High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The High and the Mighty is a 1954 American "disaster" film directed by William A. Wellman and written by Ernest K. Gann who also wrote the novel on which his screenplay was based. The film`s cast was headlined by John Wayne, who was also the project`s co-producer. Composer Dimitri Tiomkin won an Academy Award for his original score while his title song for the film also was nominated for an Oscar. The film received mostly positive reviews and grossed $8.5 million in its theatrical release.