Drowsy and Disoriented | The Spirit of St. Louis | Warner Archive

The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) #WarnerArchive #WarnerBros #TheSpiritofStLouis
This Billy Wilder-directed biography tells the thrilling story of aviator Charles Lindbergh (James Stewart), who risks his life to complete the first solo flight across the Atlantic. In order to survive the journey, Lindbergh must struggle to overcome his own fatigue and the elements--ranging from ice on the wings to fog. Along the way, Lindbergh recalls his past as an airmail pilot and a barnstormer.
Directed By Billy Wilder
Starring James Stewart, Murray Hamilton, Patricia Smith
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Warner Archive Collection is a branch of Warner Bros home entertainment that releases classic films and TV that were previously unreleased. Thousands of Films, TV movies and series on Blu-ray and DVD direct from the studio. WAC started as a MOD (manufactured on demand) eCommerce business in 2009 and have released over 2,500 titles spanning from the 1920s to present with distribution outlets that now include wholesale, licensee, and retail partners. Available at amzn.to/3gQeRvx.
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[@randallgreen6746]

Jimmy Stewart was one of the best actor's in his time.

[@adamdorgant9454]

Agreed!!!!

[@robertphillips6296]

He went with out sleep for approximately 57 hours if you add in the fact that he was not able to sleep the night before do to nervous anticipation of the flight.

[@INDYDan]

I love this movie..I was able to see the Spirit in DC about 20 years ago..

[@scottfarmer8758]

It's amazing that he was able to stay awake the entire flight

[@alanknotts1844]

What an amazing piece of acting by the great James Stewart.

[@Horizon344]

Well acted & narrated by Stewart

[@18661873]

In his book he wrote that he hallucinated ghosts and spirits were in the back of his airplane.

[@James-ok7ii]

whats the name of this book??

[@18661873]

@@James-ok7ii : The Spirit of St. Louis by Charles A. Lindbergh.

[@elfowl6873]

THE SPIRIT!!!!!!! what a beauty!!! thanks for the post!!!!!

[@YesYouAreAbsolutelyCorrect]

You gosta utilize Snickers in such situation, humans.

[@James-ok7ii]

my oh my.. i was maybe 6 when i first saw this.. ive been searching for years after my dad died so i couldnt ask him. i finally found it.

[@actioncom2748]

Man, I have BEEN there! Sometimes you are just so wiped out.

[@anthonyangeli256]

Great movie

[@CEOkiller]

Kind of like me when I get done with working 3rd shift...

[@IWDTC]

Jimmie plays nodding off to the extreme here, I get tired fast whenever I see this scene...

[@philipvernejules9926]

.....yes, that's exactly what I do when falling asleep at the wheel . I avoid those situations these days .

[@nicholasmarino1733]

Hi. Mr Jimmy Stewart was an actor's actor!!!!!!👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿

[@bigbob1699]

All he needed was one good engine and all the gas he could carry! KISS!

[@flashesofblack4128]

I used to have this exact thing happen to me when I was an over the road truckdriver. I was ALWAYS tired. Sometimes I would hallucinate. To keep myself from drifting off, I would eat roasted soybeans, one at a time just to stay awake. It was awful! I finally gave up truck driving, went to school and became an electrician making much more money than truck driving. I salute todays truck drivers. They seem to be always getting the shaft!

[@gazza2933]

Yes but with great respect, you could always pullover.

[@flashesofblack4128]

@@gazza2933 That was not always possible. If I had a dock appointment at a distribution center, I had to keep driving. One time I had an overnight run from Tunnel Hill Georgia to FedEx in Memphis Tennessee. I could not refuse the load. I was already dead tired, but I could not miss my dock appointment. I would eat salted soybeans one by one to stay awake. When I got there and dropped the load I told my dispatcher I was out of driving hours and needed a rest which was granted. I tip my hat to todays truck drivers. Once I became a practicing electrician, I never forgot my experiences as an OTR truckdriver.

[@guntherachterhof4876]

Who wouldn't be? 😮

[@scottybell7661]

Nervous anticipation of the flight wasn’t the only reason he didn’t get any sleep the night before. He was at a party that didn’t break up until the early morning

[@cipherthedemonlord8057]

Been there

[@colinmorrison5820]

Should have used foreflight

[@user-xk1jv4yt5f]

眠くなると大変だね。

[@littlejohnny4470]

This kind of reminds whennnnnnn..........................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[@fload46d]

That could have ended up never finding him or the plane again.

[@stephendavidbailey2743]

Wonderful movie about a very flawed man.

[@pfcwar5150]

Mr. Perfect has spoken

[@stephendavidbailey2743]

@@pfcwar5150 Not my judgment; the judgment of history.

[@frankortolano5886]

Should have made a autopilot device

[@robertcieslak1861]

It was considered, but it added too much weight. Lindy poo-pooed it real fast.

[@atomicboy8972]

Actually he wasn't all that tired, someone spiked his water bottle.

[@daytonasixty-eight1354]

He fell asleep once.

[@gmccord1970]

Why couldn’t he just put it on auto pilot?

[@actioncom2748]

They actually did have autopilot back then. They celebrate the hundred birthday of recently.

[@actioncom2748]

But back in those days, autopilot was only good for 3 hours without correction. So you couldn't autopilot your way to Paris. And besides, Lindy thought he'd have a good night of sleep before the journey and could do all the work himself.

[@actioncom2748]

Let me answer your question more directly. The Spirit of St. Louis didn't have autopilot. This was somewhat by design because the plane had been built from the ground up. Lindy left out stuff in the design that he didn't need. He even insisted that the chair be made of wicker so that it wouldn't be too confortable and be ultra light. So I'm sure he junked the idea of a autopilot so it would force himself to stay awake and keep busy.

[@nicklindsley7866]

Weight.

[@rockyzrockyx917]

...or turn on the radio for some loud music!

[@Imintune...]

To bad didn't have 5 hour alert with him.😳🥱😴