Subway in the Sky

1959 British film

Subway in the Sky

British quad poster

Directed by| Muriel Box
Written by| Jack Andrews
Based on| stage play by Ian Main
Produced by| Sydney Box
Patrick Filmer-Sankey
John Temple-Smith
Starring| Van Johnson
Hildegard Knef
Cinematography| Wilkie Cooper
Edited by| Jean Barker
Music by| Mario Nascimbene

Production
company

Orbit Films

Distributed by| British Lion Films

Release date

* 22 February 1959 (1959-02-22)

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][2] It was written by Jack Andrews based on the 1957 play of the same title by Ian Main. Knef, who changed career in the 1960s to become a cabaret singer and songwriter, sings one song in the film, "It Isn't Love" (Jeff Davis/Geoffrey Parsons).[1][3]

## Plot

[edit]

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, whom he manages to persuade to help prove his innocence.

## Cast

[edit]

* Van Johnson as Major Baxter Grant
* Hildegard Knef as Lilli Hoffman
* Albert Lieven as Carl
* Cec Linder as Carson
* Katherine Kath as Anna Grant
* Vivian Matalon as Stefan Grant
* Carl Jaffe as German Detective
* Chuck Keyser as Sergeant Harwell
* Gaylord Cavallaro as switchboard operator
* Michael Bell as G.I.
* E. Kerrigan Prescott as sentry
* James Maxwell as officer
* Gerda Larsen as air stewardess
* Tom Watson as corporal
* Edward Judd as Molloy
* Brian Wilde as military policeman

## Production

[edit]

The film was shot at Shepperton Studios near London. The film's sets were designed by the art director George Provis.

## Critical reception

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The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Although the cast, especially Cec Linder, perform with admirable seriousness, it remains extremely difficult to accept the highly unlikely characters and events of this smooth slice of romantic melodrama, served rather better by its sets and photography than the subject merits."[4]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Tedious photographed play with precious few points of dramatic interest."[5]

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".[6]

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."[7]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "successful play makes mild, stagey movie."[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Subway in the Sky". British Film Institute. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
2. ^ "Subway in the Sky (1958)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017.
3. ^ "Subway in the Sky". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018.
4. ^ "Subway in the Sky". The Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 26, no. 300\. 1 January 1959. p. 36 – via ProQuest.
5. ^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 973\. ISBN 0586088946.
6. ^ "Subway in the Sky (1959) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
7. ^ Tony Sloman. "Subway in the Sky". RadioTimes.
8. ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 382\. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.

## External links

[edit]

* Subway in the Sky at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Muriel Box

* The Lost People (1949)
* The Happy Family (1952)
* Street Corner (1953)
* The Beachcomber (1954)
* To Dorothy a Son (1954)
* Simon and Laura  (1955)
* Eyewitness (1956)
* The Passionate Stranger (1957)
* The Truth About Women (1957)
* This Other Eden (1959)
* Subway in the Sky  (1959)
* Too Young to Love (1959)
* The Piper's Tune (1962)
* Rattle of a Simple Man (1964)

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