The Crowded Sky
The Crowded Sky is a 1960 Technicolor drama film distributed by Warner Bros., produced by Michael Garrison, directed by Joseph Pevney[2] and starring Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming and Efrem Zimbalist Jr.[3][4] The film is based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Hank Searls.
The Crowded Sky
The Crowded Sky
1960 novel
by Hank Searls[1]
Tom McAdoo
- September 2, 1960
105 minutes
United States
The story follows the crew and passengers of a U.S. Navy jet and a commercial airliner carrying a full load of passengers during a bout of severe weather.[5] Other issues, such as a malfunctioning radio, render communication with air-traffic control nearly impossible and the two aircraft are on a collision course.[6]
Plot[edit]
A U.S. Navy Lockheed TV-2 jet piloted by Commander Dale Heath, with an enlisted man as a rear passenger, runs into trouble soon after takeoff. Heath's radio and navigation system become disabled, leaving him unable to correctly determine the jet's altitude. At the same time, a Douglas DC-7 airliner piloted by veteran Dick Barnett is carrying a full passenger complement, each with his or her own worries and problems.
Barnett and Heath have their own personal crises: Heath is stuck in an unhappy marriage to a tramp and Barnett had had a long-time conflict with Mike Rule, his copilot. Rule has his own personal demons, including his empty relationship with his catatonic father and an affair with head stewardess Kitty Foster.
Although both pilots make various errors, Barnett willfully ignores air-traffic control, placing the two aircraft on a direct collision course that air-traffic controllers are unable to prevent. When the crash inevitably occurs, Heath sacrifices himself and his passenger by diving his plane at the last minute to avoid fatally damaging the airliner, making amends for a past tragedy that he had caused by climbing at the last minute instead. The airliner is still badly damaged, and flight engineer Louis Capelli is blown out of a hole, falling to his death. The passengers and crew fight for their lives. Even with one engine destroyed and a wing on fire, Barnett brings the airliner down safely. He later accepts responsibility for the collision during the accident investigation. In the aftermath of the crash, Mike and Kitty are not only survivors but are now planning a future life together.
Reception[edit]
The Crowded Sky was received with mixed reviews by audiences and critics alike. The Los Angeles Times called it "interesting but uneven."[15]Variety published a mixed review, criticizing Pevney's directing but praising the aerial scenes.[16]
In a more critical review in The New York Times, Eugene Archer called The Crowded Sky "reprehensible" because it exploited human tragedy. His review noted: "Possibly a meaningful film could be developed from this theme, but as directed with an emphasis on sensationalism by Joseph Pevney, the effect is as meretricious as it is harrowing."[17]
Modern reviews have been more favorable. Glenn Erickson of DVD Talk wrote a mostly positive review but commented that The Crowded Sky feels more like an "unintentional comedy" than a serious dramatic film.[18] Reviewer Leonard Maltin called it a "slick film focusing on emotional problems aboard jet liner and Navy plane bound for fateful collision; superficial but diverting."[19]