No Highway in the Sky (also known as No Highway) is a 1951 black-and-white aviation drama film directed by Henry Koster from a screenplay by R. C. Sherriff, Oscar Millard, and Alec Coppel, based on the 1948 novel No Highway by Nevil Shute. The film stars James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Glynis Johns, Jack Hawkins, Janette Scott, Elizabeth Allan, Ronald Squire, and Jill Clifford.

It was one of the first films that depicted a potential aviation disaster involving metal fatigue. Although the film follows the plot of Shute's novel in general, No Highway in the Sky notably omits references to the supernatural contained in the original novel, including the use of automatic writing to resolve a key element in the original novel's story. Also, the role of Scott, the recently appointed administrator who narrates the novel, is curtailed in the film version; which means that the featured scientist, Mr Honey, comes across as more eccentric than in the novel, changing the relationship between them.

The film also introduces the term "boffin" for the under-appreciated and seemingly self-centred and eccentric scientist, as distinct from earlier usage to describe a scientist who is making vital (and appreciated) contributions.

Plot:

The film is a tense aviation drama centered on Theodore Honey, an eccentric but brilliant aeronautical engineer working for the British government. Honey becomes convinced—based on his research into metal fatigue—that a new commercial aircraft model is dangerously flawed and will suffer catastrophic failure after a certain number of flight hours.

When a transatlantic passenger flight using this aircraft is scheduled to depart, Honey urgently tries to stop it, warning that the plane is nearing its fatal limit. His claims are dismissed as alarmist and unprofessional, leaving him isolated and desperate. Through determination and quiet courage, Honey attempts to prove his theory while the aircraft, its crew, and passengers remain in peril—turning the story into a suspenseful race between scientific truth and bureaucratic skepticism.

Cast:

James Stewart as Theodore Honey

Marlene Dietrich as Monica Teasdale

Glynis Johns as Marjorie Corder, stewardess

Jack Hawkins as Dennis Scott, chief of metallurgy at RAE

Janette Scott as Elspeth Honey

Elizabeth Allan as Shirley Scott

Ronald Squire as Sir John, a director of RAE

Jill Clifford as Peggy, stewardess

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