I give this film a higher rating than many. It's a bit different from "The High And The Mighty" and "Airport" because in those 2 films the theme is the airliner disaster with the passenger sub-stories as dressing. Here, however, it's the opposite. The sub-stories are focus. The airliner disaster is secondary.You have a Navy pilot (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) flying a jet fighter east with an enlisted man (Troy Donahue) on board, with family problems, and who runs into trouble in the air.Meanwhile, a Douglas DC-7 is flying west piloted by veteran pilot Dana Andrews, who is in a bit of a sticky situation with his co-pilot who hates him. That copilot is a struggling artist with issues with his father, and also having an affair with one of the stewardesses. The story of the copilot is, perhaps, the most interesting and unique.Then, several of the passengers have briefer, but still compelling stories. A doctor with a wife with a heart condition...she doesn't know about. An ex-playboy who meets an ex-fling.Then, when the crash is about to occur, a morality play develops with Zimbalist's character and Andrews' character.The movie seems a bit dated, but then again, why shouldn't a film taking place in 1960 feel dated? A strength of this film is the acting. Another is that the stories of the individuals are told as they "think/narrate" their situations.But ultimately, it comes down to the acting. Dana Andrews is excellent here, and had it not been for his alcoholism, perhaps there would have been many more leading roles of this caliber. I always liked Dana Andrews, and I think this was one of his better flicks. Rhonda Fleming as Zimbalilst's wife has a rather catty character, but it works for the film. I always considered Efrem Zimbalist Jr. a very good actor who should have had a better film career, but of course, had an active television career. He's very good here. John Kerr as the copilot is excellent! I've enjoyed him in several films, and I was surprised to learn that he later became a lawyer. One actress I typically don't like is Anne Francis, but here as the stewardess does nicely. Keenan Wynn as the ex-playboy does okay, but I always thought he was an overrated character actor. Troy Donahue has a rather nothing role here as the jet fighter passenger One thing I like about this film is that there is a bit of followup after the crash landing. Some disaster flicks forget that follow-up. The special effects are fair for 1960.No, this film is not as memorable as "The High And The Mighty". Nor is it as compelling as "Airport". But it stands on its own merit as a different type of film.

To solve all your problems (or almost all of them) :feeling at peace with yourself (and with your son) ,making a declaration of love when you are shy and not very handsome,learning how to play a part your future career in Hollywood depends on,marrying the air hostess you're in love with,etc ,there is nothing like a good disaster!A crowded sky indeed!So many characters it's a wonder the director can solve all their problems !The disaster movies which became trendy in the seventies were not an improvement on this 1960 work,the only missing character is a young child!It's pleasant to see Patsy Kelly as a manager and there are many more familiar faces on the plane ,although they play cardboard characters.

Crowded Sky, The (1960) ** (out of 4)Extremely boring disaster film takes the worst of the genre and just hammers it into the crowd. Dana Andrew plays the Captain of a commercial flight and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is the Captain of a Navy jet who find themselves on a collision course but they don't know when they're going to hit due to various issues. Before the crash we get to learn about their issues with a cheating wife and a disappointed son as well as the personal issues of various others on the plane. This so-called disaster movie has very little in terms of that type of drama as the screenplay is clearly more interested in talking about the personal lives of the passengers and Captains instead of what might be going on with the planes. One could argue that it would be the viewers problem if they didn't like the fact that the movie was more soap opera than action, which I'd agree with if the screenplay had actually good or any of the stories interesting. One could really argue that AIRPORT '75 was a remake of this as the type of disaster is the same, although that movie at least centered a lot on the actual disaster. This film here instead just wants to do the personal stuff as Andrews has a hard time connecting to his son, Zimbalist, Jr. has a wife who is cheating on him and then we have John Kerr as an ex-friend of Andrews who is having some female trouble of his own. All three stories are so poorly written and executed that you can't help but be bored by them and even worse is that over 90-minutes of the 105 running time is spent on them. Even worse is that ever-so-often we go to visit other people on the plane where we get an incredibly bad zoom shot to the actors face where we then get a voice-over telling us their thoughts. Why any of these extra characters were even included is beyond me but if you are going to bring them into the story why on Earth are you going to do it in such a campy was as zoom shots and voice-overs? As far as the performances go, they aren't too bad as Andrews brings his usual toughness to the role and he also manages to handle the stuff with his son quite well. Zimbalist and Kerr aren't too bad either and we have a supporting cast that includes Rhonda Fleming, Keenan Wynn, Troy Donahue, Joe Mantell and Anne Francis among others. When the disaster finally strikes in the final minutes the movie really picks up and manages to have some nice tension. The special effects are also better than you might expect but in the end there's no question that this was a wasted opportunity because the screenplay handles the other drama so poorly. As a weird bit of trivia, in this film Andrews and Zimbalist planes collide and they're the same ones who would cause the disaster in AIRPORT 1975.

I saw this movie on television at 2am on a Monday morning. i was so damn tired, but after the initial 10 minutes i could not look away. basically through flashbacks we are told the stories of characters on two planes. how did they get there? what motivates them? will we be told this? no. no, we won't. random thoughts and odd conversations that float around in these characters heads don't do much for the story, but still somehow just manage to keep you interested. the acting is terrible, the story is foul and confusing and the end is laughable. so why did i love this movie? was it because there was nothing else on? yes. that is the answer. if you find yourself in the same situation i'm sure you'll agree.