Uriah43 "Dale Heath" (Efram Zimblast Jr.) is a Navy jet pilot who had the tragic misfortune to become involved in a mid-air collision resulting in the death of those in the other aircraft which continues to haunt him 3 years later. If that wasn't bad enough, he is also suffering from a bad marriage to "Cheryl Heath" (Rhonda Fleming) who has just informed him that she is filing for divorce. With all of this on his mind, his next assignment involves a flying from California to Washington D.C. with a young seaman named "McVey" (Troy Donahue). Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, a passenger airliner piloted by a man named "Dick Barnett" (Dana Andrews) has just left from Washington D.C. and is headed for Los Angeles. Serving with him is a co-pilot he cannot stand by the name of "Mike Rule" (John Kerr) who harbors some bitter resentment toward him for an incident a couple of years earlier. Throw in a thunderstorm, some faulty navigation equipment and two jet airplanes heading on a direct collision course and the situation becomes even more desperate. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a decent "disaster film" with a good amount of drama and suspense to keep most viewers entertained. Admittedly, some of the personal interactions and flashbacks were somewhat over-played but it was still an entertaining film for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

blanche-2 "The Crowded Sky" joins "Zero Hour," "The High and the Mighty," and others as pre-"Airport" films. Like weddings and road trips, commercial flights make for stories that involve different subplots and characters, so this type of film is done fairly often."The Crowded Sky" has high production values and a decent cast - Dana Andrews, Efren Zimbalist Jr., Rhonda Fleming, Troy Donahue, John Kerr, and Anne Francis. It's an episodic tale about two planes, one a navy jet with a broken radio system, and the other a passenger plane with an arrogant pilot. The two planes are in danger of colliding.The backstory of the characters is told in flashback: Zimbalist, who had a previous air disaster and now is in the midst of a bad marriage; Kerr, an aspiring artist who doesn't want to get married but has an attraction to flight attendant Francis; and some smaller stories that include Keenan Wynn, Jean Willes, Patsy Kelly, Donald May, all passengers.Formulaic and not terribly interesting. Ken Currie as Dick Barnett Jr. is a horror; Patsy Kelly as usual talks like she's projecting from the stage of the Majestic Theater; Troy Donahue is....Troy Donahue. Rhonda Fleming was made for color. But the leads are likable and professional as always.Very soapy with some over the top dialogue. the director, Joe Pevney, was a very experienced TV director.

Ripshin I don't care WHAT year this was filmed...it is BAD. The flashbacks within flashbacks are worthy of a Carol Burnett Show. The acting is over-the-top. Seriously, folks, I can't imagine that the audiences of 1960 were able to keep a straight face. There have been MANY excellent "plane-in-dilemma" dramas since the 30s - "Five Came Back" (and its same-director remake), to name a few - so this incredibly LAME "drama" has no excuses for the ludicrous excesses.I could not stop laughing.I'm sure that "Airport 1975" INTENTIONALLY cast the two pilots,as they did, as that film is basically some sort of remake.Stick with "The High and the Mighty" during this time period (well, six years earlier) - it blows this film out of the water.

Robert J. Maxwell This was written by Charles Schnee from a novel by Hank Searls. They couldn't have had a particularly difficult time concocting this Snow Job. You and I could have written it just as well. All we'd have to have done is watch "The High and the Mighty" a couple of times and make notes. Then dumb-down the dialog. Near the opening Zimbalist, pulling on his uniform, has this exchange with his wife: "Well, is there any chance, Cheryl?" "Chance for what, Dale?" "For picking up the pieces of this marriage." In the course of three sentences, the writer tells us this: (1) Zimbalist is a naval officer; (2) the marriage is rocky; (3) his name is Dale; (4) her name is Cheryl. A moment later, Cheryl admits she was caught "flagrante delictoo." "The High and the Mighty" was released in 1954 and this appeared in 1960. I've sometimes wondered why it took someone six years to cash in on a big hit like the original. (There were some el cheapos in between, one of them the source of the parody "Airplane".) A Navy jet with two men aboard, both leading unhappy lives with treacherous women, crashes into an airliner being flown by pilot Dana Andrews, leading an unhappy life with his son, and co-pilot John Kerr, having an unhappy relationship with the stewardess, Anne Francis. All the passengers are in conflict over their love lives except a method actor who is consumed with the obsession of self.One by one, strictly in accordance with the formula, we are introduced to the characters' back stories. We get to learn why they're in conflict through their voice overs. Although directed by Joseph Pevney, the camera placement and movements seem to have been plotted by one of those robots that plunk out computer chips. Is it time for a character's story to be explored? Before the interior monologue begins, the camera slowly zooms in for a gigantic close up of the ruminative's face. The envelope for the most closeups and fragmentary stream-of-consciousness, or rather semi-consciousness, goes to Jean Willes, whom you will recognize from a dozen B movies of the 1950s. The camera returns to her and her dull and nasty mulling at least three times, more than any of the others'.The performances do nothing to help this hackneyed story. Andrews and Francis are at least competent, seasoned performers, although even they have trouble with the clumsy exposition. John Kerr mopes throughout. The doctor -- this kind of movie must always have a doctor on board -- fades from memory the moment he's absent from the screen. The poor guy who plays Dana Andrews' resentful son simply cannot act. The most enjoyable performance, though not the best, is that of the method actor, trying to find his inner "coward" for a new part, shrugging his shoulders, gesticulating like Brando, and constantly looking pained.If there are movies that are so bad they're funny, this must be one of them.