No Highway in the Sky (1951)
Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart team up again, after the crazy and rather terrific "Destry Rides Again," for a very different kind of movie. It has cornball humor, sentimental romance, rosy idealism, and weirdly enough, a criticism of aeronautics that was not far off the mark.
Stewart plays an odd duck scientist--the type made popular earlier by Gary Cooper in "Ball of Fire" (1941) and Cary Grant in "Bringing Up Baby" (1938) and which Grant furthers (much more amazingly) in "Monkey Business" the next year. Stewart, in this movie, makes it fun and then makes it wholly life or death.
Dietrich gets to play herself, basically--a famous movie star, and one who feels weary of the world. Utterly charming is a third lead, of sorts, Glynis Johns, who is a stewardess made of gold. As the plane they are on faces trouble, they each deal with Stewart in their own ways. And then, later, they continue their involvement with him back on earth. It's touching and funny. Yes it's improbable, but in such a charming and well done way, all is well.
I really enjoyed this film, partly because of the cast, and partly because it has so many surprises and twists to it. It has elements of screwball to it, but it's something of its own, as well. Recommended.
Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart team up again, after the crazy and rather terrific "Destry Rides Again," for a very different kind of movie. It has cornball humor, sentimental romance, rosy idealism, and weirdly enough, a criticism of aeronautics that was not far off the mark.
Stewart plays an odd duck scientist--the type made popular earlier by Gary Cooper in "Ball of Fire" (1941) and Cary Grant in "Bringing Up Baby" (1938) and which Grant furthers (much more amazingly) in "Monkey Business" the next year. Stewart, in this movie, makes it fun and then makes it wholly life or death.
Dietrich gets to play herself, basically--a famous movie star, and one who feels weary of the world. Utterly charming is a third lead, of sorts, Glynis Johns, who is a stewardess made of gold. As the plane they are on faces trouble, they each deal with Stewart in their own ways. And then, later, they continue their involvement with him back on earth. It's touching and funny. Yes it's improbable, but in such a charming and well done way, all is well.
I really enjoyed this film, partly because of the cast, and partly because it has so many surprises and twists to it. It has elements of screwball to it, but it's something of its own, as well. Recommended.