No Highway in the Sky (1951)
Director: Henry Koster
Starring: James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Glynis Johns
Synopsis:
An absent-minded engineer believes he has discovered a critical flaw in a model of airplane, but his theory remains untested and he is sent to the site of a crash, only he's flying on the very model of plane he has been researching.
Impressions:
This was an interesting film. I liked Jimmy Stewart as the awkward, eccentric Theodore Honey and an interesting triangle was formed with Marlene Dietrich as the actress Monica Teasdale and Glynis Johns as the stewardess Marjorie Corder. I also liked Janette Scott as the grown up before her time daughter of Dr. Honey. Besides the interesting character dynamics, the flight in the second act was really tense as you're just counting the time with Dr. Honey until the catastrophic failure is set to happen. The one knock I have against the film is the rushed ending, as if they literally were running out of film and had to resolve the dangling plot thread in the last few minutes. Honestly, I would've been fine if they left it ambiguous, but so it goes. I enjoyed it all the same and recommend giving it a watch.
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