OUT OF THE CLOUDS
(Basil Dearden, 1955, 89/80 mins)
Release date: 19 August 2025
Limited Edition Blu-ray (US premiere)
From director Basil Dearden and producer Michael Relph (Saraband for Dead Lovers, The Gentle Gunman) comes Out of the Clouds, a star-studded adventure of the burgeoning jet age from Ealing Studios.
A series of stories unfolds over twenty-four hours in a bustling airport: pilot and gambler Gus (Anthony Steel, Another Man’s Poison) finds himself involved in a smuggling ring; duty officer Nick (Robert Beatty, The Gentle Gunman) vies for the attentions of attractive stewardess Penny (Eunice Grayson, Dr. No); and American engineer Bill (David Knight, The Young Lovers), falls for Leah (Margo Lorenz), a young woman en route to marry her fiancé.
With a screenplay co-written by documentary pioneer John Eldrige (Waverley Steps), Out of the Clouds was partly filmed at the then-rapidly expanding London Airport (now known as Heathrow), and boasts a level of realism thanks to technical assistance received from leading airlines and the Ministry of Transport.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
• 2K restoration
• Two presentations of the film: the original UK theatrical version (89 mins); and the shorter US theatrical cut (80 mins)
• Original mono audio
• Fully Grounded (2025): director and screenwriter James Dearden introduces his father’s work
• Jonathan Rigby on James Robertson Justice (2025): the film historian reviews the career of the multi-faceted character actor
• Waverley Steps (1948): classic ‘city symphony’ portrait of Edinburgh, directed by Out of the Clouds screenwriter John Eldridge
• Image galleries: promotional and publicity material, and dialogue continuity script
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with new essay by Robert Murphy, archival profiles of Eunice Grayson, Margo Lorenz, and James Robertson Justice, extracts from the film’s pressbook, writing on Waverley Steps, and full film credits
• US premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the US
• All features subject to change
Oh excellent! A great little ensemble film that both feels as if it is calling back to Grand Hotel (or W. Somerset Maugham's Quartet and Trio) and forward to Airport. Of course the interesting aspects of this film now are less relating to the soapy-dramas going on but more about the chance to see contemporary footage of the London Airport.
