Although Towns explains it, he really was stupid
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — The Flight of the Phoenix
jgroub — 19 years ago(July 29, 2006 12:41 PM)
Yes, yes, I know he says that he just doesn't like being told what to do, but he was pretty stupid throughout the whole picture. I actually didn't like his character. He resisted Dorfmann just for the sake of resisting him. Time and time again, he makes the wrong choices - not listening to Dorfmann initially, not supporting the building of the Phoenix even if just to keep up morale, not "getting it" about the injured guy being dead by the time the plane would be finished. I mean, he was a pig-headed moron!
Don't get me wrong, I love Jimmy Stewart, and he did a good job portraying this charcter. But the character was an idiot.
Please be gentle when flaming me!
I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well. -
FinnurE — 19 years ago(January 24, 2007 05:43 AM)
Yes, he struck me as a bit arrogant, but one must remember that his character was under a lot of emotional pressure, both from their rather hopeless situation and the fact that he blames himself for the accident. Also, the building of the Phoenix was, to Towns, a very far fetched idea and he actually thought Dorfman was making some kind of joke. As with the injured man being dead when the plane had been made, I think his response was more to Dorfman's cold-heartedness on the subject rather than his ignorance of the injured man's state.
I think James Stewart did a masterful job at portraying his character even though he was kind of frustrating. -
Adam60z — 19 years ago(April 01, 2007 11:38 AM)
I think you missed what the character was all about. Towns is the "old time" pilot who doesn't like to be told what to do. He's also shown via many scenes to be compassionate, though it's true he hates Dorfman more than is warranted. Dorfman is the "mad genius" who can design a plane. Moran (Attenborough) is the go-between, and the others all have important roles. The point is that all were needed to make the thing succeed, but ESPECIALLY Towns.
Jimmy Stewart felt like the outsider with the European cast at first, but soon joined them in the mischief at night in Yuma.
Play the game existence 'til the endof the beginning -
siargao — 11 years ago(September 09, 2014 08:19 AM)
I say Towns is as you describe and he "doesn't like to be told what to do"
by an unproven individual with markedly less experience
. Further, as the captain of the plane he assumes authority and responsibility usually afforded to that status, especially so back then.
His cynicism is borne of age and long experience, whether it is suggested solutions or people he is assessing.
Dorfmann is both younger and German, classically arrogantly German (using the language and attitudes of those times). He is also very wedded to the things that matter to him to the exclusion of all other things. Dorfmann displays only disdain for people, there is no ease about him.
I disagree that Towns "hates Dorfman more than is warranted." I believe he shows a distaste for Dorfmann.
A poster below says:
" it was already 20 years after WWII ended, but there's quite a chance that Frank did serve in that war and/or lost relatives or friends; at least he was subjected to the usual wartime propaganda "
I would amend that with:
"it was
only
20 years after WWII" and "at least he (Towns) was subjected to
wartime
reality
"
and add that the feeling against the Germans ran deep and long following the war. That, I believe, is central to the matter we are discussing. -
haileris-2 — 18 years ago(December 01, 2007 11:12 AM)
I guess that he had a problem to "share" authority; in his view, he is the pilot and calls the shots when in an emergency situation. So he couldn't stand Dorfmann who, being quite a bit arrogant himself, behaves as if he was the leader of the pack (for example, taking more water than the others). Also, I think that Frank (Stewart) didn't like people who work behind desks instead of getting their hands dirty. And also, Dorfmann is German; back then, it was already 20 years after WWII ended, but there's quite a chance that Frank did serve in that war and/or lost relatives or friends; at least he was subjected to the usual wartime propaganda, that may also have played a role.
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james_powers — 12 years ago(October 05, 2013 04:32 PM)
In order for the Phoenix to fly, it needed both a skilled designer (Dorfmann) and a skilled pilot (Towns.) Towns opposes Dorfmann's plans not so much because he doubts his judgement, but because he simply does not like being told what to do. Before Dorfmann completes work on the Phoenix, he forces Towns to acknowledge that he (Dorfmann) is in authority. But after the engine starts, there is a clear moment when Towns resumes command. As Dorfmann is screaming at him to throttle back, Towns orders him, "All right, Mr. Dorfmann, start pulling!"
