Flight That Disappeared (1961)

A cross-country airliner, whose passengers include a nuclear physicist, a rocket expert, and a mathematical genius, is drawn beyond radar range by an unknown, unbreakable force.

Director:

Reginald Le Borg

Writers:

Ralph Hart, Judith Hart

Stars:

Craig Hill, Paula Raymond, Dayton Lummis

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Craig Hill	...	Tom Endicott
Paula Raymond	...	Marcia Paxton
Dayton Lummis	...	Dr. Carl Morris
Gregory Morton	...	The Examiner
Harvey Stephens	...	Walter Cooper
John Bryant	...	Hank Norton
Nancy Hale	...	Barbara Nielsen
Addison Richards	...	The Sage
Brad Trumbull	...	Jack Peters
Bernadette Hale	...	Joan Agnew
Meg Wyllie	...	Helen Cooper
Roy Engel	...	Jameson (as Roy Engle)

Storyline

A transcontinental flight from Los Angeles to Washington DC, carrying three top scientists, unexplainedly begins a climb to 10 miles up. With all other passengers unconscious, the scientists find themselves in a dimension where time does not exist. There they are put on trial by denizens of the future for their potential involvement in the creation of "the ultimate weapon."

---

Plot Keywords:

tribunal | rocket propulsion | stopped time | unexplained events | crisis onboard an airplane | 

---

Taglines:

TERROR IN THE SKY...beyond known flight!

---

Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

This low budget film uses stock shots of the aircraft in flight. However, during the flight, the aircraft magically changes to various models of the Douglas DC series.

---

Goofs

After the establishing shot of the airport in the beginning of the movie, some crew and equipment silhouettes can be glimpsed at the bottom right corner of the screen.

---

Quotes

Dr. Carl Morris: You're out of your mind.
Walter Cooper: No! Don't say that to me! I've never let anyone say that to me. Not even the doctors in the hospital.

---

Crazy Credits

Actor Roy Engel's name appears in the credits as "Roy Engle."

---

Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer colored version.

---

Connections

Edited from The High and the Mighty (1954)

User Reviews

Entertaining Fantasy

The Flight That Disappeared (1961)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Low-budget but very interesting fantasy/drama about a plane that keeps going higher and higher into the sky but no one on the ground or on-board understands why. I could tell a little more about the plot but that would take away from one's entertainment. This certainly isn't a perfect movie or even a good one but it's got an interesting idea that makes for an entertaining movie. There's no doubt that this isn't going to win any awards but I think fans of the bizarre should have a good time. This thing really plays out like an episode of The Twilight Zone but instead of going into a different galaxy, the plane here just keeps going further up in the sky. I'm not going to spoil why all of this happening but I will say that the final twenty-minutes are the weakest of the film. Considering the small budget, the majority of the running time deals with the variety of passengers and we spend most of the time listening to them talk. We hear about their personal lives, the business their in and of course issues dealing with the atomic bomb, which was a hot subject during this period. The movie's screenplay really does a pretty good job at building up the fantasy elements because you're never fully understanding what's going on or how the plane is going higher. Sure, if you start to think about logics then you can rip the film apart so it's really best that you turn your brain off, sit back and just enjoy. None of the actor's are going to be familiar faces but I thought each of them did fine with their roles. There's certainly nothing too demanding here but the actors fit their parts nicely and manages to make you believe what's going on with their characters. THE FLIGHT THAT DISAPPEARED probably could have benefited from another rewrite and again I think the final twenty-minutes are rather weak. Still, considering what they had to deal with you can't help but feel that the filmmakers did a pretty good job and delivered an entertaining film.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Flight That Vanished

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles International Airport - 1 World Way, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harvard Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1