NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY: no great flight of fantasy

The most interesting aspect of this now dated British drama from 1951 is its attitude to scientists. Considering that the UK and America had recently come through a war which had increasingly relied on advances in science to create the tools capable of defeating Germany and Japan, it is really weird to see scientists and their work so relentlessly disparaged.
James Stewart stars as the implausibly named Theodore Honey, the aeronautical engineer on whom most scorn is heaped for his untested theory that metal fatigue will cause the tail to break off a new model of passenger aircraft after 1440 hours flying time. Character after character, including many who should know better, deride Honey and his ilk as boffins walking a very thin line between brilliance and insanity. Stewart adds fuel to this perception by making Honey ridiculously absent minded and disinterested in anything outside his narrow field of focus.
This tension between the 'crackpot' scientist and almost everyone else in the film is necessary to keep the plot moving forward but it does beggar belief that not only Honey's superiors but also the pilots flying the planes at risk - all men who should have some appreciation of the value of science in the development of flying machines - should be so contemptuous of his warnings.
In true Hollywood style, Honey's only real support comes from the most unlikely sources - a stewardess, Marjorie Corder (Glynis Johns) and a film star, Monica Teasdale (Marlene Dietrich) who both board the potentially doomed flight with him. But, as women in a world dominated by middle-aged and elderly white men, they have no real power to influence a change in attitude by the establishment. Their role is to humanise Honey by making him realise there's more to life for him and his young (frighteningly well-spoken) daughter than scientific theories. They have slightly more respect for Honey's work than do the other characters, but they still don't believe it's a healthy environment in which to raise a child.

NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY reunited Stewart and Dietrich for this first time since the uproarious Western comedy 'Destry Rides Again' 12 years earlier, and there's none of the chemistry which made that 1939 film so memorable. Both actors and their characters are middle-aged and somewhat world weary. Honey has withdrawn from all relationships (except with his daughter) following the death of his wife in a V2 rocket attack during World War 2, while Monica has given up hope of finding a lasting relationship after 3 failed marriages. Dietrich's character is superfluous to the needs of the plot and it would be interesting to know what prompted her to take the part. In terms of the relationship to the protagonist, Johns' character is far more important.
NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY is unlikely to feature in a list of the top 10 best performances by any of the stars involved, but it is the kind of drama that's just right for curling up in front of on a cold and grey Sunday afternoon.