On a plane crossing the Atlantic, there is an aging but benevolent movie star (Marlene Dietrich), a spunky stewardess (Glynis Johns), a scientist who firmly belives that the plane is headed for disaster (James Stewart), and an air captain (Niall MacGinnis) who does not believe such dire warnings as Stewart's. All of these types are familiar to fans of the disaster genre. With a little creative casting (George Kennedy, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters), you could make a disaster film to make Irwin Winkler proud. However, the plane ride ends without further incident. With about an hour's running time to go, the movie turns into a strange amalgam of romance, comedy, and drama, without satisfying a fan of any of these genres.
The so-called comedic elements start early on, as James Stewart is introduced as an engineer, Theodore Honey, for the "British Aircraft Establishement." He is a man with the novel idea that constant vibrations, after so many hundred hours, will cause sudden and catastrophic metal fatigue and result in the destruction of the Establishment's new model of plane. That he is "eccentic" is pounded into the ground: Stewart plays Honey as a man oblivious to reality and seemingly incapable of living on his own. Certainly, professors on film do have a history of being absent minded, but this is ridiculous. Stewart's acting is a caricature of his meek, stammering persona. He is mannered and uninteresting in the role.
The "disaster" portion of the film begins when Stewart takes a trans-Atlantic flight to Canada to investigate a crash he believes was caused by the metal fatigue that he has postulated. He is worried, however, when he learns the plane he is riding is the same model as the crashed one, and has flown for nearly as many hours as the metal fatigue requires. Thus, he tries to convince the flight crew to turn the plane around before it is too late. When his pleas fall on deaf ears, he shares what he believes with a sympathetic stewardess (Johns) and a fellow passenger (Dietrich).
Surprisingly, not only does the plane make it without incident, Stewart's character is also given the chance to incapaciate the plane before it takes off again, which he does. The rest of the film becomes even more mixed-up than before. Stewart must prove he isn't crazy and that the new planes are unsafe. At the same time, he must care for his daughter alone (he is a widower). Plus, Johns' character has the hots for him, while Dietrich is a sort of benevolent fairy godmother. Right prevails, Stewart and Johns get engaged, and the film ends with one of the stupidest and most ill-advised lines of dialogue ever attempted on film (I don't dare try to quote it, since I can't remember exactly, but it has to do with the effect of tropical heat on the vibrations that cause metal fatigue.
The film is silly through-and-through. Director Koster made other comedy-dramas with Stewart: Harvey being superior, while Dear Brigitte is even worse. Stewart's performance in the film is not one of his shining career moments. Fortunately, Alfred Hitchcock was able to get Stewart's feet back on Earth in their several subsequent collaborations.
Marlene Dietrich is fine in what is basically of an extended cameo role as a movie legend (casting against type, he said in a voice dripping with irony). Glynis Johns is, as always, delightful. Often, stars who are great beauties in middle age were not so attractive when they were young, but that does not apply to Ms. Johns. Here she is fresh, pretty, and bright. Janette Scott makes a grave (almost too grave) contribution as Stewart's motherless daughter.
I really, really hate it when my favorite stars are wasted by cockamamie plots, poor direction, and bad screenplays, so you can understand why No Highway in the Sky irks me. Here, the producers had engaged the considerable services of three of the most distinctive performers (and voices) in 20th century cinema, but waste them on a truly idiotic script. For shame.
One-and-a-half star
Copyright 1998 by Dale G. Abersold