Dorfmann's role in the project is at an end, and Towns' is just starting.
Brilliant movie, filled with insightful character studies. -
larry-485-161583 — 11 years ago(May 05, 2014 08:21 AM)
This fantastic movie has just been on TV.
I watched it for about the sixth of seventh time in my life.
The pilot's request to use up vital cartridges to test the engine the day before taking off was insane
And finally,,,,,,,,,,,the re-make was truly AWFUL. -
movies789 — 11 years ago(July 29, 2014 05:43 PM)
Towns' insistence on testing the engine prematurely was pretty bizarre. He COULD have "tested" the engine - when everything else was completed & ready for take-off! I've always wondered why no one there made that clear to him - since I scream it at the TV every time the movie's shown!
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oceanblvd1 — 11 years ago(September 24, 2014 01:24 PM)
Because Towns was a flawed character. Possibly the ONLY flawed character Stewart ever played in his long career. Towns' ego would not allow him to admit he might actually be wrong and that a younger, more technologically driven society was on the horizon and he would soon be irrelevant. Nor would that very same ego allow him to easily relinquish power to Dorfman. Vanity and ego are the driving forces in his beligerance. This is exactly one of the qualities of the film that makes it so interesting. Surely you're not perfect, nor are you exempt from your ego preventing you from making the most seemingly common sense decisions in life. Surely you've known plenty of "pig-headed morons" in your life? A family member? Your employer? Spouse? A friend? Towns' ego-driven psyche is the foundation for the underlying subplot of power. Exactly who is in power here?? I count a shift in power between Towns and Dorfmann no less than 3 times throughout the course of the film. It's this very underlying subplot of power that adds to the depth of the story. Answer your question?
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darryl-tahirali — 11 years ago(February 16, 2015 10:50 AM)
Yes, yes, I know he says that he just doesn't like being told what to do, but he was pretty stupid throughout the whole picture. - jgroub
I thought the hints of Towns's backstory, of what is stated and what is left unstated, and thus the questions it prompts, are terrific. Here is what I think emerges:
Towns is the proverbial "natural-born stick 'n' rudder man," a talented pilot in the earlier days, as Moran notes, as does Towns himself, when he says that flying used to be fun. But why is he then flying for Arabco? He's stuck ferrying men and equipment in a Sahara backwater; as he notes, he's flown for better outfits than this oneso why isn't he now? Is there a disgrace in his past? He notes early on in his log that the crash was due to pilot error, and his guilt carries through the film. Has something similar happened to him previously?
As for Dorfmann, Towns knows that he represents the futurethe "slide rules and calculators"and that it is probably a future that does not have room for him. When he insists on testing the engine, which Dorfmann eventually dissuades him from doing, he admits to Moran that he was just trying to assert himself. Towns is human, all too human, and he is both flawed and heroic. Makes for great drama.
Those are the headlines. Now for the rumors behind the news. - Firesign Theatre -
bhoover247 — 11 years ago(March 15, 2015 07:37 AM)
As for why Towns is flying for Arabco the answer is obvious. Towns is stubborn with out much of a vision of the future. He would not be the type of employee that would be easy to manage. He is over the hill and lucky to have any kind of job as a pilot.
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darryl-tahirali — 11 years ago(March 15, 2015 11:44 AM)
As for why Towns is flying for Arabco the answer is obvious. Towns is stubborn with out much of a vision of the future. He would not be the type of employee that would be easy to manage. He is over the hill and lucky to have any kind of job as a pilot. - bhoover247
That could be one explanation. I like the idea that it is left undefined and left to the viewer to speculate as to what circumstances brought him to Arabco. That's just my preference, though. "Obvious" conclusions in films don't interest me as much as ambiguous ones.
"He not busy bein' born is a-busy dyin'." - Bob Dylan -
hockeyhrs — 11 years ago(February 21, 2015 06:51 PM)
You must keep in mind that, in 1965, most men (from Allied nations) still had lingering memories/emotions from WWII in their minds, and a German in their midst (even if he claimed not to have been a participant) was viewed with deep suspicion.