Impossibly hokey airplane-in-distress pic (it's GRAND HOTEL/'32 on a plane) earns more laughs than many of the parodies it inspired. Claire Trevor, Robert Newton & John Wayne at least manage to get on with business and there's a modicum of suspense in the last act, but the bulk of its absurdly extended running time is taken up with one shriekingly phony "moment of truth" scene after another. (The series of Up Close and Personal backstories are a hoot while the over-written introductory prologue takes the prize for bald-face exposition.) The big shiny studio production holds a certain period flavor to it (watch the newlyweds join the Sky High club while keeping all their clothes on) and William Clothier ’s second-unit aerial lensing is spectacular. But this lumbering exhibit, a late entry from spent force helmer William Wellman, has seen its day.
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