The Crowded Sky

The Crowded Sky –
Released in the year 1960 The Crowded Sky is a black and white movie that was based around the theme of a mishap in the skies after the pilot of an airplane finds out that his communications radios have malfunctioned.

The Crowded Sky was produced by Michael Garrison, who has created many Wild West tv shows, and was directed by Joseph Pevney.

In the movie, captain Dale Heath, played by Efrem Zimbalist, is a pilot for the U.S Navy and is in the process of getting an enlisted man to his destination. He finds out that not only is his communication radio broken but his navigational systems are also not working. This puts Dale in a tight spot as being at the right altitude is of key importance and it may save their lives. Dale has also been through a similar situation in the past where he did manage to save himself but it cost the lives of the crew on the other plane.

Meanwhile from the opposite direction a commercial plane is headed towards them carrying passengers to its full capacity. The Crowded Sky shows the situation on both the planes as they head towards each other. The movie shows the people on the commercial airliner all going through their own issues and builds the story up by giving character to the passengers. While on the Navy jet the past of the both of
McVey, a young sailor, and Dale Heath, is shown.

The Crowded Sky has its quality and cheap moments alike as it wasn’t a heavily budgeted movie but succeeded in doing the job that it had set out to do: create suspense.