No Highway

A little-known gem, No Highway in the Sky is an interesting hybrid of U.S. and British film production. Most of the cast is British, as are the look and feel of the film, but the lead actor and the budget are both American. 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. Marlene Dietrich costars with Stewart, while the balance of the cast comprises British stars, notably Glynis Johns and Jack Hawkins. Stewart is excellent, while a young Janette Scott steals her scenes as Honey's precocious daughter. --Mark Savary