Thanks Isabella for this classic and Happy New Year. I’ve enjoyed this one in the past. R.I.P. James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich and of course recently Glynis Johns. 3 of my all time favourite actors. 7 January 2024
You're more than welcome, I was unsure whether or not I should post a film on this occasion, but since I had previously posted three for her birthday I decided it was the right thing to do, hopefully, I made the right choice, and as you allude to, it is a great film, one to remember Glynis Johns by...
As a man predisposed towards the arts, I am generally disinclined towards films about aviation and its related sciences. I was wrong about this film. It’s a beautiful, uncomplicated, piece that has a feel-good factor, endearing in so many ways. Headlined by a top-notch cast in James Steward, Marlene Dietrich, Glynnis Johns and Jack Hawkins the film does not disappoint. Each of the stars lives up to their reputation as star performers. Stewart, in the role of the brilliant, eccentric, scientist (“Scientist lads. Basic research. The kind of lads who eat their porridge with a slide rule”) displays his versatility with a performance that takes centre stage. His portrayal of Honey Theodore, the misunderstood but determined scientist marks yet another accolade in his impressive roll of honour. Marlene Dietrich oozes class in every frame she appears in. The expertly crafted close-up shots that pan in on her, capture all the nuances and subtleties that set her apart as an actress of superlative distinction. Mention, of course, must be made of Glynis John. She gives as charming and as sincere a performance as one would hope to see in her long and distinguished career. The unfolding of the three-way triangle involving Stewart, Dietrich and Johns is brilliantly enacted. It was sad to learn of John’s recent death at 100 years. Thank you, Isabella, for honouring her memory with another excellent selection. We are taken, in this picture, into the world of aviation and the politics that pervade it (no different from big-time, high profile commercial enterprises¬). Beneath this lie the humane elements of love, compassion and selflessness. At the end of the day, sheer determination and diligence, triumph against adversity. Do not miss this.
Thank you, Charlie, for yet another insightful review. I'm impressed with Glynis Johns in this one, she really holds her own alongside James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich, both A-List stars at the minimum. It's quite apart from the B-Movies I feature in budget and stars, though great just the same. At this time, air travel was still infused with glamour, far beyond the reach of mere mortals, without a trip to the cinema! As you imply, Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart are both wonderful, each playing their roles true to form, and Glynis Johns inviting the viewer in. It was good to have the opportunity to celebrate the life of Glynis Johns with this one, she is not forgotten. Take care, Charlie, and thank you.
I was unsure whether or not I should post a film on this occasion, but since I had previously posted three for her birthday I decided it was the right thing to do, hopefully, I made the right choice. Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (5 October 1923 - 4 January 2024). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glynis_Johns Addendum to Description: TITLE: Adaptations in other media On 28 April 1952, before a live studio audience, Stewart and Dietrich, along with a full cast, reprised their roles in an adaptation of No Highway in the Sky on the CBS Lux Radio Theatre. A BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial was dramatised by Brian Gear in three episodes, broadcast weekly from 11 May 1986, starring John Clegg as Theodore Honey, Norman Bowler as Scott, and Margaret Robertson as Monica Teasdale. No Highway, a BBC radio adaptation dramatised by Mike Walker with Paul Ritter as Honey, William Beck as Scott, and Fenella Woolgar as Teasdale was directed by Toby Swift for BBC Radio 4's Classic Serial in August 2010. The central element of No Highway in the Sky (a concerned airline passenger having unique knowledge of an imminent danger, taking drastic action to eliminate it and being regarded as crazy) is comparable to that of The Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", starring William Shatner, although that involves damage caused by a mysterious creature tearing at the wing. A similar additional scene in the 1983 Twilight Zone anthology feature film is that of the character played by John Lithgow, who like that of James Stewart, is portrayed as an engineering expert. Reception The film was popular at the British box office. 20th Century Fox were so impressed with Kenneth More's performance they arranged for him to be tested for other films but did not use him. Reviews of No Highway in the Sky were decidedly mixed. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote a favourable review, noting the film's "... sly construction of an unusual plot and wry suspense". In a more recent appraisal, reviewer Dennis Schwartz opined: American military war hero pilot James Stewart plays the eccentric Yank scientist working for a British airline [Stewart's character was not actually working for an airline but rather the government RAE Farnborough.], and it gives one of his better and more pleasing performances as someone kindhearted but a bit daffy. ... The one-dimensional characters add no emotional depth, especially when the awkward romance is tossed onto the airplane drama, but Stewart plays a likable character that translates into a rather genial pic with much appeal. Three years after the film, and six years after the publication of Nevil Shute's original novel (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 cause of both accidents, albeit in the main fuselage and not the tail section.
