Non-Stop New York (1937)

Let's be realistic.

disgusting, overrated, pointless

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Anna Lee is a chorine on her last legs on Broadway, when she sort of witnesses a murder. Before she realizes it, she has been framed for theft and spent several years as a guest of His Majesty. When she gets out and realizes that they're about to hang an innocent man. So she goes to Scotland Yard, where Inspector John Loder is unconvinced by her vague memories and inability to identify the actual murder. Since there's only a couple of days left, she stows away on a flying clipper to New York, and guess who else is there? Not only Loder, but Francis Sullivan, the actual murderer.The story is put together in a fairly clever way, and it's all given an appropriately Mid-Atlantic sound, what with Sullivan affecting a Uruguayan accent for his own purposes. Frank Cellier has a nice role as a blackmailer looking for material and Robert Stevenson directs in his usual competent but non-individual manner. It was clearly produced by British-Gaumont for distribution on both sides of the Atlantic, but other than making a few British actors a bit more familiar to American audiences, it didn't set any house records at the time.

Anna Lee is a cute English blond, who kept her looks as she aged, stranded in New York after her show closes. She witnesses a murder. An innocent vagrant is convicted and sentenced to death, but Lee, who has by this time returned home to London, knows the real murderer. She runs to Scotland Yard but the Inspector, handsome young John Loder, dismisses her as just another publicity-seeking showgirl.Desperate to save the vagrant, who will be executed in two days, Lee stows away aboard a flying boat. Other passengers, by the most improbable coincidences, include Loder, the actual murder (Francis L. Sullivan), a small boy who is a violin virtuoso, a blackmailer, and assorted others.Sullivan is not the blustering hefty ham of his later years. Here, he's elephantine but soft spoken, almost effete, well greased. Anna Lee is no more than another pretty English girl. Nova Pilbeam or Madeleine Carol could have handled the role. But Lee's allure had an interesting feature in that its zenith lasted for twenty years or more. Her career, in fact, lasted 71 years, from 1932 to 2003.There are bits of drollery in the dialog, none of it overdone. The setting -- the remnants of the Great Depression in 1938 -- are neatly evoked. Lee can't afford the cup of coffee and the ham sandwich she orders at the drugstore counter -- total, twenty cents.And the airplane taking all those passenger to New York is a sight to behold. Private compartments, as on a train, a dining room, an observation deck. Surely Hitchcock would have handled it differently but this isn't to be dismissed as junk by any means. The plot is its weakest part, but it doesn't torpedo the rest of the film.

An epitome of a nice long-forgotten filmie from the 1930s. Most of the cast and the crew also appeared in some of Hitchcock's flicks (especially in Sabotage), so be ready for some justified deja vu. Of course, you may find it very similar to Hitch's carefree yet gripping thrillers of that period, but it definitely has some charm of its own. The humour here still works, especially in the scenes with fake eyewitnesses. The cast is also solid, as is the script. I also enjoyed the amusing plan of Jennie's getting on a boat. The reason why I give it a 3/5 is that at times it lacks logic (as it always happens with thousands of thrillers) and the flying boat seems to be a paradise for criminals. And, of course, it'd have been a far well-known film that it is, if it was somehow connected with Alfie.Available on YouTube and Archive.org.

English and American characters and accents mingle in this lively thriller about a murder witness on the run.…from and then back to New York.Anna Lee is our heroine, a young English chorus girl; hungry and out of luck in New York and about to board ship for home, she is befriended by a young lawyer who invites her over for a meal. Once inside his apartment, however, the man is promptly murdered by a gang of thugs headed by big smoothy Francis L. Sullivan. Noting that Lee is "the only person alive who knows that we were in that apartment last night"—at least that's what he thinks at the time—Sullivan subtly trails her. The action moves to London, where the gang attempts to prevent Lee from returning to New York, where the imminent execution of an innocent fall guy will close the case. Will Lee's character realize the situation? And will she be able to reach America in time to save the innocent man's life? –This is where the story takes off: when all of the major characters board a trans-Atlantic airplane that is easily the most memorable element of this movie.The plane is like no other: ordinary airliner on the outside, on the inside it's more like an ocean liner—complete with staterooms instead of rows of seats. It's even got a sort of porch—an observation deck—for characters who care to step outside, mid-Atlantic Ocean, and get a breath of wind in the face.Among the cast, Anna Lee is quite dashing as the girl with a brain and some courage. John Loder is fine as a handsome young police inspector who is drawn into the case and onto the plane; Loder and Lee don't have a whole lot of scenes together but share a cute scene on the observation deck. Francis L. Sullivan is excellent as the boss gangster. With the looks of Sidney Greenstreet and a voice like George Sanders, he is indeed a memorable villain. Young Desmond Tester is also a lot of fun to watch—a violin prodigy traveling with a grumpy aunt, the kid is prone to snooping and illicit saxophone playing.A nice variety of characters, a decent plot, and that fantastic airliner make this one a winner.