No Highway in the Sky
James Stewart plays aeronautical engineer Theodore Honey, the quintessential absent-minded professor: eccentric, forgetful, but brilliant. His studies show that the aircraft being manufactured by his employer has a subtle but deadly design flaw that manifests itself only after the aircraft has flown a certain number of hours. En route to a crash site to prove his theory, Honey discovers that he is aboard a plane rapidly approaching his predicted deadline.
Critics Sentiment
Repaired Reindeer tail fails and lab tail finally breaks
Honey's tail test passes 1440 hours without failure
The dramatic vindication ending where both the real aircraft and lab test fail simultaneously creates the biggest positive swing from the earlier doubt when the test passed 1440 hours.
The film builds strong suspense through its first half with Stewart's desperate flight warnings, peaks with his dramatic sabotage, then dips during slower domestic scenes before Stewart's powerful board room defiance. Critics consistently praised the technical thriller elements and Stewart's transformation from absent-minded scientist to determined activist, culminating in a highly satisfying vindication ending.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 35
James Stewart
Theodore Honey
Glynis Johns
Marjorie Corder
Marlene Dietrich
Monica Teasdale
Janette Scott
Elspeth Honey
Jack Hawkins
Dennis Scott
Elizabeth Allan
Shirley Scott
Ronald Squire
Sir John, Director
Wilfrid Hyde-White
Fisher, Inspector of Accidents (uncredited)
Bessie Love
Plane Passenger (uncredited)
Jill Clifford
Peggy, Stewardess
Felix Aylmer
Douglas Bradley-Smith
Basil Appleby
Dora Bryan
Hilda Campbell-Russell
Plane Passenger
Hugh Cross
Maurice Denham
Robert Dickens
Mabel Etherington
Maxwell Foster
Crew
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