Desperate Search

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	1952;
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.^[2]

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.^[1]

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c "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

[Mannix-1] "The Eddie Mannix Ledger". Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study (Los Angeles).

[2] "Production Schedule". Citizen-News. Hollywood, California. June 21, 1952. p. 14.

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