Airport (1970) Flying to a Perfect Score

 Based on the 1968 novel by Authur Hailey, this film was one of the classics of Hollywood's epic disaster era, so much so it would spawn several sequels and one of the most famous film spoofs of all time, Airplane (1980).

Director and screenwriter, George Seaton (Miracle on 34th Street, 1947) brought the novel to the studio and was granted a great budget for the film, Hollywood was still pretty open about going all out for such types of films at the time.  

The base story of the novel/film is that the transcontinental flight between the US and Rome was threatened by a disturbed passenger looking to commit suicide by bomb so his wife could collect the insurance.  The explosion was to take out the airliner over the sea, as one character says, "the Atlantic doesn't leave any evidence".  Bottom line, it's basic, real and believable in the age, it was as if one was watching a film of how an event actually happened.  The story gets the 🌟 and the bold yet realistic script also gets the 🌟

The cast was quite the who's-who list for the era and would cost a major fortune by today's standards.  Burt Lancaster stars as Airport President, Mel Bakersfeld, overseeing the day-to-day operations of Lincoln International Airport during one of the worst snow storms in 20 years.  It also created the role for which George Kennedy was born to portray,  head mechanic, Joe Patroni, a role he would reprise over and over, also leading him to be, Mr Disaster Films for the 1970's.  Two Supporting Actress Wins, an Oscar for Helen Hayes as Ada Quonsett & a Golden Globe for Maureen Stapleton. Everyone  either grows or grows on you.  The Characters get the 🌟  While we're on the subject, everyone seems to be just right for their parts, each one fits their role in the story and comes off as believable and identifiable.  Casting also gets the 🌟

The Production was top rate for their time, they even brought in a second director (Henry Hathaway) to oversee the outdoor winter scenes that didn't involve the main cast, so as to take in the full effect of what the storm was doing to, not only the airport, but the north part of the nation.  Sets and settings were fantastic and had the exact look that took people behind the scenes of how an airport is run.  The Cinematographer, Ernest Lazlo is an Oscar Winner and went on to work on, Fantastic Voyage, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (with Mel Brooks) and the sci-fi classic, Logan's Run. For this, it also gets the 🌟

For the films score, Alfred Newman was brought in and created a masterpiece, he would be nominated for the Oscar for best soundtrack and win the Grammy for the same that year.   The score is not only memorable but moving the viewer through the film and has great timing, the theme brings out the hurried panic that the story wanted, so this also gets the 🌟

Director & screenwriter George Seaton hadn't had a major hit since he worked on the 1947 classic, Miracle on 34th Street, but if you're going to hang your hat on a film, that's a good one to have.  After you learn about the film, you can feel his passion for the project and to pull off a very specific mood for the film, like the magic of 1947, he brings out the fear and panic in this one, so he too gets the 🌟

In the editing process you develop the pace for a movie, a critical step in the making of any disaster film, 1970 or 2021, Airport would lay out a flight plan for other films to follow for decades to come, even though not all would follow it, Stuart Gilmore (Hatari, 1962) (The Alamo (1960) would be used to a big production after two John Wayne hits. 🌟

The studio would go all out for the film, with multiple posters in the States (a sign of studio confidence back then) and both would feature shots of the star-studded cast, which is another reason they went all out, even if the story flopped, they thought most would come out to see these stars together.  English actress and 70s sex symbol icon, Jacqueline Bisset would do some of the promotion for the film, that sure got a lot of men interested in the film.  It also showed the confidence that would give them three sequels, each one trying to outdo the last, Airport 77, will be another film I'll feature sometime.  But the Commitment & Confidence in this one also gets the 🌟

It's only in the category of, Time & Loyalty, that the film see's any issues, but not for the fault of the movie or it's producers, air travel has changed so much since then, it doesn't have the believability it once did, people just can't understand how the character of D.O. Guerrero (great character actor, Van Heflin, who would be characterized in films and cartoons) could get a bomb on board an airplane that easily.  Also the information age does some damage to the films credibility.  Back then, it would take an expert in air travel to see the unlikely way the plane remained airborne after the explosion, but with the internet, everyone is an "expert" or thinks they are.  But, if you know the era and age that it was filmed in, or allow yourself to live in that era, it still holds up and the loyalty of the fans George Kennedy still has, keeps this one flying high, so it still gets the 🌟

As you might have guessed, I really like this film, it has all the elements that makes for great and basic story telling.  It is one of my "go-to" films to just pop in the player and let it fly, it's one that never gets old to me. 

Those who don't like this film are mainly going to be people who don't have the intellectual capacity to put themselves into the era the film was made, they try to watch it with today's eyes and refuse to understand the history of film making.

Airport (1970) gets 10 out of 10, and my highest recommendation. ✈😉

Next film review will get a little WILD with, Major League