Zero Hour! (1957)

Director:

Hall Bartlett

Writers:

Arthur Hailey (teleplay "Flight Into Danger")
Arthur Hailey (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 November 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

It Builds to the Tensest 50 Minutes in the History of the Screen!

Plot:

A routine flight turns into a major emergency as passengers and crew succumb to food poisoning - is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane...

Plot Keywords:

Disaster | Passenger | Food Poisoning | Airplane | Canada

Cast

Dana Andrews	...	Lt. Ted Stryker
Linda Darnell	...	Ellen Stryker
Sterling Hayden	...	Captain Martin Treleaven
Elroy 'Crazylegs' Hirsch	...	Capt. Bill Wilson, Pilot
Geoffrey Toone	...	Dr. Baird
Jerry Paris	...	Tony Decker
Peggy King	...	Stewardess Janet Turner
Charles Quinlivan	...	Harry Burdick
Patricia Tiernan	...	Mrs. Joan Wilson (as Carole Eden)
Steve London	...	First Officer Walt Stewart
Jo Ann Wade	...	Treleaven's Baby Sitter
Raymond Ferrell	...	Joey Stryker
John Ashley	...	TV Singer
Willis Bouchey	...	British Army Doctor
Robert Stevenson	...	Air Traffic Controller

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #18728) | Sweden:15

Company:

Bartlett-Champion Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The sign on the door of the control tower (seen in reverse from inside the tower) reads AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. Since the film takes place in Canada, the sign would have used the British spelling AUTHORISED.

Quotes:

Dr. Baird: Our survival hinges on one thing - finding someone who not only can fly this plane, but didn't have fish for dinner.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Airplane! (1980)

Looks like I picked the wrong week to give up parodies

And you thought the dialogue and acting went over the top in "Airplane," huh? Thank you TCM for running this the other day. I had never seen it before, but wait a minute, sure I had... dozens of times. That's what made the ZH viewing such a hoot. ZAZ did such a fine job colorizing "Zero Hour!" I had the whole script memorized. If you have grown slightly weary from repeated "Airplane" yukfests, find a copy of its propellorized progenitor and enjoy the comedy anew. So true is the original to its parody (note the deliberate juxtaposition) I half expected Geoffrey Toone's (Dr. Baird) nose to grow as he attempted to calm the passengers. All that was missing was June Cleaver's "Jive Talkin'!"