This is probably my favorite Ealing film - and that's saying a lot. It tells a 'small' story but does it with absolute perfection in every way.
The story is classic drama - the simple man, who faces desperate circumstances at home and then at work. The real conflict is internal - can he make the right decisions, handle the most delicate task, while weighed down with all the cares and doubts of life.
The presentation is beyond brilliant. The photography of the airfield is impeccably composed and wonderfully evocative. Crichton uses a lot of up-angles to create a sense of space. (Has any one else noticed the importance of the open sky in so many Ealing films?)
The performances are, of course, top notch. Hawkins is perfect as the middle-age test pilot. Elizabeth Sellars is superbly understated in what could have been a mawkish, melodramatic role. And a young Donald Pleasance adds a lovely touch of humor, with his bowler hat.
Apart from its other virtues, The Man in the Sky - like so many Ealing films - offers a wonderful snapshot of its time and place. The struggling aircraft company represents a time when England was rebuilding itself, with hope and ingenuity. A time when the British had a unique affinity for aviation. A time when a young family could - just barely - aspire to a new home and a better life.
The Man in the Sky is also evocative of seat-of-the-pants aviation. It recaptures the feeling I've known in many weekends spent hanging around airports. The helpless worry felt by onlookers when something goes wrong up in the sky. The do-or-die spirit of pilots who really love what they're doing, and would rather go down in flames than give up.
Ealing's dramas are sadly underrated and overlooked. It's hard to say if The Man in the Sky is the best of them - the competition is stiff. But it's certainly my favorite. And one of my favorite films of all time.
The story is classic drama - the simple man, who faces desperate circumstances at home and then at work. The real conflict is internal - can he make the right decisions, handle the most delicate task, while weighed down with all the cares and doubts of life.
The presentation is beyond brilliant. The photography of the airfield is impeccably composed and wonderfully evocative. Crichton uses a lot of up-angles to create a sense of space. (Has any one else noticed the importance of the open sky in so many Ealing films?)
The performances are, of course, top notch. Hawkins is perfect as the middle-age test pilot. Elizabeth Sellars is superbly understated in what could have been a mawkish, melodramatic role. And a young Donald Pleasance adds a lovely touch of humor, with his bowler hat.
Apart from its other virtues, The Man in the Sky - like so many Ealing films - offers a wonderful snapshot of its time and place. The struggling aircraft company represents a time when England was rebuilding itself, with hope and ingenuity. A time when the British had a unique affinity for aviation. A time when a young family could - just barely - aspire to a new home and a better life.
The Man in the Sky is also evocative of seat-of-the-pants aviation. It recaptures the feeling I've known in many weekends spent hanging around airports. The helpless worry felt by onlookers when something goes wrong up in the sky. The do-or-die spirit of pilots who really love what they're doing, and would rather go down in flames than give up.
Ealing's dramas are sadly underrated and overlooked. It's hard to say if The Man in the Sky is the best of them - the competition is stiff. But it's certainly my favorite. And one of my favorite films of all time.