"Airport" starts as a typical busy day at a snowbound Chicago airport. The airport's GM, Mel(Burt Lancaster) is a workaholic because of a strained marriage, and his youthful assistant has a crush on him. Vernon Demarest (Dean Martin)is a cocky pilot who is married to Mel's sister, and having an affair with a stewardess. A stuck 747 is blocking runway 29, and Joe Petroni(George Kennedy)is the man to get it cleared. Things go haywire when it's discovered that a man with a bomb is on Demarest's plane. With the help of an elderly stowaway(Helen Hayes), Demarest attempts to disarm the man but fails. Once the bomb explodes, Demarest's lady love is seriously injured, and he has to bring the crippled plane back to runway 29, one way or another.
Click here to see the rest of this review...
The review of this Movie prepared by John Harrel
In 1969, who could have imagined what frightful places airports could become. But for its time, Arthur Hailey's best-seller portrayed one metropolitan airport as a quite frenzied place, especially during a severe snowstorm. And, this novel may have been the only one to spawn one movie, three sequels, and two parodies.
With an all-star ensemble pitting arrogant pilot (Dean Martin) against the mild-manner Operations Director (Burt Lancaster), the film reveals one full night in which many characters' subplots intertwine while revealing the airport's infrastructure and many tricks of the trade.
But the major story is that of financially troubled “D.O. Guerrero” (Van Heflin) who ambles onboard a Rome-bound flight with a simple briefcase bomb poised for his wife to collect insurance. Despite a carefully planned ploy by an elderly stowaway (Helen Hayes), the bomb explodes leaving the 727 seriously crippled and needing to return home. With masterful piloting by Martin, the plane descends, desperately needing the longest runway which is still blocked by a plane that skidded earlier that evening.
With 179 souls on board, only Lancaster can give the order for an assembly of tractors to literally shred the obstacle off the needed runway. But top mechanic (George Kennedy) insists he can rock the stuck plane out of the way.
The review of this Movie prepared by Angry Jim Magin
