The Spirit of St. Louis

This retelling of one of Charles Lindbergh's most famous feats stars Jimmy Stewart as the legendary flier, and was directed by Billy Wilder. The story, adapted from Lindbergh's autobiography, begins when the aviator is working as an airmail pilot, but has much loftier goals in mind for himself. He begins to envision a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic - something that no one has ever done before - and finds a group in St. Louis, Missouri willing to provide the necessary financial backing; he then has a special plane built in honor of the funders. Later, as Lindbergh sits in his cockpit, waiting to take off, he thinks back over his days as a circus flier, stunt flier and aimail pilot. The journey itself presents a series of hazards, but Lindbergh perseveres, using the stars for navigation when his compass disappears and overcoming other obstacles such as ice on the wings.