The race into space is on, in the US NASA and the US Air Force are racing against time to get into the edge of space with their North American X-15 rocketplane though the progress is often marred by accidents, some deadly...
The film starts off in semi-documentary style (narrated by James Stewart no less!) However, it quickly switches into a fairly pedestrian drama but only skin deep, we don't really get to find much out about the men behind the machines apart from some fairly cardboard characterisation.
The aerial footage is superb though, and properly supplied by the relevant authorities so not a jarring mix of barely relevant stock footage but X-15s, B-52s and other hot jets. It stars David Lean and Charles Bronson in one of his early film roles.
