Disappearing act

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My relatively extensive knowledge of horror and science fiction films from the 1950s and 60s never included Flight That Disappeared (1961) until I stumbled upon it on Netflix Instant. It’s a threadbare disaster movie-cum-atomic warning, set aboard an airliner ascending to supernatural heights suggesting J’accuse! by way of a Jack T. Chick comic book. Produced by the ‘Harvard Film Corporation’ wing of Robert E. Kent Productions, Reginald Le Borg directs, long past his l’age d’or at Universal Pictures (Calling Doctor Death, Weird Woman, The Mummy’s Ghost, etc., etc.), from a screenplay by Ralph and Judith Hart and Orville H. Hampton, the latter a ‘name’ among genre aficionados for such Camelot-era matinee fodder as The Alligator People, Atomic Submarine, Jack the Giant Killer and The Underwater City. It’s essentially a series of mundane dialog exchanges with a hint of mystery — three passengers have been summoned to the Pentagon for a secret briefing — which seems to go on forever regardless of a running time of seventy-one minutes. We can fault a script that overextends itself, requiring a budget significantly higher than what its coffers can bear, and a cast of characters in need of thespic talent beyond the range displayed onscreen. Heading the ensemble are Craig Hill, Dayton Lummis, Harvey Stephens and John Bryant, a gaggle of no-names despite their long careers in supporting parts. Paula Raymond is onboard as well, better known for The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, playing the fidgety 50s woman, all darting eyes and nervous tics.