Faded greying reminder of the low-budget 50's war movies, which often rested on clichés, just because it was the easiest (laziest) way to hold the attention of English cinema audiences.
In Hong Kong, a naval officer recounts a vivid dream he had about a plane crashing on a beach. A senior Air Marshal (Michael Redgrave) notices a few eerie parallels with a flight that he is just about to join, though he feels relieved that certain details don't match. But several changes of plan appear to replicate the dream more closely, and he confides his fears to the other passengers.
It is the themes, not the story, that hold the interest. The eternal debate about predestination versus free will. The apparent duty of a serving officer to ignore any tomfoolery about dreams. And a reminder that the world's oldest civilisation, China, has always been deeply embedded in a culture of superstition.
Apart from Alexander Knox's performance as a man who has never flown before, and whose dread of flying seems to be alarmingly vindicated, there is little opportunity for fine acting, and the two female characters are completely thrown away. Most of it is routine dialogue of the most banal sort, unworthy of scriptwriter R.C. Sheriff, who did far better work than this on stage and screen.
The film is supposedly based on the true story of a dream described to Air Marshal Sir Victor Goddard, which prompted him to order a search that saved the lives of a stranded aircrew, though we have only his word for it.
In Hong Kong, a naval officer recounts a vivid dream he had about a plane crashing on a beach. A senior Air Marshal (Michael Redgrave) notices a few eerie parallels with a flight that he is just about to join, though he feels relieved that certain details don't match. But several changes of plan appear to replicate the dream more closely, and he confides his fears to the other passengers.
It is the themes, not the story, that hold the interest. The eternal debate about predestination versus free will. The apparent duty of a serving officer to ignore any tomfoolery about dreams. And a reminder that the world's oldest civilisation, China, has always been deeply embedded in a culture of superstition.
Apart from Alexander Knox's performance as a man who has never flown before, and whose dread of flying seems to be alarmingly vindicated, there is little opportunity for fine acting, and the two female characters are completely thrown away. Most of it is routine dialogue of the most banal sort, unworthy of scriptwriter R.C. Sheriff, who did far better work than this on stage and screen.
The film is supposedly based on the true story of a dream described to Air Marshal Sir Victor Goddard, which prompted him to order a search that saved the lives of a stranded aircrew, though we have only his word for it.