Subway in the Sky
| Subway in the Sky | |
|---|---|
.jpg) British quad poster | |
| Directed by | Muriel Box |
| Produced by |
Sydney Box Patrick Filmer-Sankey John Temple-Smith |
| Written by | Jack Andrews |
| Based on | the book by Bruce Birch and the play by Ian Main |
| Starring |
Van Johnson Hildegard Knef |
| Music by | Mario Nascimbene |
| Cinematography | Wilkie Cooper |
| Edited by | Jean Barker |
Production company |
Orbit Films |
| Distributed by | British Lion Film Corporation (UK) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Subway in the Sky is a 1959 British crime film directed by Muriel Box and starring Van Johnson, Hildegard Knef and Albert Lieven.[1] Hildegard Knef, who changed career in the 1960s to become a cabaret singer and songwriter, sings one song in the film, "It Isn't Love." [2]
Plot
Baxter Grant, an American soldier in West Berlin, deserts and goes on the run when faced with false drug trafficking and murder charges. He takes shelter with cabaret singer Lilli Hoffman, who he manages to persuade to help prove his innocence.
Cast
- Van Johnson - Major Baxter Grant
- Hildegard Knef - Lilli Hoffman
- Albert Lieven - Carl
- Cec Linder - Carson
- Katherine Kath - Anna Grant
- Vivian Matalon - Stefan Grant
- Carl Jaffe - German Detective
- Chuck Keyser - Sergeant Harwell
- Gaylord Cavallaro - Switchboard Operator
- Michael Bell - G.I.
- E. Kerrigan Prescott - Sentry
- James Maxwell - Officer
- Gerda Larsen - Air Stewardess
- Tom Watson - Corporal
Critical reception
Leonard Maltin gave the film one and a half out of four stars, calling it a "flabby caper," regarding it a "terrible waste of (Hildegard) Neff's talents" ; [3] whereas Tony Sloman gave it three out of five stars in the Radio Times, calling it, "a film that wasn't highly regarded on its release, but thanks to its cast, subject matter and director bears re-evaluation today. (It) features two particularly watchable stars, both of whom have done better work than this. Ageing bobby-sox idol Van Johnson is a better actor than is generally acknowledged; he had a propensity for worried, introverted heroes...The director is Muriel Box, one of the few English women directors to have had a successful screen career, though here she struggles to keep the stage origins of the material hidden. Wilkie Cooper's stark black-and-white photography is excellent." [4]
References
- ↑ "Subway in the Sky (1958)". BFI.
- ↑ "Subway In The Sky". TVGuide.com.
- ↑ "Subway in the Sky (1959) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
- ↑ Tony Sloman. "Subway in the Sky". RadioTimes.