Sky Liner

When Sky Liner came out in 1949 this was Lippert Pictures trying to take advantage of current headlines involving espionage in the State Department. Joe McCarthy was a year away from his famous accusations in Wheeling, West Virginia about the Communists in government. But in 1949 Secretary Of State Dean Acheson was defending himself against right wing attacks about the Red Menace invading our State Department. Also remember that the Hiss case was coming to a head as well.

So what we have in Sky Liner is spy Rochelle Hudson, secretary to a State Department bigwig apparently ready to defect. A Communist takes her boss's place after killing him and the two are on the way to a conference. You have to believe there's going to be a defection because once they discover the real boss's body, it's all over. And that's supposing no one at the conference will realize there's a phony planted among the delegates.

Never fear because the FBI in the person of Richard Travis has her in his sights for a while and he also might get a twofer because foreign agent Stephen Bekassy is also on this transcontinental flight. It turns out as films in this era always did with the FBI protecting us from Red secretaries.

Sky Liner is one of the dumbest films from the Cold War I've ever seen and one of the dumbest from Lippert studios. And that is going some.

John McGuire (George Eakins) loves himself and enjoys nothing more than listening to his own broadcasts, inviting others to do so with him! Quite justifiably, someone kills him for this. Or is he killed for another reason? The majority of the story is set upon a flight to LA on which another murder takes place. Whodunnit?

It's pretty obvious whodunnit but that's immaterial to your enjoyment of the film. The cast are all good in this short film that speeds along nicely which is also informative in terms of explaining airline procedure in the event of a dead body on board. Thankfully, no women scream at the sight of the murder victim. In fact, it's quite the opposite as stewardess Pamela Blake (Carol) reacts as if "Oh well, we've got another stiff in the toilet". As air crew are aware, it's not that uncommon for people to snuff it on board.

The film builds tension nicely and provides two short flashback moments to understand a couple of the characters on the flight. Well done to that chap who got away with nicking the money!

To start with I think the original run time was supposed to be 61 minutes but ended up actually being only 49 minutes. That's definitely the shortest run time of any film I've ever seen. Still, it wasn't half bad. Most of the action takes place on a plane, which provides an interesting and fun take on those early days of commercial flying. Most of the performances are passable but none really memorable. As for the story, it's not bad for such a brief window of opportunity. I thought Sky Liner was (just) fine and worth a viewing if your curious.

Other reviewers have rated SKY LINER fairly highly, but I must have watched a different movie. The film I saw has a decent and involved set up, but a very long-winded execution that robs the premise of excitement and makes the whole thing more than a little boring. It's one of those hour-long film that feels like it goes on for at least double the running time, it's so drawn out.

The narrative involves a bunch of characters taking a flight across America. Some of them are good (an undercover FBI agent, a dedicated stewardess), and others are very bad indeed (spies working for the Russians, a murderous safebreaker). Greed, treachery, and betrayal ensue, and there's a mild murder mystery for the good guys to solve, but it's all very slow and stately, with little to lift the spirits or the interest of the viewer.

SKY LINER lacks a big name actor to play the protagonist because the one we do get is very bland. The supporting cast don't do much to distinguish themselves either, and some of the choices, such as the laboured comic relief, are very poor indeed, making for irritating viewing. Things do pick up for a great action-packed climax, but by then it's too little, too late.

To be honest, I got a little lost as far as the plot of this one.

Most of it takes place on a plane, and it's fun to look at how it was in the old days, with large, comfortable seats, people who could walk right into the cockpit, a washroom large enough for 3 or 4 people - which I doubt was ever the case, but never mind.

The biggest name in the cast is probably Rochelle Hudson, and Richard Travis plays a federal agent who is following someone involved involved in espionage. Then a dead body is found, and obviously, the killer is on the plane.

Also on the plane is a man carrying a great deal of money to take to his country, and two old biddies.

When there's a murder, the plane has to land unexpectedly.

Just okay.