Sky Liner

1949 "A fast paced and different kind of mystery thriller"
5.3| 1h1m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 28 July 1949 Released
Producted By: Lippert Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Travellers board a flight, unaware that other passengers might be spies and counterspies, complete with secret documents, poison and elaborate plans to engage in international espionage!

... View More
Stream Online

The movie is currently not available onine

Director

Producted By

Lippert Pictures

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime. Watch Now

Trailers & Images

Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Leofwine_draca Other reviewers have rated SKY LINER fairly highly, but I must have watched a different movie. The film I saw has a decent and involved set up, but a very long-winded execution that robs the premise of excitement and makes the whole thing more than a little boring. It's one of those hour-long film that feels like it goes on for at least double the running time, it's so drawn out.The narrative involves a bunch of characters taking a flight across America. Some of them are good (an undercover FBI agent, a dedicated stewardess), and others are very bad indeed (spies working for the Russians, a murderous safebreaker). Greed, treachery, and betrayal ensue, and there's a mild murder mystery for the good guys to solve, but it's all very slow and stately, with little to lift the spirits or the interest of the viewer.SKY LINER lacks a big name actor to play the protagonist because the one we do get is very bland. The supporting cast don't do much to distinguish themselves either, and some of the choices, such as the laboured comic relief, are very poor indeed, making for irritating viewing. Things do pick up for a great action-packed climax, but by then it's too little, too late.
Alex da Silva John McGuire (George Eakins) loves himself and enjoys nothing more than listening to his own broadcasts, inviting others to do so with him! Quite justifiably, someone kills him for this. Or is he killed for another reason? The majority of the story is set upon a flight to LA on which another murder takes place. Whodunnit? It's pretty obvious whodunnit but that's immaterial to your enjoyment of the film. The cast are all good in this short film that speeds along nicely which is also informative in terms of explaining airline procedure in the event of a dead body on board. Thankfully, no women scream at the sight of the murder victim. In fact, it's quite the opposite as stewardess Pamela Blake (Carol) reacts as if "Oh well, we've got another stiff in the toilet". As air crew are aware, it's not that uncommon for people to snuff it on board.The film builds tension nicely and provides two short flashback moments to understand a couple of the characters on the flight. Well done to that chap who got away with nicking the money!
bkoganbing When Sky Liner came out in 1949 this was Lippert Pictures trying to take advantage of current headlines involving espionage in the State Department. Joe McCarthy was a year away from his famous accusations in Wheeling, West Virginia about the Communists in government. But in 1949 Secretary Of State Dean Acheson was defending himself against right wing attacks about the Red Menace invading our State Department. Also remember that the Hiss case was coming to a head as well.So what we have in Sky Liner is spy Rochelle Hudson, secretary to a State Department bigwig apparently ready to defect. A Communist takes her boss's place after killing him and the two are on the way to a conference. You have to believe there's going to be a defection because once they discover the real boss's body, it's all over. And that's supposing no one at the conference will realize there's a phony planted among the delegates.Never fear because the FBI in the person of Richard Travis has her in his sights for a while and he also might get a twofer because foreign agent Stephen Bekassy is also on this transcontinental flight. It turns out as films in this era always did with the FBI protecting us from Red secretaries.Sky Liner is one of the dumbest films from the Cold War I've ever seen and one of the dumbest from Lippert studios. And that is going some.
MartinHafer I am sure that in time the overall rating of this film will change, but for now it's only 4.8. You'd think this would indicate that the movie is rather poor, though I thought the film was actually a bit better--and well worth seeing. However, one thing I need to point out is that although it's now on a DVD entitled "Forgotten Noir", this is really not an example of film noir--nor are many films in this series. It lacks the camera-work, dialog and grittiness you'd expect in noir. Instead, it's a rather straight-forward example of a crime film.The film is set aboard an airliner (a Lockheed Constellation, if you really care). According to IMDb, the markings on the plane kept changing--a silly mistake but it didn't exactly ruin the film. A federal agent is on the plane--following a woman who is involved in some sort of espionage. However, when a dead body is found aboard, it's obvious that there is a killer on the plane! Who did it and how must be discovered before the killer is able to escape.The film is enjoyable...even if the actual murder weapon is a bit far-fetched. Well-paced, interesting and a very good time-passer.