''The Man Who Didn't Fly'' is a

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

by the Scottish author Margot Bennett. It was published originally in 1955. It was shortlisted for the

Gold Dagger The CWA Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year. From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. ...

award for crime-writing that year.

Premise

A private plane crashes, killing the pilot and all of its passengers. Yet, whilst investigating, the police discover that four passengers should have been on the plane but only three boarded. Which of the four men who had booked on the flight didn't fly, and what has happened to him?

TV Adaptation

Kraft Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...

adapted the novel as an hour-long TV episode in 1958. The episode (whose principal cast included a young

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

) aired at 9pm on Wednesday 16 July. The screenplay was written by Bennett herself.

Availability

The novel was reissued in 2020 ().

References

External links

Adaptation at IMDb
1955 British novels British detective novels British thriller novels Novels by Margot Bennett Novels set in Wales Novels set in London Novels set in Ireland Eyre & Spottiswoode books {{1950s-novel-stub