An aeronautical engineer predicts that a new model of airplane will fail catastrophically and in a novel manner after a specific number of flying hours due to metal fatigue.An aeronautical engineer predicts that a new model of airplane will fail catastrophically and in a novel manner after a specific number of flying hours due to metal fatigue.An aeronautical engineer predicts that a new model of airplane will fail catastrophically and in a novel manner after a specific number of flying hours due to metal fatigue.
- Second Engineer
- (uncredited)
- Flight Officer
- (uncredited)
- Sir Philip
- (uncredited)
- Farnborough Director
- (uncredited)
- Rosie - Barmaid
- (uncredited)
- Plane Passenger
- (uncredited)
- Inquiry Board Member
- (uncredited)
- Johnson - Director's Secretary
- (uncredited)
- Maj. Pearl
- (uncredited)
- Autograph Hunter
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMarlene Dietrich chose her wardrobe from the newest Christian Dior collection and charged it to the studio. She decided that the fur stole they had wasn't ample enough for her character so she threw on a mink cape and used the stole as a collar piece to get the luxurious look she wanted.
- GoofsAt Gander Airport in Newfoundland, the pilot refuses to allow Honey back on the plane to continue to Montreal, whilst Miss Corder tells him they'll see him in Montreal, but since Honey was on his way to Labrador, which was part of Newfoundland, to investigate the previous Reindeer crash, he would have been leaving the plane at Gander and not going on to Montreal in the first place.
- Quotes
Elspeth Honey: it's very hard being a scientist. One has to think a great deal. The world would have made scarcely any progress at all if it hadn't been for scientists.
Dennis Scott: I see. The scientists do the thinking for the world, and the rest of us just live in it, is that it?
Elspeth Honey: Yes.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Boom! Hollywood's Greatest Disaster Movies (2000)
However, beyond a review of the comforts of flying during the mid-20th century, Henry Koster's "No Highway in the Sky" is a decent little drama, highlighted by an impassioned performance by James Stewart. Set in England, Stewart is Theodore Honey, a scientist in an aircraft design and testing lab, who is studying the propensity of the tail wings on Reindeer aircraft to self destruct after about 1400 hours of flying. As the widowed scientist, Stewart is gangly, clumsy, and socially awkward; absent minded to the point of forgetting where he lives, he is focused completely on science and the problem at hand and largely dismisses other people. In a household cluttered with books, Stewart lives with his intelligent school-age daughter, whom he has isolated from other children. Perhaps overshadowed by his work in "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Harvey" during the same period, Stewart is nevertheless excellent in the part, and his speech to the aircraft committee has elements of his passionate "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" rouser.
Although the personal aspects of the story are unconvincing, the screenplay by R. C. Sheriff, Oscar Millard, and Alex Coppel, which was based on a novel by Nevil Shute, does throw light on the aviation industry in Britain just after World War II. Pushed to prove his hypothesis, Stewart is sent to Labrador to find the missing tail of a recently crashed Reindeer. Unfortunately, he finds himself aboard a similar Reindeer that is nearing the critical point when he projects that the tail will disintegrate. The drama aboard the tense overseas flight involves Marlene Dietrich as Monica Teasdale, a glamorous film star; a touching Glynis Johns as Marjorie, a sympathetic stewardess; and Kenneth Moore as the co-pilot. Dietrich and Stewart, who were previously paired in "Destry Rides Again," work especially well together. Jack Hawkins appears as Scott, a new department manager, and Wilfred Hyde White makes a brief appearance as a researcher.
While uneven and unconvincing at times, "No Highway in the Sky" offers a priceless look at air travel more than half a century ago, a fine James Stewart performance, and the timeless beauty of Marlene Dietrich. Actually, Stewart's often befuddled Theodore Honey alone is reason enough to catch the film.
Details
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1