Airport '77 (1977)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Jerry Jameson

Writers:

H.A.L. Craig (story)
Charles Kuenstle (story)

Release Date:

11 March 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Flight 23 has crashed in the Bermuda Triangle... passengers still alive, trapped underwater...

Plot:

Art thieves hijack a 747, hit fog and crash into the ocean, trapping them and the passengers under 100 feet of water.

Plot Keywords:

Rescue | Underwater | Bermuda Triangle | Millionaire | Pilot

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Jack Lemmon	...	Capt. Don Gallagher
Lee Grant	...	Karen Wallace
Brenda Vaccaro	...	Eve Clayton
Joseph Cotten	...	Nicholas St. Downs III
Olivia de Havilland	...	Emily Livingston
James Stewart	...	Philip Stevens
George Kennedy	...	Joe Patroni
Darren McGavin	...	Stan Buchek
Christopher Lee	...	Martin Wallace
Robert Foxworth	...	Chambers
Robert Hooks	...	Eddie
Monte Markham	...	Banker
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Julie
Gil Gerard	...	Frank Powers
James Booth	...	Ralph Crawford

Also Known As:

Airport 1977 (International: English title) (informal title)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1987) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:12 (original rating) | USA:PG (Certificate #24803) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1977) | Sweden:15 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Bob Hope Airport - 2627 Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Legendary Hollywood costume designer Edith Head received her 35th and final Oscar nomination for her work on the costumes in this film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Just before one of the hijackers hits the on-flight security guard on the back of the head, you can see the actor playing the security guard flinch before he is actually hit on the head.

Quotes:

Philip Stevens: Benji, I'm your Grandpa.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Skydivers (#7.9)" (1994)

One of the better disaster films!

Following the not-so-spectacular "Airport 1975" comes "Airport '77" which is a welcome addition to the Disaster Movie genre. In typical "Airport" fashion, a routine plane ride, this time carrying various celebrities and other high-profile people, gets into some trouble when it crashes into the ocean in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle....

Though the decor of the flash plane filled with VIP's is dreary compared to the fabulous colours of the chairs in "Airport 1975", the characters are a major improvement, along with the actual danger that the passengers and crew are placed in.

In typical Disaster Movie style, the cast is large, and many of them are forgettable, however, stand-out performances in "Airport '77" include Jack Lemmon in a serious role as the likable Captain Gallagher, Lee Grant is Karen Wallace a VIP guest of the nasty variety, the underrated Pamela Bellwood as a young mother, the lovely Kathleen Quinlann is as usual outstanding, but unfortunately under-used here, but the stand-out star of the film is of course Brenda Vaccaro as Captain Gallagher's girlfriend Even Clayton. Vaccaro is certainly one of the better leading ladies in a Disaster Movie, but is also a surprising choice. Nevertheless, she is fantastic, it is a shame she is not more recognized for her work.

Overall, "Airport '77" is a terrific, and often overlooked addition to the genre, with a super cast, great direction, and a very interesting scene in which the plane is raised from the ocean, according to the credits, this is the actual method used by the Navy, which is a nice addition to the film.