Frank Towns — The Flight of the Phoenix Character Profile

About Frank Towns

Cargo plane pilot who crash-lands in the Sahara. Initially skeptical of the rescue plan, he clashes with the engineer over leadership but ultimately takes command during the test flight, successfully launching the makeshift aircraft to safety.

Frank Towns — Character Profile

Character Facts

Played by

James Stewart

Appears in

The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

Role

Protagonist

Relationships (7)

• Frank Towns — Alliance Fellow Survivor — Crow (Ian Bannen)

  Cocky Scottish worker who stays and contributes to the group.

• Frank Towns — Alliance Volunteer Scout — Carlos (Alex Montoya)

  Oil worker who volunteers for dangerous scouting missions.

• Frank Towns — Conflict Defiant Outcast — Trucker Cobb (Ernest Borgnine)

  Mentally unstable worker who disobeys orders and perishes.

• Frank Towns — Alliance Moral Supporter — Gabriel (Gabriele Tinti)

  Passenger whose suffering and death test the group's resolve.

• Frank Towns — Alliance Survival Leader — Captain Harris (Peter Finch)

  Military captain and civilian pilot who share command responsibilities.

• Frank Towns — Conflict Ideological Opponent — Heinrich Dorfmann (Hardy Krüger)

  Traditional pilot clashes with arrogant engineer over survival strategy.

• Frank Towns — Professional Teammate — Lew Moran (Richard Attenborough)

  Co-pilot and navigator who coordinate flight and survival decisions.

Explore the full interactive character relationship map of The Flight of the Phoenix

More characters from The Flight of the Phoenix

• Lew Moran (Richard Attenborough)
• Captain Harris (Peter Finch)
• Heinrich Dorfmann (Hardy Krüger)
• Gabriel (Gabriele Tinti)
• Trucker Cobb (Ernest Borgnine)
• Crow (Ian Bannen)
• Bill (William Aldrich)
• Arab Singer (voice) (uncredited) (Stanley Ralph Ross)
• Farida (Barrie Chase)
• Carlos (Alex Montoya)
• Tasso (Peter Bravos)
• Sergeant Watson (Ronald Fraser)