The Crowded Sky

The Crowded Sky is a 1960 Technicolor drama film distributed by Warner Bros., produced by Michael Garrison, directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. The film is based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Hank Searls. The story follows the crew and passengers of a U.S. Navy jet and a commercial airliner carrying a full load of passengers during a bout of severe weather. Other issues, such as a malfunctioning radio, render communication with air-traffic control nearly impossible and the two aircraft are on a collision course. Plot A U.S. Navy Lockheed TV-2 jet piloted by Commander Dale Heath, with an enlisted man as a rear passenger, runs into trouble soon after takeoff. Heath's radio and navigation system become disabled, leaving him unable to correctly determine the jet's altitude. At the same time, a Douglas DC-7 airliner piloted by veteran Dick Barnett is carrying a full passenger complement, each with his or her own worries and problems. Barnett and Heath have their own personal crises: Heath is stuck in an unhappy marriage to a tramp and Barnett had had a long-time conflict with Mike Rule, his copilot. Rule has his own personal demons, including his empty relationship with his catatonic father and an affair with head stewardess Kitty Foster.