Posted on 03/09/2024 7:21:52 PM PST by hardspunned
Theodore Honey (James Stewart) is a mathematician charged with discovering what caused the crash of a "Reindeer" airliner. As he travels to investigate, he realizes en route that he's flying on the very same type of airplane. Convinced it will suffer a similar accident, he deliberately sabotages it once it lands, and soon finds himself defending his sanity in an English courtroom. Fortunately, a sympathetic actress (Marlene Dietrich) and a stewardess (Glynis Johns) come to his defense.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtu.be ...
The book was better.
Jimmy Stewart’s experience with aircraft and the fact that he did this movie has always fascinated me. I think the characters he played after WWII had a harder edge to them than before the war. Dad liked all his movies but this was one of his favorites. It was one thing we completely agreed on as I grew up.
And then there’s the B-36
.
I’m a big fan of Stewart in “Strategic Air Command”, which was largely set in Tampa - my home town for 37 years before it went blue.
The movie was great.
I agree, great worthwhile to watch movie. Thanks for the recommendation.
one of my top five favorite movies.
The ending is truely how researchers think.
About to years after this movie was make, the first air accident that was caused by this failure happened!
Another great movies is “man in white suite” Lots of social concerns with new products and again a great ending.
Bkmk
But a few years later, the brand new British jet airliner, the comet had a series of crashes. The cause? Metal fatigue, but not the tail but from the metal around too large windows.
Lots of folk think the book and movie were inspired by the Comet crashes, but it was exactly the opposite,
My favorite was Flight of the Phoenix with Richard Attenburough , not the remake though.
It is interesting that on the “Reindeer” plane in the movie the windows were VERY large.
I was impressed and wanted to fly on a plane like that, but considering your comment, not any more! It foreshadowed the “Comet!”
(Honestly, I thought they were too big and were just a movie set, which of course, they were.)
Their crew and cabin up front was like as occupied as the bridge of the Star Trek Enterprises!
I might have to read the books.
Six churning, four learning.
the book it was based on is No Highway, and you can download it for free from internet archives.
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.16400
And don’t forget the late Glynis Johns who played the stewardess/nurse. She died this past January, 4 months after her 100th birthday. She was my favorite British actress.
The actual plane is the metal fatigue around the windows was the De Havilland Comet.
The following 2 comments are copied from the IMDB.com website page about the movie:
“It is particularly notable that the Reindeer aircraft has square windows. The Comet 1 jetliner, which had a number of disastrous crashes a few years later, did so due to metal fatigue caused by stress around its square windows. Later models of the Comet had oval windows.”
“The plane used for the “Rutland Reindeer” is actually a heavily modified Handley Page HP-70 Halifax. In the film it has the fake registration G-AFOH. Its real registration was G-AJNW. This was a C.VIII version used for cargo and passenger transport. It flew 116 missions during the Berlin Airlift. After its numerous modifications for this film, it was unflyable and was scrapped after production was finished.”
Are you familiar with the movie “The 49th Parallel”? I think she was 18 when she did that movie. It’s one of my favorites. Anton Walbrook gives the best monologues of any movie in it.
Jimmie Stewart played Glenn Miller in the “Glenn Miller Story”. I believe June Allison played his wife. Glenn Miller’s plane was lost over the English Channel flying to France for a USO show. Another connection to flying in Stewart’s movies. I still listen occasionally to that music genre. Back in those days Hollywood actors answered the call for their country. What we have now sucks. It’s amazing the number of big name stars that served in WW2. David Nevin is a Brit that served. The Queen wore a uniform. My favorite Brit lady will always be Maggie Thatcher. Her and Reagan were a team. Regards
Ah yes, I do remember it; once I looked it up on IMDB. She looked younger than her 18 years.
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