JET OVER THE ATLANTIC (1959)

With obvious roots in The High and The Mighty, this B-movie uses the first few notes of that film's main theme. Not exciting enough to be a thriller, the film does fall into the disaster category. The script perforations are numerous and the only storyline of importance is whether Guy Madison will be arrested by FBI agent, George Raft, who resembles Inspector Gadget in the opening sequence.

George McCready plays a wealthy deranged man who feels responsible for his young daughter’s death. We are not told why. McCready had a distinctive voice, a menacing growl of respectability that sounded like he has not gotten over a massive head cold. He is convinced that killing all the people on the plane, including himself, will make amends. He meets a character before the flight who does his best Peter Lorre impersonation and hands over a wrapped chemical bomb or is it a deli-wrapped ham? As deadly as a five-pound frozen ham can be upside the head, this device triggers a toxic chemical into the cabin to kill the pilots but drowsiness is the only danger to the passengers. Apparently. One asphyxiated pilot informs the passengers of their status in a voice of groggy, unintelligible doom. I suspect not very comforting. Autopilot saves the day.

There are the usual annoying characters onboard. All may remind you of the famous Zucker Brothers' air disaster comedy without the intended humor. There is a wedding for Madison and co-star Virginia Mayo during the flight in a "rear lounge" large enough for a cruise ship. Raft is nearly shot by McCready but Madison saves his life. Gunshots ring out several times while in flight. The script is bound and determined to bring the plane down one way or another. Fortunately, Madison flew 4-engine planes during the war. The airplane's interior studio cockpit has no windows for the pilot yet he still lands the plane safely. We learn that he was framed and having saved everyone on board, Raft has the last words of the film, “Yeah. Quite a guy.” Madison, that is.

This over-long ninety-five-minute film was typically a cornerstone of a double feature. Meaning the bottom. The production team includes director Byron Haskin, noted for the original The War of The Worlds classic, and was produced by Benedict Bogeaus. Distributed by Inter Continent Releasing Organization, Irving H. Cooper is responsible for the screenplay as is the soap opera score by Louis Forbes. Guy Madison bailed out of American films after this flight.

Notes: A pet peeve of mine is the inconsistent editing of airliners in most B-movies. There were other ways to transition a scene without splicing in the wrong airline or aircraft. This film is a prime example. The pilots begin taxing a Bristol Brittania airliner. The pilots are completely unaware that when their plane takes off, it becomes a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser. Continuing the poor editing trend, the plane is cruising at altitude but the insertion clip shows the landing gear down. They probably will not have enough fuel to make New York City anyway with all that drag.

The British-built Brittania, the pinnacle of turbo-prop travel, arrived too late to be a success. Jet airliners dominated the market. So the title of this film is out of whack. To be fair, many referred to turbo-props as jet-props in the day. Admittedly, “Turboprop over the Atlantic” does not roll off the tongue and the advertising department could not use “Turbo-prop” in place of “Jet-Hot.”