It stars Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, and Sterling Hayden and features Peggy King, Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, Geoffrey Toone, and Jerry Paris in supporting roles.

During the closing days of the Second World War, six members of the Royal Canadian Air Force fighter squadron led by pilot Ted Stryker are killed because of a command decision he made.

Stryker finds a note at home: his wife Ellen has taken their young son Joey and is leaving him, flying to Vancouver.

Treleaven orders him to circle, for hours if necessary, in the hope that it will lift, but Stryker decides to try to land immediately because passengers will die if they do not get medical treatment soon.

[1][Note 1] John Ashley has a small role appearing on television as a pop star, although the vocals were provided by Duke Mitchell.

an "exciting contemplation of a frightening adventure in the skies" based on a "good terse script ... Dana Andrews as the hero and Sterling Hayden as the captain are first-rate in these roles, keeping them hard and unrelenting.

"[7] Time magazine, however, called the script a "bloopy inflation of a 1956 television show" and said its "moral struggle comes off fairly well, but the general situation is as patently contrived as one of Walter Mitty's daydreams.

[10] Screenplay writer Hailey went on to write the popular 1968 novel Airport, which revisited the air disaster genre and led to a film franchise that was also spoofed by Airplane!