The Flight That Disappeared

This film will definitely remind you of a slightly longer Twilight Zone episode. It could be described as an interesting B movie, which would accompany a major film back in the old days. Nothing spectacular about this film, with its barely hidden moral message, but it was a pleasant enough viewing for the short time it was on.

A bit slow and preachy, but an interesting tale well worth watching...Actually a more than decent script considering it was shot back in 1961...Second act drags but when they get into the third you sit up and take notice...Don't want to tell all the tale...You'll enjoy watching this yourself...So much junk was produced in this era, it is nice to see something of this quality was shot and produced by Hollywood...The only strange thing is the lost of several international flights lately and how some actually refer to this movie about that situation...All I know is that if I owned the rights to this flick I would mount a minor ad campaign to tie-in with those recent events and sell more copies of "The Flight That Disappeared"...Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Little-known film about a cross-country flight that is transported to another dimension where time stands still. There are some scientists on board the flight that are responsible for building a new kind of nuclear weapon. They are put on trial in this other dimension by people from the future. It's a talky movie about ideas and Cold War fears that gets a little heavy-handed at times. The "logic" of the prosecutor is riddled with holes. The first half-hour is pretty dull before it slowly starts to pick up. Still, it's nearly an hour into the film before the trial starts. All of the characters are as exciting as cardboard. There are no big actors associated with this, though I did recognize a few faces. It's an interesting idea for a movie or even an episode of the Twilight Zone. I could see Rod Serling doing a lot with it. It's a slog to get through the buildup but the last 20-30 minutes is worth watching.

The Flight That Disappeared (1961)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Low-budget but very interesting fantasy/drama about a plane that keeps going higher and higher into the sky but no one on the ground or on-board understands why. I could tell a little more about the plot but that would take away from one's entertainment. This certainly isn't a perfect movie or even a good one but it's got an interesting idea that makes for an entertaining movie. There's no doubt that this isn't going to win any awards but I think fans of the bizarre should have a good time. This thing really plays out like an episode of The Twilight Zone but instead of going into a different galaxy, the plane here just keeps going further up in the sky. I'm not going to spoil why all of this happening but I will say that the final twenty-minutes are the weakest of the film. Considering the small budget, the majority of the running time deals with the variety of passengers and we spend most of the time listening to them talk. We hear about their personal lives, the business their in and of course issues dealing with the atomic bomb, which was a hot subject during this period. The movie's screenplay really does a pretty good job at building up the fantasy elements because you're never fully understanding what's going on or how the plane is going higher. Sure, if you start to think about logics then you can rip the film apart so it's really best that you turn your brain off, sit back and just enjoy. None of the actor's are going to be familiar faces but I thought each of them did fine with their roles. There's certainly nothing too demanding here but the actors fit their parts nicely and manages to make you believe what's going on with their characters. THE FLIGHT THAT DISAPPEARED probably could have benefited from another rewrite and again I think the final twenty-minutes are rather weak. Still, considering what they had to deal with you can't help but feel that the filmmakers did a pretty good job and delivered an entertaining film.

It is 1960. One of the last prop-driven plane flights containing two scientists and a cutie mathematician seems to be off schedule, for that matter off altitude and possibly out of time. What mysteries can this foretell and are we on for a heavy-handed warning? Can't say much about this film as it is a short subjects similar to the twilight zone programs. However a side added plus is being able to see the old prop-driven planes and 60s clothing. If you expect to see scanty closed space girls that I'm afraid you'll be disappointed.

Much of the time is given to introducing characters as you would normally have in a mystery such as "Ten Little Indians." During one of the conversations a passenger that seems to be a little unhinged expresses an attitude that parallels Randy Newman's song "political science." You may want to listen to a copy and see if he is not correct.

This film is worth watching and wondering if the heavy-handed warning still applies today.