Cone of Silence (1960 film)

Cone of Silence (1960 film)
Cone of Silence

Theatrical poster
Directed by Charles Frend
Produced by Aubrey Baring
Written by Robert Westerby
David Beaty (novel)
Starring Michael Craig
Peter Cushing
Bernard Lee
Music by Gerard Schürmann
Cinematography Arthur Grant
Editing by Max Benedict
Studio Aubrey Baring Productions
Bryanston Films
Distributed by Universal--International Films
Release date(s) 10 May 1960
Running time 88 min.
Language English

Cone of Silence (1960) is a film about the investigation into a series of crashes involving the fictional "Atlas Aviation Phoenix" jetliner. In the United States, the film was released under the title Trouble in the Sky. Cone of Silence is loosely based on the history of the de Havilland Comet.[1]

Contents

Plot

Captain George Gort (Bernard Lee) is a pilot for British Empire Airways, flying their route London - Rome - Cairo - Ranjibad - Calcutta - Singapore. He has been found to be at fault after crashing his Phoenix 1 jetliner on takeoff from Ranjibad airport, killing his co-pilot. He is accused of rotating too early, increasing drag to such an extent that the aircraft cannot achieve flying speed.

Gort is reprimanded but is allowed to return to flying the Phoenix after a check flight under Captain Hugh Dallas (Michael Craig). Meanwhile, Gort's daughter Charlotte (Elizabeth Seal) refuses to believe he is at fault. Gort's flying skills are again called into question when an approach to Calcutta is apparently made dangerously low, causing the aircraft to hit a hedge just before the runway threshold. It is later discovered that there was no hedge at the threshold of the Calcutta runway, and that the piece of hedge wrapped round the undercarriage leg had actually come from Ranjibad, where the aircraft had been taken off by Captain Clive Judd (Peter Cushing) - this shows that Gort is not the only pilot to have problems taking off.

Gort is later involved in a second crash, this time killing all on board. The crash is remarkably similar to the first - both involve a fully loaded aircraft on a hot night, taking off under Captain Gort from the same runway at Ranjibad airport. Dallas eventually discovers that the aircraft's designer had deliberately withheld information on potential take-off difficulties in hot conditions. A third crash is avoided by seconds when a crew about to take off are contacted by Air Traffic Control, and told to add eight knots to all unstick speed and keep the nosewheel on the ground until just before unstick speed is reached.

Cast

Production

Representation of the "Phoenix" in the film

The "Phoenix" is represented by the Avro Ashton WB493, then in use as a testbed by the engine manufacturer Bristol Siddeley (now part of Rolls-Royce plc). This aircraft included two Olympus turbojet engines in addition to the four Nenes.

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Cone of Silence (1960)." Britmovie.com. Retrieved: 21 November 2011.
Bibliography

External links


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