There is no reason that Van Helfin couldn't have exploded his bomb in the isle-way of the plane except it would have been a very short movie. Today with TSA screening such a disaster could not happen, or could it? In almost 50 years, air travel has changed so much. Most credit cards offer some type of travel insurance and maybe there is a vending machine for this at the airport? Also, very few stowaways these days because of gate checks and head counts. The novel is quite a bit "spicier" than the movie, and includes an "over-endowed" counter clerk selling travel insurance. More explicit sexual encounters, also. Alex Haley didn't write "G-Rated books! Several good and great performances. I always thought Helen Haye's performance was over-rated. Both Jean Seberg and Jackie Bisset "sizzle". George Kennedy and Dean Martin are terrific as the "master mechanic" and "wise-guy" pilot who talk to the Boeing 707 like she's a "lady" Parts of it are spellbinding, especially the last half hour. Read the book, if you can find it!

An airport struggles to remain open during the worst snowstorm in 25 year.Mel Bakersfield is the airport manager who must not only fight the weather, but his pilot/playboy brother-in-law, his divorce seeking wife, a deranged man with a bomb, a plane stuck in the mud and blocking the main runway, and a stowaway........among other things...You can define disaster in many ways, Many will see this film as a straightforward 'Plane is under attack movie' in the same vein as something like the much later 'Executive Decision', but there is so much more to this film than just a bomb on a plane.The disaster could be crumbling relationships, fear of losing a career, fear of not making somewhere on time, just usual everyday things that could cause 'disaster' in someones routine if things don't go to plan for them.This mainly lies on the shoulders of Burt Lancaster, whom is either sitting in an office listening to peers quite concerned, or putting on a lovely looking warm jacket and going out to the runway to look at a stalled plane.On the other hand, we have the dashing crooner Dean Martin suffering the disaster of his hair going slightly off style for a couple of minutes, or trying to deal with the 'disaster' of falling in love with someone over half his age and fathering her unborn child.The problem is, if you saw Airplane! before this, you cannot take the film seriously, and even more so if you've seen the more over the top disaster films that followed this.It has a plethora of sub-plots going on, from a know it all child, to a hilarious old woman who hitches free rides and feigns illness almost every act in the film.It's just too serious for it's own good, and there are a few passengers on board you would gladly punch in the face if you were on the same flight.The film does inject an element of humour into the script in the final third, but it's pretty blasphemous, as it consists of a Nun chugging a bottle of spirit, and a Father slapping a delusional passenger.Kennedy is the best thing about the film, and it's no wonder they bought him back for the three sequels.It's the cinematic equivalent of the picture of food you see on a menu in a chain restaurant, it looks grand, but the finished product is far less palatable.

Many of the airport runway scenes were filmed here in Minneapolis/St. Paul. I recall that some of the bit parts went to local TV people or actors. This movie doesn't wear well because the silly subplots are almost laughable now. First of all, I could never stand Dean Martin as an actor. He did a nice job on those Italian songs and his TV show was OK. The romantic stuff with him is such a diminishing factor in this film. Everyone thought that Helen Hayes was so cute. I just never got it. Anyone could have played this part. The main drawback was the formulaic nature of the whole thing with everyone fitting a particular niche. As I said in my brief comments on "The Towering Inferno" there are people who fit a prescribed pattern and they just happened to show up on this flight. These disaster films were so predictable. Finally, see "Airplane." It is much better and mocks the whole airport milieu.

I still remember those disaster flicks from the seventies with buildings, boats and airplanes. Now that they are all available on DVD or Blu Ray it's time to pick up those you still remember seen with your parents back then. At a convention I found the Airplane box knowing that they go from good to a, no pun intended, disaster I started this classic.At the end I was surprised that the disaster itself only took maybe 30 minutes of this flick but don't worry. I kept watching it and before I knew it it was over and done. It wasn't that bad at all, the way they edited conversations was way before their time. And it works. On the other hand the way the pilots and stewardesses are presented gave me a smile too. Here they all are cheating and are doing it when they have night stops with each other. And the pilots are smoking when attending flying. Go figure that one out. And they do smoke a lot in the plane and the movie itself. There's also a bit of comedy to catch here and there even as it is all about the bomb and the disaster.The effects used are rather good for the time being, even as you can spot the fake airplane in the air it didn't bother me at all, just have a look at the last entry with the Concorde, the effects used their are laughable.A lot of blah blah indeed but still even as you know how this is going to end it's worth seeing.Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0,5/5