Non-Stop New York (1937)

Non-Stop New York (1937)

“She’s the only person alive who knows that we were in that apartment last night.”

Synopsis:
A British actress (Anna Lee) tries to get back to New York in time to save an innocent man from being put to death.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Actors and Actresses
  • Airplanes and Pilots
  • Anna Lee Films
  • Falsely Accused
  • Mistaken Identities

Review:
At only 69 minutes, Robert Stevenson’s Hitchcockian thriller zips along at a fast pace, allowing us just enough time to ogle the fantastic set designs in the film’s luxury “non-stop” aircraft. Viewing this airplane-cum-cruise ship, it’s impossible not to salivate — if only cross-country flying was actually this plush! (Especially enviable is the heroine’s ability to step outside the plane and feel the wind blowing across her face…) The story itself is slight yet enjoyable, with Anna Lee’s radiant smile lighting up the screen, and hulking Francis Sullivan a suitably menacing mobster.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Anna Lee as the plucky actress determined to save a falsely accused man from dying
  • Francis Sullivan as the sinister mobster
  • A fascinating glimpse of an early (likely science-fictional) luxury aircraft

Must See?
No, but it’s recommended. Listed as a Sleeper in the back of Peary’s book.

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One thought on “Non-Stop New York (1937)

  1. Not a must, but an entertaining-enough comic thriller, mildly amusing along the way, with an exciting climax (followed by an obligatory non-exciting denouement). Myself, I don’t feel the film “zips along” particularly – that is, until momentum picks up with the plot. The main action takes place on a plane, but the film’s feel is one of a train slowly chugging as it leaves the station, building progressively to fuller steam as it goes. Anna Lee is certainly “plucky” and fun as the heroine.

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