Screen Directors Playhouse (TV Series) High Air (1956) User Reviews

29 Great Minutes and Then...THUD!

[bbrebozo · 7/10 · 23 July 2014]

The Screen Directors Playhouse series has been uniformly great, and my thanks go to Turner Classic Movies for periodically showing them. High Air is another one of their terrific shows -- with, sadly, a disappointing ending at almost literally the last minute.

Two great actors, William Bendix and Dennis Hopper, powerfully play a long lost father and son, working together in a dangerous underground tunnel. The script was well written, production and direction were excellent, and the tension mounted well. The show built to a point that was both tragic and inspiring, and then...

...well, my guess is that some idiot TV executives decided that the story line was too depressing, so they demanded an ending that drained the show of all the tension and emotion that it generated in the first 29 minutes.

And since I am a compulsive nitpicker, here are questions that haunted me after the show was over:

Doesn't the last-minute Sappy Ending strongly imply that William Bendix was unsuccessful in keeping the leak blocked up? If so, shouldn't everyone in the tunnel have died at the end?

My recommendation, if you haven't already seen this show: Watch the whole thing, but then pretend the Sappy Ending didn't happen. I rated this show a 7 with the Sappy Ending. Without it, I would have given it an 8 or possibly a 9.

First class teleplay

[johnk-70 · 9/10 · 24 September 2008]

Typical story of a father/son conflict. Son takes a job working with his father who wants him to do better. William Bendix plays a sandhog who digs tunnels under rivers and has arguments with his son over the working conditions and dangers of the profession. I remember seeing this when I was in the eight grade and it scared the hell out of me when I saw it.

Current episodes on the Discovery Channel about sandhogs reminded me of the teleplay.

I don't know who won an Emmy in 1955, but William Bendix at least should have been nominated.

Several Notable Features

[dougdoepke · 20 January 2011]

Tunnel worker Bendix tries to keep estranged son Hopper from taking up same dangerous job.

Several notable features are present in this generally entertaining episode. Catch how well underground conditions are replicated for TV—the set for the tunnel head is especially realistic. Few of the usual cost-cutters for 50's TV are in evidence here. Note too the central tension is between father and son over the son's career choice. This is the upwardly mobile 1950's when white-collar jobs are expanding beyond the blue-collar 30's and 40's, so it's indicative in that respect. Also, the youth subculture is emerging as evidenced by the young Dennis Hopper. The ending is a matter of taste, but that too reflects rather rigid conventions of the day, no matter how unrealistic. This entry is the last in a series that really did deserve more than one season. Too bad.

A father and son and their awkward attempt to reconnect.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 22 January 2011]

This is the final episode of the 1950s anthology series "Screen Directors Playhouse". It featured an A-list director and a nice cast of Hollywood actors in a 25 minute mini-movie. Recently, Turner Classic Movies rebroadcast several of them after they'd sat on a shelf for more than 50 years.

This particular episode stars William Bendix and Dennis Hopper. Bendix is a 'sandhog'--a guy who works underground and digs tunnels. He's been doing it for some time and is surprised when his son comes to see him at work--especially since he hasn't seen the kid since he was 8 years-old. Apparently Bendix and his mother split up and the kid never really knew his father. However, Bendix is dismayed to hear that his son wants to work in the tunnels as well, as he wanted better for the boy. And, as a result, they have a fight--which in some ways makes no sense, as the man really doesn't have the right to tell the son what to do. It gets so bad that Bendix threatens him if he goes to work there. On the other hand, being a sandhog is a very dangerous job, so you can at least understand the father's concerns.

In time, it becomes obvious that Hopper has taken this job in order to reconnect with his estranged father. And, when this part of the film unfolds (following the fight), it's all rather touching. However, soon there is an accident and the lives of the workers are all on the line. I don't want to spoil the film, so I won't say more. However, it is one of the better episodes they showed--taut, well-acted and memorable. The end is spectacular--if a bit hard to believe. See this one.

Great Performances But Horrid Ending

[Michael_Elliott · 2 February 2011]

Screen Directors Playhouse: High Air (1956)

*** (out of 4)

William Bendix plays an underground tunnel digger who gets a new trainee (Dennis Hopper) who turns out to be the son he hasn't seen in over a decade. The father is highly upset that his son would leave college for such a job and the two talk about their issues before going into the tunnel when a disaster hits. HIGH AIR isn't the most original movie out there and there's no question it features an incredibly horrid ending but the two leads are so good and the dialogue so well-written that you can overlook the faults. I think the best thing the film has going for it are the leads as both are extremely good in their parts. Hopper and his method acting clearly steals the film and you can't help but think the young actor is doing his best to come off deep just like James Dean. You can see a little bit of Dean in Hopper's performance and I guess this could have been a bit of homage since the two were friends and Dean had died not too much earlier. Bendix was always great at playing these lovable tough guys and that's exactly what he is. The two are completely opposite in terms of the type of performances they give but it actually adds to the story. The dialogue is a major plus as the two talk over why the father left, why the son is in the tunnel and their plans on the future. I thought the film did a good job tackling issues that a real father and son might have gone over if they had met under these circumstances. There's no question that the film is far from a masterpiece and this is especially true after the atrocious ending but at the same time director Dwan handles the material so well that you can't help but be entertained.