Main Cast: James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Glynis Johns, Jack Hawkins, Ronald Squire
Release Year: 1951
Country: UK
Run Time: 98 minutes
Plot
Henry Koster directs the 1951 aviation drama No Highway in the Sky, based on the novel by Nevil Shute. James Stewart stars as Theodore Honey, a widower and single parent to 11-year-old Elspeth (Janette Scott). He's also an absent-minded engineer who has formed a scientific theory about metal fatigue in a specific model of aircraft. He tries to convince British Airways that their airplanes will come apart after a certain amount of miles, but no one believes him. Then administrator Dennis Scott (Jack Hawkins) sends him on a flying mission to investigate a crash site in Newfoundland. Along the way, he meets stewardess Marjorie Corder (Glynnis Johns) and movie star Monica Teasdale (Marlene Dietrich). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Review
No Highway in the Sky is a more-than-decent drama about dangerous aviation design flaws that in some ways presaged later real life air disasters suffered by a British-designed jet. While parts of the Highway screenplay are a bit structurally creaky themselves, under Henry Koster's expert and focused direction, they're more than acceptable. As we watch, we know that we're being manipulated, but we're having a good enough time along the way that we don't really mind. Besides, the creators have done a fine job of giving us an engaging hero, an engineer who's socially awkward and not prone to heroics but who finds the ability to rise to heroic heights. Again, we've seen this kind of thing before, but Highway gives the character just enough quirks to make him fresh. More importantly, the character is played by Jimmy Stewart, whose appeal and everyday personality make us like him, and whose considerable skill adds corners and angles to the character that we otherwise wouldn't see. Glynis Johns is also a great addition, but it's Marlene Dietrich who gets the most attention. It may be Stewart's picture, but her glamorous "I'm just being Dietrich" performance is irresistible. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Janette Scott - Elspeth Honey; Kenneth More - Dobson; David Hutcheson - Penworthy; Ben Williams - Guard; Maurice Denham - Maj. Pearl; Basil Appleby - 2nd Engineer; Michael Kingsley - Navigator; Peter Murray - Radio Operator; Elizabeth Allan - Shirley Scott; Dora Bryan - Rosie; Felix Aylmer - Sir Philip; Jill Clifford - Peggy; Hugh Cross - Director's Secretary; Tom Gill - RAF Pilot; Wilfrid Hyde-White - Fisher; Bessie Love; Niall MacGinnis - Capt. Samuelson; Hector MacGregor - 1st Engineer; Marcel Poncin - Scientist; Philip Ray - Burroughs; Roy Russell - Butler; John Salew - Symes; Cyril Smith - Airport Officer; Karel Stepanek - Mannheim; Wilfred Walter - Tracy; Michael McCarthy - Bus Conductor; Hugh Wakefield - Sir David Moon; Douglas Bradley-Smith - Staff of Directors at Farnborough; Maxwell Foster; Gerald Kent; Stuart Nichol; Philip Vickers - Control Officer
Credit
C.P. Norman - Art Director, Christian Dior - Costume Designer, Henry Koster - Director, Manuel del Campo - Editor, Malcolm Arnold - Composer (Music Score), Georges Périnal - Cinematographer, Louis D. Lighton - Producer, Alec Coppel - Screenwriter, Oscar Millard - Screenwriter, R.C. Sherriff - Screenwriter, Nevil Shute - Screenwriter, Nevil Shute - Book Author
The film follows Theodore Honey (James Stewart), an aeronautical engineer leaving London to investigate an aircraft crash in Labrador, which he theorizes occurs because of a structural flaw in the design caused by the number of flight cycles and weaknesses around the rivets which held the aircraft's skin together. It isn't until Honey is aboard the "Reindeer" airliner that he realizes he himself is flying one such plane, and that it is due to crash in a matter of hours. Honey decides to warn the passengers and crew, including actress Monica Teasdale (Marlene Dietrich), despite not being sure of his theory. After the Reindeer lands at Gander Airport he takes drastic action to stop the plane continuing when he raises the landing gear while the air craft is still on the ground.
Back in the hanger just as the aircraft is about to take off the tail of the test aircraft falls off. So Mr. Honey rather than being arrested turns out to be a hero.
Three years after the film and six years after the original book ("No Highway") there were two fatal crashes of the world's first jet passenger airliner, the de Havilland Comet. Investigation found that metal fatigue was the most likely cause of both accidents.
References
Jones, Ken D., Arthur F. McClure and Alfred E. Twomey. The Films of James Stewart. New York: Castle Books, 1970.
