Ostensibly a biopic of Charles Lindbergh, The Spirit of St. Louis uses the triumph of Lindbergh’s 1927 transatlantic flight to create a mythical American figure who conquers the world via folksiness. It’s a national myth for the Eisenhower era. Sound questionable? Well, director Billy Wilder and star James Stewart make it pretty great. Stewart mostly flies solo, as Lindbergh did, ably anchoring both the flashback and cockpit scenes via inner dialogue. (There’s also an extended debate over the ocean with a pesky fly.) His Lindbergh is daring, but also dorkily lovable. As for Wilder, who was better known for movies with an acerbic wit, he delivers a stunningly handsome and enormously exciting adventure picture, full of convincing effects and astonishing aerial footage. American mythmaking aside, you’ll be hard-pressed not to greet the Spirit’s landing in Paris with a cheer.
(4/7/2022)
