The journey into the unknown

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title The journey into the unknown
Original title No Highway in the Sky
Country of production Great Britain
original language English
Publishing year 1951
length 89 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Henry Koster
script RC Millard ,
Oscar Millard ,
Alec Coppel
production Louis D. Lighton
music Malcolm Arnold
camera Georges Périnal
cut Manuel del Campo
occupation

The Journey into the Unknown is a British drama directed by Henry Koster from 1951 . The script of the film is based on the novel No Highway by the author Nevil Shute , which was published in 1948.

action

The American metallurgist Theodore Honey works for the Royal Aircraft Establishment , an airline that has developed a new type of aircraft, the Reindeer . Honey, widower and single father of twelve-year-old Elspeth, tries to convince his superior Dennis Scott that the structure of the aircraft is faulty and that material fatigue is to be expected after 1,440 flight hours. In order to substantiate his theory, he brought the rear section of a Reindeer to a laboratory and exposed it to vibrations and shocks every 8 hours a day. Scott is dismayed to discover that Honey has left out the calculations in his report. In addition, the test is not yet over when the Reindeer fleet in service reaches 1440 flight hours.

When a Reindeer crashes in the Canadian province of Labrador , the rear section is not found. Scott sends Honey to Canada, who doesn't realize that the machine he's flying in is a Reindeer . The stewardess Marjorie Corder reassures the troubled Honey. For them, it's amusing to find out that the man who flies for the first time is an aviation expert. Actress Monica Teasdale is also on board. When Honey recognizes which type of aircraft he is traveling in, he learns that the machine has already had 1,422 flight hours behind it. He warns Monica and Marjorie, who, unlike the flight captain, believe him.

The aircraft is refueled during the stopover in Gander , Canada . The captain has the machine inspected, but then wants to continue flying. But Honey prevents this by retracting the landing gear of the aircraft on the ground. The machine is now lying on its stomach and is damaged. Honey is declared insane, but Monica is sure that Honey is right. She visits Sir John, the director of the airline, and assures him and Scott that Honey is sane. Both are unsure, but Scott is pushing the series of tests. Honey, returned to England, works in the laboratory while Marjorie takes care of Elspeth. Although Monica feels drawn to the scientist too, she suspects that she would not suit him and returns to America.

At the following hearing, Honey resigned. But he is still convinced that his theory is correct. The time of material fatigue calculated by him passes, the rear end tested in his laboratory remains undamaged even after 1522 hours. The machine he has damaged is repaired and put back into service. But after landing after a test flight, her stern breaks off. Shortly afterwards, the same thing happens in Honey's laboratory. Honey is rehabilitated. He realizes that he had neglected to factor in the temperature when calculating the point in time.

Reviews

The lexicon of international films described the film as "psychologically masterful, brilliantly played, exciting and full of humor: the best American narrative cinema."

The film magazine Cinema also praised the film as "exciting, humorous and brilliantly played."

Bosley Crowthers of the New York Times suspected that perhaps the cunning construction of an unusual plot and the crooked tension arc were responsible for the amusement of the ingenious adaptation of the novel .

background

The world premiere took place on June 28, 1951 in London (under the book title No Highway ). The film was first shown in Germany on March 11, 1952.

In supporting roles not mentioned in the credits, Niall MacGinnis as Captain Samuelson, Kenneth More as Copilot Dobson, Felix Aylmer as Sir Philip, Maurice Denham as Major Pearl, Wilfrid Hyde-White as Inspector Fisher and Bessie Love as a passenger.

Three years after the shooting, there were three serious aircraft disasters, the cause of which was material fatigue. Three BOAC machines of the type Comet of the de Havilland Aircraft Company broke in the air. Shute, author of the novel, worked for the plant as an engineer from 1922 to 1924.

In 1952 a 60-minute radio play was broadcast in which James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich spoke their film roles.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The journey into the unknown. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed July 30, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ Critique of Cinema
  3. ↑ Review of the New York Times (English)