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The Man in the Sky
(1957)“Dare-devil test pilot takes you on a nerve-tingling adventure!”
Synopsis
The efforts of test pilot John Mitchell to make a better life for his wife Mary and their two children seem doomed to failure and he blames himself. At the Conway Aero-Manufacturing Company of Wolverhampton, Mitchell is to take the company's new rocket-propulsion transport plane up for tests, fully loaded and carrying two important passengers - Ministry official Crabtree and buyer's representative Ashmore. Mitchell learns from his boss, Reg Conway, that if Ashmore does not recommend the plane, the company will be out of business and Mitchell out of a job, since the plane is not even insured as the firm's entire capital is tied up in the plane. Aloft, an engine catches fire and the passengers and other crew bail out, but Mitchell refuses to obey orders to jettison the plane in the Irish Sea.
Top Billed Cast
Jack Hawkins
John Mitchell
Elizabeth Sellars
Mary Mitchell
Walter Fitzgerald
Reginald Conway
Eddie Byrne
Ashmore
Community Reviews
“What an absolute ripper of a film! I wasn't expecting it to be so very tense; the title character, the Man in the Sky, played wonderfully well by Jack Hawkins, is a test pilot with much on his mind. He seems to feel that he's reached the end of the line, that he has nowhere to go, because the company he works for is one month away from bankruptcy and soon he'll be out of a job with nothing to fall back on. His wife is disappointed, she wants a home of her own badly to bring up their two sons, but it looks like that too won't happen because her test pilot husband can't bring himself to finance the house they both want, since he knows he may soon be in financial straits. The only hope they have is that the plane he's testing is purchased, which will save the company. In this last flight, the plane (a cargo plane) is fully loaded, with the prospective buyer aboard as well as a complete crew. Everything is going well until the port engine starts on fire! All the others on board the plane bail out, leaving only our test pilot; he's subjected to the strain of deciding whether to bail out himself, as the company owner & everyone else is telling him to do, or to try to land the plane. The fire has left the plane with only one engine & has damaged the operation of the wings, so attempting to land may well be fatal. At risk is his life, the company & all its employees, his marriage, and his future; what a decision to have to make! I just loved the character development in this film, the acting was superb, and the actual aircraft was incredible too. This movie has very little action, but a lot of tension, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! 5 stars is my rating!”
