Summary of Crash Landing (1958)
Crash Landing is a suspenseful drama directed by Joseph Pevney, showcasing a gripping performance by Gary Merrill as Captain Steve Williams. The film also features Nancy Davis (later known as Nancy Reagan), Irene Hervey, and Roger Smith, creating a compelling ensemble that navigates both personal and collective crises during a harrowing in-flight emergency.
The plot unravels as Captain Williams, an emotionally detached figure, grapples with his strained relationships at home while piloting a Douglas DC-7. The tension escalates when the aircraft suffers a catastrophic dual-engine failure over the vast and unforgiving Atlantic Ocean. As the plane plummets toward disaster, Williams must not only confront his own vulnerabilities but also coordinate a perilous ditching at sea, relying on his skills as a pilot to keep the passengers calm amidst rising fears and personal dramas.
Passenger narratives unfold in parallel with Williams’ struggle, allowing viewers to connect with the unique backstories of individuals like Bernice Willouby and John Smithback, who represent a cross-section of society confronting existential dread. The film adeptly contrasts the mundane with the terrifying, as characters face their innermost fears in the face of impending catastrophe.
Crash Landing serves as both a thrilling aviation drama and a poignant commentary on familial estrangement, making it a significant entry in the genre of disaster films. The riveting performances and the high-stakes plot resonate, reminding audiences that the human spirit often shines brightest in times of crisis.
Cast:
- Gary Merrill as Captain Steve Williams
- Nancy Davis as [Character Name]
- Irene Hervey as Bernice Willouby
- Roger Smith as John Smithback
Director:
- Joseph Pevney
This film, rich with emotional undercurrents and tense action, remains a notable exploration of human resilience in the face of life-threatening circumstances.
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Video “Crash Landing | FREE MOVIE (Gary Merrill, Nancy Davis)” was uploaded on 04/29/2026 to Youtube Channel Stream City



































Been a long time since I've seen a prop driven engine..
Wow! Nancy Davis Reagan!
Nice. Thanks!
DC7 engines Wright r3350 turbo compound were notoriusly unreliable…trans atlantic flights often had an engine feathered on many flights…
And to our left just below us, is where Hiroshima used to be… No wonder this movie 🍿 is free….
No ads when you have a YouTube premium subscription,.. it’s worth it if you watch a lot of YouTube! ❤
Thinking of the mindset of a 1958 audience . This would be very intense .
Nancy Davis ? BEFORE she became The First Lady !
Script by Fred Freiberger who went on to produce and write for several TV shows and is mostly famous for killing off Star Trek (TOS) and Space:1999
Auntie Mame's nephew grew up to be an airline pilot.
Anyone catch the "I like my coffee black" line?
Did you mentally complete the line with "…like my men"
The stewardess left in first raft!
Can you post your new videos with higher volume, please. The level is a bit low and if I set my receiver high to compensate, the commercial ads blast in too loudly. Thank you, and I really enjoy your movies.
Stewardessses were so elegant back in them days.
Colonel Keith Davenport from "12 o'Clock High."
Qué buena película 😮😂🎉❤
Its nice to see an airline pilote smoking a cigarette while flying the plane.
Nothing wrong with it i just think its a refreshing sight to see, it reminds me of a better time when it wasnt uncommon to see a doctor examining a patient with a lit winston hanging out the side of his mouth
1:11:43 Captain looks like he's been on an all-night bender 😂😂
The Honorable Nancy Reagan First Lady of the United States of America. Ronald Reagan 40th President of the United States. January 20th 1981 through January 20th 1989.
Republican.
Both of them laid to rest Ronald Reagan presidential library. 🇺🇸
I don't think I've ever heard the word "ditch" so many times
Roger Smith from '77 Sunset Strip' along with Efrem Zimbalest Jnr.
Quick complaining about the ads just get to YouTube premium
@1:20 A crying baby! Great! Lol 😉
ID ALREADY SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE. GOOD MOVIE BUT THE ADS ARE SO TERRIBLY LOUD. NOT GOOD WHEN ADS ARE THAT LOUD LATE AT NIGHT.
Merrill starred in another B-17 in Europe film. 12 o clock high or Flying Fortress, not sure. THE WAR LOVER had Steve …1961
Very civilised crash landing. No damage, bloods scars, immaculate clothes, and perfect hairstyle 😂. Nice. 👍
The dialog is so boring I found myself wishing the plane would crash sooner, rather than later.
Actually a decent movie. Some may know that this film was based on an actual event – the ditching of Pan Am Flight 6 a year prior and is, with the exception of a couple of Hollywood glossings, essentially accurate. Pan Am Flight 6 was a Boeing 377, not a Douglas DC – 6 as shown here. The rescue ship was a cutter, not a destroyer escort. There were 31 souls on Pan Am Flight 6, a few less shown here. Otherwise pretty much bang-on accurate. I applaud this film's producers for minimalizing the Hollywood dazzle.
As shown, there were no fatalities. The flight crew of Pan Am Flight 6 handled a very crappy situation quite well, with zero fatalities and no serious injuries ( Wiki ).
A couple of things worth mentioning here.
From circa 1921 – forward, when transoceanic air travel was in it's infancy, US and other countries had weather ships stationed strategically at various points around the world's oceans not only to monitor and report on weather conditions, but also to assist – as shown here – when aircraft had trouble and had to ditch. Had this not been the case, the outcome of Pan Am Flight 6 would surely have been less favorable.
It's also interesting to note that prior to land – based aircraft dominating airline travel 1945 – forward, flying boats were the mainstay. Had humanity continued with flying boats, the ditching of Pan Am Flight 6 would not have been a ditching at all, but rather, an unscheduled stop. AND the aircraft would not have been lost, it would have been towed to land and repaired.
Fruit for thought. 🙂 Cheers.
Too many ads completely ruin the movie.
Pretty good movie for its time and thanks for sharing! Actually, the 1958 movie, "Crash Landing" is based on a real event that took place a couple of years earlier. On October 16, 1956, Pan Am Flight 6 was flying between Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii and San Francisco, California. The aircraft was instead a Pan American, Boeing 377 Stratocruiser named "Sovereign of the Skies." Just like in the movie and at night, the #1 engine over speeded and couldn't be feathered leading to a windmilling prop after the engine was deliberately starved of oil which broke the engine's crankshaft thus creating excess drag and fuel consumption. Again, like in the movie, the number #4 engine began to fail but it was able to be feathered and shut down. In order to maintain flying at a lower altitude, the two remaining engines had to be flown at METO power (that's maximum except takeoff power). The Pan Am crew now realized that they could not make it to any land airports due to the excess drag from the windmilling #1 prop and the two remaining engines being flown at near maximum power. They contacted the U.S. Coast Guard cutter, "Pontchartrain" which was about midway in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California. The ship was there to provide weather information and pass on radio messages for aircraft and ships. The airliner crew notified the cutter radio operator that they would have to ditch. The captain of the ill-fated propeller airliner was able to keep the aircraft aloft on the two engines, dump fuel to lose weight and circle the "Pontchartrain" until morning when chances greatly improved for a safer ditching than at night. The "Sovereign of the Skies" made a successful water landing and shortly after the plane came to a stop the tail section of the fuselage broke off (it was anticipated this would happen based on the ditching of another Stratocruiser and consequently all passengers in the rear of the airliner were moved forward). Despite this breakup of the fuselage all 31 passengers and crew were rescued by the Coast Guard with very few injuries.