Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

SKY LINER

Would you want this shifty guy (Greg McClure) on an airliner?
SKY LINER (1949). Director: William Berke.

A diverse group of people are flying to San Francisco on TWA. Few of them realize that George Eakins (John McGuire of Sea Raiders) of the State Department has been murdered and been replaced by a man known only as Smith (Steve Pendleton). Smith, who is hoping to sell important papers on the flight, is accompanied by Eakin's secretary, Amy (Rochelle Hudson of Meet Boston Blackie). Steven Geray [The Unfaithful] plays Bokejian, a representative of a foreign power who is anxious to buy those government secrets. An added complication is the presence on the flight of one J. S. Konigsby (Greg McClure), who is a dangerous jewel thief. But when one of those characters is murdered, Federal agent Steve Blair (Richard Travis) teams up with intrepid stewardess Carol (Pamela Blake) to ferret out the murderer and keep the passengers under control. Sky Liner is not quite as interesting as it sounds, but it's a mildly entertaining programmer with a generally competent cast. William F. Leicester is the pilot, Captain Fairchild; George Meeker is a financier; and Jack Mulhall is Colonel Hanson.

Verdict: There have been worse ... **1/2.

2 comments:

angelman66 said...

The plot seems pretty original, though, love the "replaced by a double" motif you mention here. Will have to check it out.

Bill, though of course you cover ALL movie styles with such finesse, you're definitely the B-Movie King Extraordinaire! You've opened my eyes to their greatness!!
-Chris

William said...

Thank you! I confess I have friends who tell me "I've never heard of any of the movies you write about!" Well, I have reviewed the likes of "Citizen Kane," "Psycho," and so on, but I do have a definite passion for B movies (especially with interesting players).

"B-Movie King Extraordinaire!" As Jerry Lewis would have put it years ago: "I like it! I like it!"