Zero Hour! (1957)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

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:

Continuity: At the end when the plane crash lands, the landing gear come out from under the plane and the nose gear breaks. A later scene shows the plane skidding with no gear under it and all propellers severely damaged. In last scene of plane skidding to a stop, the propellers are at first intact and then damaged again. The nose gear is back and breaks again and the broken right landing gear is back under the wing.

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)

Not bad considering when it was made

Having seen this on TV when I was a kid in the '50s, I guess I saw this and "Airplane!" in the correct order because I thought it was good even when I saw it later as an adult (allowing for the age of the movie). Dana Andrews' character had flown single-engine fighter aircraft in World War II. When the pilot and co-pilot of the passenger plane both passed out due to the food poisoning, the doctor had the stewardess ask the passengers if there was anyone on board who had flight experience to "help the pilot with the radio because the co-pilot had taken ill also." Of course this was a pretext so as not to panic the passengers because both pilots were out. What followed was the best scene in my opinion were the doctor told Dana Andrews that he had to fly the plane. He objected because he had only single-engine flight experience. The doctor told him he was the only one on board who stood a chance of landing the plane. I can still see the look of terror on Dana Andrews' face as he panned the instrument panel with all its gauges and dials.

Most of the commentaries here agree that "Airplane!" was a spoof of this movie. However, there was one other serious movie with this same plot, "Terror in the Sky" (1971) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067844 with Doug McClure who played an ex-helicopter pilot from the Vietnam War. Having a helicopter pilot (an ex- at that!) attempt to fly a multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft really stretches credibility more than a single-engine rated pilot.