The Flight that Disappeared

The Flight that Disappeared is a 1961 science fiction film directed by Reginald Le Borg.^[1] Craig Hill stars as a rocket scientist who, when his flight disappears, finds himself on trial in the future for his part in designing a bomb that has destroyed all life on Earth.

Plot

Flight 60 leaves on a trip to Washington, D.C. Three scientists on board have been called for a classified meeting concerning a new bomb design and rocket to deliver it. Mid-flight the plane mysteriously begins to climb, to over 10 miles high. The engines stop, and passengers pass out due to lack of oxygen.

The three scientists find themselves in a limbo state, watches stopped and no heartbeats. They are taken from the plane for judgement from those of the future. They find themselves in a moment between time, which explains the stopped watches and lack of heartbeats. They are shown, in brief, a future where their bomb has been used and destroyed all life on the planet, having destroyed the atmosphere. They are judged guilty and sentenced to live in the moment with no time for the rest of eternity, where the future and past meet.

After one of the future men objects that they can not be judged by a future society, they are returned to the present on a technicality. The passengers have no memory of any of the actions on board before passing out, with the exception of the rocket engineer. When the plane lands at Washington, they discover they are 24 hours late, thus proving the fantastic story of the trial and judgement. The nuclear bomb designer disposes of his notebook containing the formulas and designs for the bomb.

Cast

• Craig Hill as Tom Endicott
• Paula Raymond as Marcia Paxton
• Dayton Lummis as Dr. Morris
• Meg Wyllie as Helen Cooper

Reception

TV Guide rated it 2/4 stars and wrote that it becomes "more relevant with time".^[2]

See also

• List of American films of 1961

References

External links

• The Flight that Disappeared at the Internet Movie Database