Sky Liner (1949) User Reviews

A bit better than the score on IMDb would now indicate.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 20 November 2010]

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.

Flight Of Fancy

[skallisjr · 6/10 · 8 December 2008]

Usually, films of this sort use fictional airlines; this film uses TWA. The "Air Liner" on the film is a Constellation, which became a shuttle aircraft between Boston and New York by the late 1940s.

The story has an on-ground prelude, where one person is shot dead as he enters his office after hours without a word being spoken by the killer. But that's the prelude. A number of diverse people are passengers on the airliner, and some of them interact with each other on things established before takeoff.

The flight crew are tipped off that there will be a "federal agent" aboard the flight, and one of the passengers, posing as a member of the diplomatic corps thus learns that a G-man was aboard.

One thing overrating is the Sly Liner's restroom. It apparently was conventional in those days for more than one person to occupy the restroom at a time. (In all the times I was a passenger on a Constellation, I never checked out the restrooms, but the airline was TWA, so maybe...) Anyway, it was because more than one person used a restroom at a time that the dead body was discovered, one that turned out to have been the victim of a murder.

Naturally, if it was a killing (unclear at first), the murderer had to be aboard. The airliner was diverted to a military base (for weather reasons) where a coroner does a quickie autopsy and determines that the cause of death was indeed deliberate) The airliner eventually takes off, while the F-man pits together the pieces.

The murder weapon, though clever, might not be immediately recognizable by younger viewers, but was a clever, though understandable, idea of the time.

Ebtertaining.

This Sky Liner is Fine

[daoldiges · 6/10 · 12 August 2022]

To start with I think the original run time was supposed to be 61 minutes but ended up actually being only 49 minutes. That's definitely the shortest run time of any film I've ever seen. Still, it wasn't half bad. Most of the action takes place on a plane, which provides an interesting and fun take on those early days of commercial flying. Most of the performances are passable but none really memorable. As for the story, it's not bad for such a brief window of opportunity. I thought Sky Liner was (just) fine and worth a viewing if your curious.

A tiny aerial suspenser

[searchanddestroy-1 · 1/10 · 1 December 2008]

That's a little interesting film we deal with. A sort of GRAND HOTEL, or I should say: AIRPORT scheme, but at a lesser scale. Different people get aboard a plane from La Guardia airport, a thief, a murderer an international spy, an US agent and so on. Their destinies meet. It's pretty rare so soon in the movie industry, except perhaps for GRAND HOTEL. William Beaudine gave us such an aerial suspenser in DESPERATE CARGO, some years earlier; sort of AIR FORCE ONE - also at a lesser scale - before its time.

Well, SKY LINER is worth seeing. No boredom in it. Fast paced. Steven Geray is of course the international spy. Who else could he be?

Okay Programmer

[dougdoepke · 4 March 2015]

At least the movie never drags. Considering almost the entire time is confined to the passenger cabin, that's a genuine accomplishment on director Berke's part. The plot concerns foreign intrigue and a killing aboard the plane. It's not really a whodunit since the culprit's pretty obvious. Too bad the script didn't play up the whodunit potential since that would have generated more suspense, especially in such close quarters. This is another Lippert quickie, though more imaginative than most. Too bad, male lead Richard Travis couldn't get more interested in his part. Even though he looks the G-man part, Travis basically walks through the role. Note too presence of 1930's favorite Rochelle Hudson (Amy Winthrop). Unfortunately, she doesn't get much chance to shine. I suspect the film's airline motif was aimed at a US public just then getting used to affordable cross-country flights. One way or the other, we certainly get a lot of real airliner shots. Anyway, it's an okay little 60-minutes of the sort that would soon migrate to TV.

Strangers on a plane

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 15 June 2016]

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.

Dull And Obvious 'Thriller'

[boblipton · 4/10 · 6 March 2024]

Foreign diplomat Steven Geray is up to no good when he takes an airline to the East Coast.. In fact, he kills a man in the bathroom, although how is not apparent to FBI man Richard Travis, who is aboard the same flight by coincidence. Or is he?

