∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗
(3/10) In a nutshell: Schizophrenic British comedy/crime drama based on a huge futuristic flying boat. Cringeworthy comedy is mixed with witness drama that manages to be both improbable and generic. Good acting and a steady directing hand saves the film.
Non-Stop New York. 1937, UK. Directed by Robert Stevenson. Written by J.O.C. Horton, Roland Pertwee, E.V.H. Emmett, Curt Siodmak. Based on the novel Sky Stewards by Ken Attiwill. Starring: Anna Lee, John Loder, Frank Cellier, Francis L. Sullivan, Desmond Tester, Athene Seyler, William Dewhurst. Produced for Gaumont British. IMDb score: 6.9
Anna Lee as Jennie Carr boarding the futuristic sky ship in Non-Stop New York.
Non-Stop New York is science fiction only by the breadth of a hair. In fact, it is a hitchcockian crime melodrama dressed up as a comedy located on a giant Trans-Atlantic flying boat. Flying boats were indeed a reality at the time when the film was released in 1937 – and it is set in the futuristic 1938. But few planes of any decent size at the time were able to make a direct Trans-Atlantic flight from London to New York, as this big luxury liner, neither was there any regular commercial overseas traffic. The plane pictured in the film is more like a flying hotel with spacious cabins, dining halls and even outdoor observation decks. Continue reading
