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The Crowded Sky

Play trailer Poster for The Crowded Sky 1960 1h 45m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 31% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
When Navy pilot Dale Heath (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) takes off, he doesn't expect his navigational equipment to fail, and must adapt when it goes out along with his radio. Heading straight for a commercial jet piloted by Dick Barnett (Dana Andrews), whose plane is full of passengers, Heath can't tell which way to turn in order to avoid a catastrophe. Subplots including Barnett's co-pilot Mike's (John Kerr) relationship with a flight attendant (Anne Francis), buoy this tense airborne thriller.
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The Crowded Sky

Critics Reviews

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Kimberly Pierce Ticklish Business 04/06/2022
2/5
All in all, The Crowded Sky is far from the best entry into the rather prolific Airplane in Trouble sub-genre... (its) script finds itself confused as to what exactly it wants to be. Is it a soap opera? Is this a disaster film? No one really knows. Go to Full Review Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine 11/14/2019
The jet age again, this time in a Hollywood opus that takes far too long to reach its exciting climax. Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 05/13/2015
B-
Diverting soap opera air disaster movie. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Shesha H Sep 23 This gem deserves a cult following. You can’t look away; even the slow scenes are fascinating in their earnest absurdity. There are moments when it seems the cast must be in on the joke, particularly when Troy Donahue confides to a man that his girlfriend is pregnant, all while the theme from A Summer Place plays on a jukebox in the background. The Crowded Sky would be great fun to watch in a revival house with other fans of the genre. See more Ken E Sep 15 A really weird mixed up movie which flirts with being a flying turkey. The story is about two aircraft, one a passenger plane the other a military jet, on converging flight paths. The flashbacks are done in a kind of brutal but interesting way. The backstories range from the mundane to the interesting - but they tend to beg more questions. Spoiler alert: The movie has a tremendous hole at the end: After killing off four characters, there’s zero resolution of their stories. We’ve been primed to know a lot about two of the doomed characters from the start but then, nothing. I’m sure scenes were shot and thrown into the edit room floor. The survivors just go happily off on their way. The angle about the copilot with an artistic bent and unresolved family issues is a good story. The art pieces are really good. The best saving grace of the movie, however, is Anne Francis who steals the show as a flight attendant. She’s a delightful actress and she above all is the one worth watching in this movie and salvages the experience. Watch it for her. See more Herodotas G May 20 This movie is incredible, a true misfire of biblical proportions. I was confused from scene one! The viewer is delighted with many absurd flashbacks that do absolutely nothing to increase your attachment to the cliché characters. For lovers of comedy and pain alike this is manna from bad movie heaven- trash that simply has to be seen to be believed! See more 07/29/2019 Bad acting and a sometimes humorous plot (unintentional) buoy interest in this soap opera disaster movie. See more 12/03/2014 Overwrought and with clunky special effects this is a still entertaining precusor to Airport and all it's many follow-ups. See more Read all reviews
The Crowded Sky

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Cast & Crew

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Joseph Pevney

Director

Dana Andrews

Dick Barnett

Rhonda Fleming

Cheryl "Charro" Heath

Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Dale Heath

John Kerr

Mike Rule

Anne Francis

Kitty Foster
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The Crowded Sky

The Crowded Sky (1960) The Crowded Sky (1960) The Crowded Sky (1960) The Crowded Sky (1960) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis When Navy pilot Dale Heath (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) takes off, he doesn't expect his navigational equipment to fail, and must adapt when it goes out along with his radio. Heading straight for a commercial jet piloted by Dick Barnett (Dana Andrews), whose plane is full of passengers, Heath can't tell which way to turn in order to avoid a catastrophe. Subplots including Barnett's co-pilot Mike's (John Kerr) relationship with a flight attendant (Anne Francis), buoy this tense airborne thriller.
Director
Joseph Pevney
Producer
Michael Garrison
Screenwriter
Charles Schnee
Production Co
Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 22, 2009
Runtime
1h 45m
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