History Trivia / TheFlightOfThePhoenix1965

* TheDanza: Gabrielle Tinti plays Gabrielle, and William Aldrich plays Bill. which is short for William.

* AllStarCast: The EnsembleCast is a who's-who of American (Creator/JimmyStewart, Creator/ErnestBorgnine, Creator/GeorgeKennedy, Dan Duryea), British (Creator/RichardAttenborough, Peter Finch, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser), and European (Hardy Krüger, Christian Marquand) stars.
** See also future Italian exploitation man Gabriele Tinti in an early role.

* ActorSharedBackground: Creator/JimmyStewart was an accomplished civilian and military aviator, serving in the US Army Air Forces during World War II and later becoming a Major General with the Air Force Reserve.

* InMemoriam: The film is dedicated to the memory of stunt pilot Paul Mantz, who was [[FatalMethodActing killed during filming]] when the plane serving as the ''Phoenix'' broke apart during a "touch and go" manoeuvre intended for use as a takeoff shot in the film.[[note]] Mantz was not even the intended pilot for the ''Phoenix'', but the original pilot, his business partner Frank Tallman, had been severely injured in a go-kart accident that eventually resulted in his leg being amputated (he later taught himself to fly with one leg, but was killed in a plane crash in 1978).[[/note]]

* AllStarCast: The EnsembleCast is a who's-who of American (Creator/JimmyStewart, Creator/ErnestBorgnine, Creator/GeorgeKennedy, Dan Duryea), British (Peter Finch, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser), and European (Hardy Krüger, Christian Marquand) stars.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Creator/JimmyStewart, Richard Attenborough, and Creator/ErnestBorgnine were established stars when the film was made, but the rest of the cast is composed almost entirely of actors who make the viewer of the time say "Hey, isn't that...?"
** Peter Finch (Captain Harris) had already won three [=BAFTAs=] for Best British Actor[[note]] Whether he is British or not is a matter of some contention; he was born in London but moved to Australia as a boy and did not return until after his acting career had begun.[[/note]] by 1965, but these days is probably most recognisable as Dr. Daniel Hirsh from ''Sunday Bloody Sunday'' and Howard Beale from ''Film/{{Network}}''.
** Hardy Krüger (Heinrich Dorfmann) had previously played the lead role of German [=PoW=] Franz von Werra in ''The One That Got Away''. He went on to play Captain Potzdorf in ''Film/BarryLyndon'' and Waffen-SS ''Generalmajor'' Karl Ludwig in ''Film/ABridgeTooFar'' (directed by Attenborough).
** Ian Bannen ("Ratbags" Crow) later played the elder Robert Bruce in ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'' and Jackie O'Shea in ''Film/WakingNedDevine''.
** Ronald Fraser (Sgt. Watson) had previously played Lance-Corporal Macleish in ''The Long and the Short and the Tall'', and he later appeared with Bannen again in ''Too Late the Hero'' (also directed by Robert Aldrich) and with Krüger again in ''Paper Tiger''.
** Christian Marquand (Dr. Renaud) is perhaps most familiar to international audiences as the French plantation owner in ''Film/ApocalypseNow Redux''.
** Dan Duryea (Standish) played Leo Hubbard in ''The Little Foxes'', and had previously appeared with Jimmy Stewart in ''Winchester '73'' as Waco Johnnie Dean.
** George Kennedy (Mike Bellamy) was halfway between playing the brutish Scobie in ''Film/{{Charade}}'' and his Oscar-winning role of Dragline in ''Film/CoolHandLuke''. He evidently enjoyed making films about air disasters, as he became the only actor to appear in all four ''Airport'' films.
** Gabriele Tinti (Gabriele) appeared as an Italian immigrant in the series finale of ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow'' (also the pilot for the AfterShow ''Mayberry R.F.D.'').
** Alex Montoya (Carlos) was a familiar face from guest spots on various TV Westerns, including ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'', ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', and ''Series/WagonTrain''.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Creator/JimmyStewart, Richard Attenborough, and Creator/ErnestBorgnine were established stars when the film was made, but the rest of the cast is composed almost entirely of actors who make the viewer say "Hey, isn't that...?"

** Ronald Fraser (Sgt. Watson) had previously played Lance-Corporal Macleish in ''The Long and the Shot and the Tall'', and he later appeared with Bannen again in ''Too Late the Hero'' (also directed by Robert Aldrich) and with Krüger again in ''Paper Tiger''.

* InMemoriam: The film is dedicated to the memory of stunt pilot Paul Mantz, who was killed during filming when the plane serving as the ''Phoenix'' broke apart during a "touch and go" manoeuvre intended for use as a takeoff shot in the film.[[note]] Mantz was not even the intended pilot for the ''Phoenix'', but the original pilot, his business partner Frank Tallman, had been severely injured in a go-kart accident that eventually resulted in his leg being amputated (he later taught himself to fly with one leg, but was killed in a plane crash in 1978).[[/note]]

** Hardy Krüger (Heinrich Dorfmann) had previously played the lead role of German [=PoW=] Franz von Werra in ''The One That Got Away''. He went on to play Captain Potzdorf in ''Film/BarryLyndon''.