Non-Stop New York

I first heard of Non-stop New York while browsing, of all things, the Aurum Encyclopaedia of Science Fiction films. The only reason that this film was included in that book was because it is 'futuristic' by 3 years; it was made in 1937 while the main action takes place in 1940. One interesting point is that the filmmakers did not know that WW2 had started by then and so there is no mention of it.

For some reason, the film is very obscure, only 39 viewers (including me) having voted for it on IMDb at the time of this writing. But is a fast moving little thriller full of incisive British wit. The film is so quintessentially British that one cannot help but notice that even the 'Americans' are local actors wincing with their attempts at transatlantic accents. But for this one minor flaw, the film is thoroughly enjoyable with perfect casting and good, if lightweight performances. An added bonus, certainly from my own perspective, is that most of the action takes place on board a Transatlantic Clipper, one of those seaplanes that were so glamorous in the 1930s. A definite Collector's item and I am the proud owner of a good quality VHS tape.

English and American characters and accents mingle in this lively thriller about a murder witness on the run.…from and then back to New York.

Anna Lee is our heroine, a young English chorus girl; hungry and out of luck in New York and about to board ship for home, she is befriended by a young lawyer who invites her over for a meal. Once inside his apartment, however, the man is promptly murdered by a gang of thugs headed by big smoothy Francis L. Sullivan. Noting that Lee is "the only person alive who knows that we were in that apartment last night"—at least that's what he thinks at the time—Sullivan subtly trails her.

The action moves to London, where the gang attempts to prevent Lee from returning to New York, where the imminent execution of an innocent fall guy will close the case. Will Lee's character realize the situation? And will she be able to reach America in time to save the innocent man's life? –This is where the story takes off: when all of the major characters board a trans-Atlantic airplane that is easily the most memorable element of this movie.

The plane is like no other: ordinary airliner on the outside, on the inside it's more like an ocean liner—complete with staterooms instead of rows of seats. It's even got a sort of porch—an observation deck—for characters who care to step outside, mid-Atlantic Ocean, and get a breath of wind in the face.

Among the cast, Anna Lee is quite dashing as the girl with a brain and some courage. John Loder is fine as a handsome young police inspector who is drawn into the case and onto the plane; Loder and Lee don't have a whole lot of scenes together but share a cute scene on the observation deck.

Francis L. Sullivan is excellent as the boss gangster. With the looks of Sidney Greenstreet and a voice like George Sanders, he is indeed a memorable villain. Young Desmond Tester is also a lot of fun to watch—a violin prodigy traveling with a grumpy aunt, the kid is prone to snooping and illicit saxophone playing.

A nice variety of characters, a decent plot, and that fantastic airliner make this one a winner.

In NYC, struggling actress Jennie Carr (Anna Lee) finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery, with her own life in imminent danger. After fleeing to London, and getting little help from Scotland Yard, Jennie stows away on the transatlantic mega-plane of the title.

The NON-STOP NEW YORK is a sort of luxury liner in the sky. It gets very interesting when both the killers and a Scotland Yard Inspector happen to be aboard for the flight.

Packed with intrigue, thrills, and humor, this movie deserves to be rediscovered...

From the moment starving chorus girl Anna Lee spends her last 20 cents in a grimy New York coffee joint to the crazy Mission Impossible style finale, this is wall to wall entertainment. A really fabulous fun adventure.

What makes this special is that ALL the characters are properly written characters, they've all got personalities and all those personalities are interesting and quirky. Not only is the writing outstanding (with a genuinely amusing script) but so is the acting. OK, most of them are pretty over the top but also believable as real people. The villains are especially villainous especially Mr Jaggers who is gloriously sinister.

When some 1930s pictures, especially American ones, profess to be funny they try much too hard so end up being annoyingly stupid. Character driven humour is only funny if you can believe the characters are people and that's what this achieves. The humour in this is refreshingly subtle, it's dark and witty. As the story evolves, its credibility is stretched to breaking point but as far-fetched as it becomes, Robert Stevenson directs the increasing absurdity as seriously as any drama which adds another dimension to its depth.

I've previously not been too impressed by Anna Lee but in this she's the perfect, wide-eyed thirties movie damsel-in-distress. She's very believable as one of those hundreds of adventurous English girls who ran off to tread the boards in the twenties and thirties. You can really engage with her. Even the precocious child is not annoying!

(No idea why some people have called this is a sci-fi movie?????)

I bought the video of Non-Stop New York on a whim when I saw it was about a double-decker airplane with an outside deck(!). However, the plane only comes into play during the last half of the film, and when it does, the design of it is so downplayed that we assume double-decker planes were mainstream travel in 1938. The plot involves a chorus girl trying to free an innocent man from death row while being pursued by the gangsters that did it. Yeah, we've all seen it before, but the plane, and the way the movie uses it, truly make this trip worth it.

In my opinion, if you stumbled across a film as esoteric as this in the IMDb and actually are taking the time to read about it, you'll enjoy it. This is what all those Airport movies wish they were.