flawed but ultimately enjoyable movie. There's comedy and drama and a little suspense. I enjoyed the plane stuff and any special effects used in those scenes. It's definitely worth a look for Stewart and Wilder fans, or people who enjoy old-fashioned biographical pictures that they don't make anymore.

After reading some of the negative reviews, here comes one that will hopefully shed light or settle some issues.Yes, Stewart was a bit old for the part, but he was very interested in it, was a famous aviator, and was thus qualified to pull it off (he also was the right height and build, and made this film at the peak of his popularity).Yes, the story was told in a somewhat bland manner. Us aviation geeks enjoyed it the most, but there is much to enjoy and learn from watching this film. The cinematography is very well done, and it's not just "a single camera pointing straight ahead." Many viewers tend to miss the subtleties of what they see, or even forget many of them between watching the film and writing a review.No, Lindbergh was NOT married at the time he crossed the Atlantic, and thus there is no wife to include in the story. People need to check the facts.Yes, Lindbergh was a controversial figure in history over time, specifically, AFTER the flight. This movie had no intention of addressing that aspect of his life, it was not on the agenda, and the complaints about his questionable patriotism are not applicable to the making of this film, and sharing this story and history-making event.Lindbergh made history, and further still, contributed significantly to the advancement of aviation all over the world for many decades to come. That's important, and pertinent to this film.

Director Billy Wilder was a Jew who immigrated to the USA from Germany in the 1930s and in consequence escaped probable incineration in Nazi ovens. That Wilder would, in 1957, make a film honoring a man notorious for his fascist sympathies---well the fact of that is to me incomphrensible. Lindbergh was also a proponent of eugenics, the murder of individuals or categories of individuals adjudicated unfit to live. And this man wasn't called "Lucky Lindy" for nothing; others had died attempting the same Atlantic crossing he succeeded in accomplishing. Why? Well he was jut lucky. No god-like qualifications required. There were actors that purportedly turned down the role of Lindbergh for the very reasons mentioned above. The man's politics and values were repugnant. Not obviously so for Jimmy Stewart, a staunch political conservative who had a lifelong obsession with aviation. The 47- year-old Stewart looking every year of his age lobbied and won the role of the 20-something Charles Lindbergh. The film is just another Hollywood glorification, a whitewash of a historical figure, more fiction than fact. Stewart is the stock Jimmy Stewart readily recognizable as the simple, unpretentious, plainspoken "All American" guy he portrayed in all his films. Nothing like the real Lindbergh who by all accounts was a man ruled by hubris, an arrogant man with an unshakeable confidence in his own abilities and beliefs. Stewart gives us a determined Lindbergh, yet one humble and self-effacing, far removed from who Lindbergh actually was. Aside from the significant ugly back-story to this production, it is just plain and simple, a big bore. The script lacks any nuance of character; it is full of the tropes associated with grit and heroism. Are we supposed to be amused by the monologues Stewart has with an uncredited character, the fly who does a very convincing job portraying an unexpected cockpit stole away getting a free ride to Paris? There needs to be another demarcation to "grade" films like "The Spirit of St. Louis." A little icon of a bomb should be available for stinkers like this.

The picture often took on a carnival like atmosphere when it recalled some of Lindbergh's adventures in flying through the years.We literally see the problems he had with design and financing to attain his goal.Jimmy Stewart was perfect for the lead role as he always exemplified the "aw shucks" guy.Of course, the picture ends with a triumphant Lindbergh being honored with a ticker-tape parade up Broadway. Yes, it's true that the French went wild after he landed in their country.Note that Lindbergh's isolationist and pro-Nazi beliefs are not discussed in this film. To me, this would have given the film an opportunity to show what a first class stinker he was. Of course, the famous kidnapping and murder of his child is also omitted.