A mother lode of clichés mined by Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers for their 1980 classic, "Airplane," "The Crowded Sky" is entertaining in its own right. A shameless pastiche of flashbacks erupts when two planes find themselves on a collision course in the skies over the American heartland. Dying wives, vengeful mistresses, love-starved spinsters, marriage-crazy stewardesses, and tough agents spar with lovelorn husbands, ham actors, marriage-shy co-pilots, unforgiving fathers, and cads on the make. Director Joseph Pevney juggles the familiar sub-plots competently, and viewers are unlikely to be bored, although they may have to stifle a giggle or two.While not as stellar as "The High and the Mighty" or "Airport," the cast does include some solid actors from the period. Characters rarely develop in films like this, and most are little more than stereotyped sketches. Not surprisingly, the performances run the gamut from professional to embarrassing. The pros fare best led by Dana Andrews, the by-the-book TransState captain; Patsy Kelly, a blowzy chain-smoking agent; and Rhonda Fleming, a sexy scheming wife. Although the film's credits include Efrem Zimbalist, Troy Donahue, Keenan Wynn, and Anne Francis, many of the rest never became names.The special effects use obvious model airplanes on wires and are a dated delight. Also dated and delightful is the depiction of flying. The passengers all dress in suit and tie; the stewardesses take tickets aboard the plane; the captain personally points out the oxygen canister to an interested passenger; a smiling stewardess cracks jokes about false teeth while instructing passengers on emergency procedures; air traffic controllers work 40 hours without a break; passengers board without security checks. What a wonderful experience flying used to be; beyond slick obvious entertainment, "The Crowded Sky" has the added dimension of evoking nostalgia for a vanished way of travel.

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.

Yes I loved it. What a gem of a movie.I taped this just on a whim as it was on a very late night run here and I have to say I loved it. I found it a treat and a gem. My favourite part of the film is when a character is thinking out loud the camera focuses in on that person and the lighting around them dims as we head into their world either via voice over or a flashback scene.I would not mind adding this movie to my collection if it ever comes out on DVD. This is one of the movies, no doubt that paved the way for movies like "Airport" and all those awful disaster movies of the 70s and 80s. Good going I'll give it 7/10

Pretty nice movie, interesting for the plot and effects of the time. (And the appearance of a prop airliner, this movie coming right at the transition from the age of propeller planes into the jet age.) People have commented on connections between this movie and "Airport 1975" in that Dana Andrews and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. appear in both, with their roles reversed in each. (Andrews is the pilot of the airliner in this one, Zimbalist is the airline pilot in "Airport 1975.") There is another similarity between the movies, as well, which I won't spoil. I was sort of surprised to see that this one isn't out on DVD. So many movies are coming out in that format, and there have to be people who would want to own this one. When I was a kid (1980s, maybe the late 1970s) this was on the local TV stations as an afternoon movie several times. So there are plenty of people besides those who caught the original release who might want to own this one.Also there is something that interests the modern airline passenger in all these airline movies from 20+ years ago.... those larger seats, how polite people were on a plane, and how people used to actually dress up to fly. Ah, as Ray Walston said in "Damn Yankees," those were the good old days!