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
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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.
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drystyx — 10 years ago(April 20, 2015 01:51 PM)
I was just telling Towns that he made stupidity a virtue.
Yep. People do silly things, even when they try to make smart choices. I'm not sure he was an idiot. He was slow to pick up on any chances they may have had from the smarty pants.
He wasn't sold on the credibility of the smarty pants till later in this up and down roller coaster ride. I found the characters very credible.
Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!