It's obvious who killed the dead man, which is why I mention it in the review. This early Lippert feature is very cheaply shot under the direction of William Berke, which is not to say anyone does anything particularly wrong in a cinematic sense. There is, however, nothing much but small-stage work, and a cast that includes Pamela Blake, Rochelle Hudson, David Holt and Jack Mulhall. Listing at an hour, the copy I saw was less than 50 minutes, and I have no sense that anything worthwhile was omitted. Whether anything worthwhile was retained....

Anyone got a pen?

[AAdaSC · 7/10 · 13 April 2013]

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!

Turbulence in the movie wakes this up after smooth but uneventful flying.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 22 February 2020]

Frankly, I was not interested in the espionage story of mysterious papers and obvious foreign agents, but once the rugged Richard Travis revealed to some TWA passengers that the sick man removed from the plane was obviously murdered, I became intrigued.

With the help of stewardess Pamela Blake, Travis helps keep the passengers under control, and they include the darkly beautiful Rochelle Hudson (whom Travis suspects of being an agent) and the heavily accented Steve Geray. Travis simply tells the passengers that the killer is aboard the plane right then and there.

A few twists are ironic and even funny, and that makes the second half of this film a whole lot better than the first half. This does score points for ingenuity with it's revelation of how it happened which is much more interesting than who.

Worth it for Richard Travis

[jromanbaker · 7/10 · 8 March 2023]

Richard Travis with a slight, sexy drawl was the love interest for Bette Davis in ' The Man Who Came For Dinner ' and he was very good in it indeed. He should have gone on to do other equally good films and many people must have taken notice of his presence in the Davis vehicle. He is very watchable in this, and so is Rochelle Hudson as a mysterious woman he is trailing for helping spies during the Cold War. Most of the action takes place on a plane and this works very well in focussing in on character, and a lot of the short running time is set among the passengers. Only the climax at the end ( and no spoilers ) brings the viewer down to earth, and in fresh bright air. Good atmosphere too as the plane seems to be going through a constant fog and this adds to the claustrophobia, and lots of rather amusing visits to a washroom ( a toilet for the English!! ) which appeared to be quite a chat room. I wondered at one point how many more could get in there, and the climax so to speak comes with murder as well. It is on YouTube and worth seeing, and saying that I am going to hunt down ' The Man Who Came to Dinner. ' Watch that too if you can, as it is a Bette Davis classic, and unlike a lot of her films not a melodrama.

B noir

[blanche-2 · 5/10 · 9 June 2020]

To be honest, I got a little lost as far as the plot of this one.

Most of it takes place on a plane, and it's fun to look at how it was in the old days, with large, comfortable seats, people who could walk right into the cockpit, a washroom large enough for 3 or 4 people - which I doubt was ever the case, but never mind.

The biggest name in the cast is probably Rochelle Hudson, and Richard Travis plays a federal agent who is following someone involved involved in espionage. Then a dead body is found, and obviously, the killer is on the plane.

Also on the plane is a man carrying a great deal of money to take to his country, and two old biddies.

When there's a murder, the plane has to land unexpectedly.

Just okay.

Noir in the skies!

[Gunn · 8/10 · 7 December 2008]

Yet another gem in the Forgotten Noir Collection Vol. 4 DVD set. I'm quickly becoming a fan of the late director William Berke. Although he worked mostly in B-movies, he was one of the better directors in that field. He has a knack for pacing and getting the best out of actors, in this case no name thespians. These films are usually short, some just over an hour and others just under an hour, but Berke makes the best of low budgets and fast pacing. This film involves espionage in the air, on the Sky Liner of the title. It's definitely not typical noir, but it is decent little film. Richard Travis plays a sky marshal for the government tailing a spy network and the story goes on from there. The cast of no names is pretty good led by Rochelle Hudson, the always steady Herbert Evans, Steven Geray and others. The script is good so credit should be given Maurice Tombragel and John Wilste. At less than 50 minutes long, this is a surprising little treat.

Interesting time capsule of the beginning of commercial flying and Cold War

[adrianovasconcelos · 8/10 · 16 November 2021]

SKY LINER is a 61-minute B picture - short, effective, and reflective of the beginning of the Cold War and of commercial aviation (great publicity for the now defunct TWA. How the world changed in some 40 years!)

I do not know the actors but they do not compromise the product in any way. It is a riveting film from beginning to end, and characters have proper motivations for their actions.

No waste of time, this!

Dumb Cold War Espionage Drama

[bkoganbing · 11 July 2011]

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.