Fate Is the Hunter (film)

Fate Is the Hunter is a 1964 American black-and-white aviation disaster film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Aaron Rosenberg, directed by Ralph Nelson, that stars Glenn Ford, Nancy Kwan, and Rod Taylor. Fate Is the Hunter also features Jane Russell (playing herself entertaining for the USO in a flashback sequence), Nehemiah Persoff, Wally Cox, and Mark Stevens. Dorothy Malone also makes an uncredited appearance. The film features an early film score by composer Jerry Goldsmith.

The film's storyline concerns the crash of a passenger airliner that killed all its passengers, with only one of its crew surviving. Pilot error seems to be the cause, until an airliner executive ramps up the investigation, refusing to believe that conclusion.

Plot
A bird strike on one of its two engines shortly after takeoff downs a Consolidated Airlines passenger jet. Soon after shutdown of the damaged engine, the fire alarm for the remaining engine sounds, and pilot Jack Savage (Rod Taylor) shuts down the second engine, successfully belly landing and coasting along what was thought to be an open stretch of beach. The plane, however, crashes into a pier, killing all 53 passengers aboard and all but one of the crew. Savage is initially suspected of drinking and causing the crash that leaves flight attendant Martha Webster (Susanne Pleshette) the sole survivor of the flight.

Early in the investigation, it is found that Savage was seen in a bar as little as an hour before the flight. The captain's wartime buddy, airline executive Sam C. McBane (Glenn Ford), is convinced of his friend's innocence and doggedly investigates. Flashbacks deal with both Jack's past and Sam meeting him, plus others they used to know, as well as Savage's ex-wife and current girlfriend Sally Fraser (Nancy Kwan). Sally introduces the idea of fate to McBane, who rejects it. During the investigation, it is revealed that the pier structure had been scheduled for demolition but the project had been delayed a few days; had the pier been dismantled on time the plane would have made a successful belly-landing. Through flashbacks, it is learned that Savage had accompanied another war buddy to the bar and had not been drinking himself. During a press conference, McBane struggles with the concept of fate and coincidence as the possible cause of the tragedy. Meanwhile, Webster, upon interview in the hospital, insists that she witnessed both engine fault warnings and alarm bells, not just the one from the bird strike.

Eventually, a test flight is organized as part of the investigation. Piloted by McBane, its purpose is to exactly recreate in every detail the flight of the ill-fated airliner. Every detail is replicated in sequence. McBane tries to convince Webster to board the test flight, as she is the only remaining eyewitness to the cockpit procedures. She struggles through her post-traumatic reaction and boards the flight at the last moment. After take-off, Webster performs all of her normal duties and brings McBane coffee, just as she had done for the original flight crew. He sets the cup on a center console just as Savage had. McBane then shuts down an engine, simulating the bird strike. He orders the craft to not be immediately trimmed, as it was not during the original event.

A short time later an emergency arises: The second engine warning light and alarm indicates there is a serious engine fire in the remaining good engine, exactly as Webster had reported. McBane powers up the first engine once more and flies under full power, ignoring the fire warnings on both engines. The plane returns safely to the airfield. McBane is disheartened that he was not able to solve the mystery of the identical second engine failure, when he notices the pilot's coffee cup on the console had spilled during the turbulence of the first engine shut-down. He opens the console's access panel and finds that coffee had seeped through the seams, shorting out the wiring of the warning system. In reality both the original and test flights still had a fully functioning second engine that could have prevented the crash. Savage is therefore exonerated of pilot error by the chain of coincidences that caused the ensuing accident.

Cast

 * Glenn Ford as Sam McBane
 * Nancy Kwan as Sally Fraser
 * Rod Taylor as Jack Savage
 * Suzanne Pleshette as Martha Webster
 * Jane Russell as Guest Star
 * Constance Towers as Peg Burke
 * Wally Cox as Ralph Bundy
 * Nehemiah Persoff as Ben Sawyer
 * Mark Stevens as Mickey Doolan
 * Max Showalter as Dan Crawford
 * Dorothy Malone as Lisa Bond (uncredited)
 * Howard St. John as Mark Hutchins
 * Robert J. Wilke as Stillman
 * Bert Freed as Charles J. Dillon
 * Dort Clark as Ted Wilson
 * Mary Wickes as Mrs. Llewlyn
 * Robert F. Simon as Proctor

Production
Fate Is the Hunter was nominally based on the bestselling 1961 memoir of the same name by Ernest K. Gann, but the author was so disappointed with the result, as it bore no relation to the book which was about Gann's own early flying career, that he asked to have his name removed from the credits. In his autobiography, A Hostage to Fortune, Gann wrote, "They obliged and, as a result, I deprived myself of the TV residuals, a medium in which the film played interminably". (Some prints of the film were released with Gann's name still in the opening credits immediately before that of Harold Medford, author of the screenplay.)

The "Consolidated Airways" jet aircraft used in the film was one of two fabricated from DC-7(B) donors, the second was used to create the crash scene (on the beach). The wings were reportedly removed and reversed, a Boeing 707 nose cone along with "supersonic spike" were also added in order to achieve the appearance of a modern jet airliner. Modifications to the rear section of the aircraft included the addition of two nacelles to accommodate the simulated jet engines. A rear-mounted Boeing 707 spike-styled HF antenna isolator, and antenna were also added to the tail section.

An area of the Twentieth Century Fox back lot was converted into the tarmac, taxiway, and runway seen in the film. Because of the fear of litigation, it was reported that no airframe manufacturer or airline was willing to cooperate in the production of the film, making these steps necessary. The "Fate" aircraft was later used in the filming of an episode of the ABC television series "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1964-1968), and remained parked for several years on an overpass used for movie prop storage by the adjacent 20th Century Fox Studios.

Reception
Releasing a film about aircraft accidents, especially done in the melodramatic manner that the film employed, led to a curious reception from both critics and public. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times, simply called it, "a stupid, annoying film".

Awards and honors
Fate Is the Hunter was nominated for a 1964 Academy Award in Best Cinematography (Black-and-white).

Cultural references
An excerpt from the film was used in the 1980 comedy film Airplane! The film is also mentioned in the 1995 JAG episode "Pilot Error"; the protagonist, who is the lead investigator in a mishap, relates the film's plot to his partner, comparing it and their current case.