Death Flies East: A Small, Dusty Plane Ride Mystery

Is it worth the flight?

Look, if you like movies where everyone is trapped in a tin can and acting suspicious for an hour, Death Flies East is a decent way to spend a rainy afternoon. If you need high-octane thrills or modern pacing, skip it. This is for the folks who enjoy those old black-and-white mysteries where the biggest drama is a lady losing her suitcase or someone acting a bit too nervous about the turbulence.

The whole premise is basically: what if you were a parolee on a plane and the guy who actually committed your crime was sitting in 4B? It’s a classic setup that feels like it belongs in a mystery novel you find at a thrift store. Florence Rice carries the whole thing pretty well as Evelyn. She looks tired, which makes sense because she’s on the run.

The Vibe

The plane interiors are hilariously tiny. You can practically see the plywood sets shaking whenever someone stands up. There’s this one scene where a passenger gets really defensive about a newspaper, and the camera lingers on his face for way too long. It’s supposed to be suspenseful, but it just made me hungry for lunch. The movie has this odd, dusty rhythm to it. It moves, then it stops, then someone says something cryptic, then we’re back to staring at the propeller spinning.

Conrad Nagel plays the professor guy who decides to help her out of the kindness of his heart. Or maybe he’s just bored? Either way, their chemistry is about as exciting as lukewarm tea, but it works for the genre. It’s not meant to be a romance for the ages, just a way to move the plot toward the inevitable reveal.

• The lighting is super dramatic for no reason, lots of shadows across faces.
• Keep an eye on the guy in the back row who barely says a word.
• The transition scenes are just stock footage of clouds, and honestly, I love that.

It’s not as polished or as fun as something like School for Skirts, but it has that B-movie honesty. It doesn't pretend to be high art. It knows it’s a tight, claustrophobic mystery and it sticks to that lane until the landing gear comes down.

Sometimes the dialogue feels like it was written in a rush. People just blurt out their life stories to total strangers. I mean, who does that on a flight? You’re lucky if the person next to you doesn't fall asleep on your shoulder, let alone help you solve a murder case.

If you're a completist for 1930s cinema, you'll probably enjoy the grit of it. It’s definitely more interesting than sitting through a marathon of The Sun Down Limited. It’s a small movie, but it gets the job done without too much fuss. Just don't look too closely at the background extras, they look like they’re waiting for the bus rather than flying across the country. ✈️