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Simply Perfect

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

My husband and I enjoyed "The Crowded Sky", with all of its idiosyncracies and cultural datedness. However, it was troubling, to say the least, that Rhonda Fleming and Ephram Zimbalist Jr.--key stars in the film--had no closure at the end. The fate of the pilot, the co-pilot, the pilot's complex wife and daughter: they were left loose ends.I had hoped the pilots were going to eject. What finally happened was never dealt with--it was as if they didn't exist. Only the happy endings of the passengers were explained, described.In spite of the flashbacks' awkwardness, at times, the characters' lives were all quite interesting. All the more disappointing that we did not have enough follow up for the others.The Technicolor is lush. Ann Francis is beautiful. The WPA renditions of art and meaning gave a special dimension.

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.

I don't care WHAT year this was filmed...it is BAD. The flashbacks within flashbacks are worthy of a Carol Burnett Show. The acting is over-the-top. Seriously, folks, I can't imagine that the audiences of 1960 were able to keep a straight face. There have been MANY excellent "plane-in-dilemma" dramas since the 30s - "Five Came Back" (and its same-director remake), to name a few - so this incredibly LAME "drama" has no excuses for the ludicrous excesses.I could not stop laughing.I'm sure that "Airport 1975" INTENTIONALLY cast the two pilots,as they did, as that film is basically some sort of remake.Stick with "The High and the Mighty" during this time period (well, six years earlier) - it blows this film out of the water.

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