George Seaton: Airport (1970)

Source:Turner Classic Movies- Left to right: Dean Martin, Jacqueline Bisset, and Helen Hayes.

"Mel Bakersfeld, general manager of Lincoln International Airport, is beset with problems during one of the worst snowstorms in the history of the Midwest. A disabled jet has blocked the major runway, and the auxiliary runway is too short for takeoffs in bad weather conditions, forcing Mel to call maintenance chief Joe Patroni to solve the crisis; Mel's wife, Cindy, informs him that she wants a divorce; and Tanya Livingston, the Trans Global Airlines passenger agent with whom Mel is having an affair, is distracted by the mischievous Ada Quonsett, an elderly woman who is trying to stow away on a jet to Rome. 

Meanwhile, the emotionally disturbed D. O. Guerrero comes on board with a bomb in a briefcase, intending to blow up the plane so that his wife, Inez, can collect on the life insurance policy he has just purchased. 

The jet is piloted by Mel's brother-in-law, Vernon Demerest, who has just learned that his lover, stewardess Gwen Meighen, is pregnant. Shortly after departure, he is warned that Mel and Tanya have determined that Guerrero is carrying a bomb. With Ada's help, Vernon attempts to get the briefcase, then nearly succeeds in persuading Guerrero not to open it, but Guerrero runs into the bathroom and explodes the bomb. 

Guerrero is blown out of the jet, Gwen suffers a serious eye injury, and the aircraft is severely crippled, but Vernon and co-captain Anson Harris manage to land on Lincoln's runway, which Patroni has just cleared. As the passengers and crew enter the terminal, Vernon's wife, Sarah, observes her husband's obvious concern for Gwen and realizes that he has been unfaithful." 

From Turner Classic Movies 

"Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin head an all-star cast in this classic disaster film from producer Ross Hunter, for which Helen Hayes received her second Oscar. On the ground, manager Mel bakersfeld (Lancaster) juggles lover Jean Seberg and wife Dana Wynter while coping with a blizzard, aided by mechanic George Kennedy (who returned in all three sequels). 

In the sky, Capt. Vern Demerest (Martin) must maintain control of a 707 with his pregnant stewardess girlfriend (Jacqueline Bisset), a sly stowaway (Hayes), and a bomb-toting maniac (Van Heflin) aboard. Often imitated but never equaled, this box office hit was adapted by Academy Award winner George Seaton (Miracle on 34th Street, The Country Girl) from the best seller by Arthur Hailey (Hotel).

MPAA Rated PG for some intense sequences of adventure violence and language.

Produced by Ross Hunter Productions. Released by Universal Pictures, an division of NBCUniversal, an Comcast company." 

Source:The Baltimore Movie Trailer Park- Jean Seaberg and Burt Lancaster in Airport (1970) No Wonder Mel never goes home to his wife. LOL

From The Baltimore Movie Trailer Park 

"Trailer from the 1970 movie : Airport" 

Source:Trailer Tajm- a trailer from Airport (1970)

From Trailer Tajm 

The 1970s, was a crazy and very entertaining even with how gloomy and depressing a decade that it was with the bad economy, Vietnam War, high crime rate and everything else. But one of few great things about that decade was the entertainment, especially movies and TV. 

Terrorism was on the mind of millions of Americans in the 1970s, as well as what could happen if something went wrong with an airplane when it was in air and thousands of miles from a nearest airport. Soap operas were also very popular and common in the decade, as well as movies that combined several different genres and stories in one movie. 

Airport, isn’t a pure action movie, or action/thriller, or action/drama, or action/comedy, or soap opera. It was all of those things into one movie. With a great cast and a great director.

Airport, is essentially about what good decent intelligent people, who all have their own issues and problems outside of work, do when they’re all under extreme pressure: 

Like having a passenger on the plane who is so desperate, who is out-of-work and can’t hold onto a job, who needs money and believes there is nothing left he can do, but have himself killed so his wife can collect his life insurance. Van Heflin, plays a man named Guerro (apparently he wasn't born with a first name) who manages to get a bomb on the plane. 

The General Manager (played by Burt Lancaster) of the airport, is no longer in love with his wife and as a result is now a workaholic who doesn’t want to go home at night, because he’s happier working all the time. 

Jacqueline Bisset, plays a head stewardess who is having an affair with a married pilot and is now pregnant with his baby. Dean Martin, plays the father of the head stewardess’s baby and his married and having an affair with that stewardess.

You have all of these decent intelligent people who are all very good at their jobs, but are all under enormous pressure and are all now dealing with an airplane that has a bomb on board by a man who is suicidal and wants to set the bomb off and the bomb does go off. So you have all of these people who are already under enormous pressure now having to deal with a potential airplane disaster in horrible Upper Midwest weather in the winter, leaving from Chicago. And now also have to deal with the possibility of hundreds of people dying in a horrible plane crash. 

This is a very entertaining and very funny movie. Perhaps not so believable with all the side soap operas in it. But even great soap operas tend not to be very believable. And it is very entertaining and pretty funny movie with very funny people in it and a an all-star cast. 

You can also see this post at The Daily Post, on Blogger. (No pun intended)

You can also see this post at The FreeState, on Blogger.