Movie Review - The Spirit of St. Louis

In my movie reviews, I give my brief thoughts on what I watched. Sometimes I will expound on those thoughts, but more often than not, I will just give a brief opinion. You can read plot descriptions on Internet Movie Database or on Amazon.

Source: http://goo.gl/LHmsNa

The Spirit of St. Louis. Starring Jimmy Stewart and Murray Hamilton. 1957.

This is a biopic about Charles Lindberg, with Mr. Lindberg portrayed by Jimmy Stewart. This is an appropriate role for him, because as a child, Stewart tracked Lindberg's flight. He kept track of the progress by marking a map that he set up in his father's store in Indiana, PA. That store was across the street from the current location of the Jimmy Stewart Museum.

This movie also holds a special place for me because, as I understand it, this is the first time my grandfather took my mother to see a movie. Not that I was there, but it's a fond memory for my mother, and she tells me the story often.

The Spirit of St. Louis is about more than the plane or the pilot, or even the flight. A hefty portion...maybe even half of the film...is based on Lindberg's struggle to find support, and what it took to get the plane built.

The oddity of the film is that half of it is spent in the plane, where Lindberg few alone. So for that entire half of the film, Lindberg talks to himself, and to a fly. But somehow, he pulls it off. Perhaps it has to do with Stewart's experience as a pilot during World War II.

4.5 out of 5 stars.