''Desperate Search'' is a 1952 American

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

directed by Joseph H. Lewis from a novel by Arthur Mayse. It stars

Howard Keel Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), professionally Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s, including ''Show Boat'' (195 ...

Jane Greer Jane Greer (born Bettejane Greer; September 9, 1924 – August 24, 2001) was an American film and television actress best known for her role as ''femme fatale'' Kathie Moffat in the 1947 film noir ''Out of the Past''. In 2009, ''The Guardian'' ...

Patricia Medina Patricia Paz Maria Medina (19 July 1919 – 28 April 2012) was a British actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the films ''Phantom of the Rue Morgue'' (1954) and ''Mr. Arkadin'' (1955). Early life Medina was born on 19 July 1919 ...

and

Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his wikt:stock-in-trade, stock-in-trade; though he rarely carried the leading actor, lead role, h ...

in a drama revolving around two lost children in the Canadian north."Credits: Desperate Search (1952)."
''IMDb.'' Retrieved: September 2, 2011.

Plot

After taking off from

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, a Canadian Western Airways

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

airliner catches on fire and crashes in the Canadian north. On board are two young children, Don ( Lee Aaker) and Janet Heldon (Linda Lowell), ultimately the only survivors. Their father, pilot Vince Heldon (

) and his wife Julie (

) join forces with the family friend, bush pilot "Brandy" (

) and Nora Stead (Patricia Medina), the children's mother (from an earlier, but unsuccessful marriage) 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 The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

that begins to track them while the searchers themselves are in conflict as the hotshot pilot Stead creates problems with her constant efforts to take over the search. A final effort sees a reconciliation and a successful rescue in the nick of time.

Cast

as Vince Heldon *

as Julie Heldon *

as Nora Stead *

as "Brandy" * Robert Burton as Wayne Langmuir * Lee Aaker as Don Heldon * Linda Lowell as Janet Heldon * Michael Duganas Lou *

Elaine Stewart Elaine Stewart may refer to: * Elaine Stewart (actress), American actress * Elaine Stewart (politician), British politician {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Elaine ...

as Stewardess * Jonathan Cott as Detective * Jeff Richards as Ed * Dick Simmons as Communicator (Vancouver Radio)

Production

As an example of MGM's effort to create a streamlined, low-budget drama, the action in ''Desperate Search'' was pared down to the essential dramatic elements of a search for downed children. Although authentic "props" were used, including the fictional Canadian Western Airways Douglas DC-3, most of the aerial scenes were stock footage. The use of an aircraft painted as "CF-HGO" allowed the studio to merge aerial footage of the prototype

Noorduyn Norseman The Noorduyn Norseman, also known as the C-64 Norseman, is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Distinctive stubby landing gear protrusions from the lower fuselage make it easily recognizable. Intro ...

which first flew on November 14, 1935, and was subsequently hired by

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

in the summer of 1941 for the filming of ''

Captains of the Clouds ''Captains of the Clouds'' ( ''Shadows of Their Wings'') is a 1942 American war film in Technicolor, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney. It was produced by William Cagney (Cagney's brother), with Hal B. Wallis as executive pro ...

'' in the North Bay area of Ontario and carried the temporary registration, "CF-HGO" during the filming. Although the director, Joseph H. Lewis was offered the opportunity to do location shooting, almost all of the film takes place on MGM's back lot. Selected scenes of the earlier ''

'' film are used, matching the action shot on the studio stage.

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." A later-day review similarly noted the taut story and excellent portrayals by the leads but also described the child actors as being the key to film, with Lee Aaker's acting a stand-out while Linda Lowell "gives a one-note performance which consists mostly of screaming at the top of her lungs."Bjerke, Laura
"Tonight's movie: Desperate Search (1952)."
''Laura's Miscellaneous Musings,'' March 16, 2011. Retrieved: September 2, 2011. According to MGM's records the film earned $465,000 in the US and Canada and $242,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $88,000.

References

Notes

Citations

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. .

External links

* * * {{Joseph H. Lewis 1952 films American black-and-white films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Northern (genre) films 1952 adventure films Films directed by Joseph H. Lewis American aviation films American adventure films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Films about cougars English-language adventure films Films scored by Rudolph G. Kopp