If you have seen the classic comedy movie: Airplane? you most likely never saw the movie released in nineteen fifty-seven--that inspired this movie.

The movie im going to mention is one that starred Sterling Hayden and Dana Andrews. The movie is called: Zero Hour. The "remake"'Airplane--took many of its classic lines directly as said and used in Zero Hour. After watching Zero hour--I couldnt believe how much Airplane had taked directly from that movie. For instance--the Sterling Hayden characted had been the commanding officer in WWII--of the Dana Andrews character.Dana Andrews characters name is Ted Stryker--which was the name of Robert Hays character in Airplane. Match was fully intentional.

Many lines copied werefully intentional--situations too. I;e--in this movie--they had the same choice of dinner as offered on Airplane.Fish or meat. Wel--the Fish made people sick--yadda yadda yadda. Zero Hour was a serious drama--Airplane--certainly was not.

You just have to watch Zero Hour before watching Airplane to see all the same-isms.

A "Lloyd Bridges line in Airplane--was a direct one taken from the Sterling Hayden character. "Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop smoking." Needless tosay,that character did not have the other classic Lloyd Bridges lines like: "Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop drinking/sniffing glue-etc. heck,even the ""Coffee guy"" was in Zero Hour.

Anyway,if you ever wanted to know what spawned the idea for Airplane?well,now ya know.

It's a big building where they keep sick people. And don't call me Shirley.

Does a jet in Zero Hour sound like a propeller aircraft? Probably not.

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Wayne
Torn & Frayed

Johnny what can you make of this?
This? Why I can make a hat, or a broach, Or a pterodactyl

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It aint rocket surgery

Sterling Hayden was on last night on TCM. A movie about Search & Rescue helicopter pilots in Korea. Flying the old H-3 and H5 helo's. As an old rotor wing guy it was super interesting.

But...,Still Mr. Hayden's finest hour....General Ripper in "Dr. Strangelove".

POE.

"Purity of Essence Mandrake'.

"Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?" or................

"Joey, have you ever seen a man naked?"


I saw Zero Hour yesterday. Some great flashback Airplane lines with Sterling Hayden screaming into the mic, "Stryker!! You're too low! You're too low!!"

BTW, Hayden had quite a resume. He was an OSS (precursor of the CIA) agent who parachuted behind enemy lines in WWII to assist in getting downed aircrews out. A Silver Star recipient, he was more than just a pretty face.

Heath, Nick, Jarrod, the barn's on fire!

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"Jacobs, what have you got on Elaine Dickinson?"

"I'm two inches taller, a better dancer and more fun to be with."

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Airplane - one of the most "politically incorrect" movies I have seen. Loved it...

Larry

No doubt "Zero Hour" was a big influence, but "Airport" and "The High and The Mighty" were also influential.

The scene towards the end of "Airplane" when the jet knocks over a radio tower is very similar to a scene in "The High and The Mighty" when the plane is on approach and flies by a tower.

There are a lot of funny scenes in "Airplane". Some of the funniest are in the background, just stupid sight gags or quick throw away lines.

While we're on the subject of airplane disaster movies and seeing that some of the participants here are master thread drifters, I'll mention "No Highway in the Sky" with Jimmy Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, and Glennis John. Great movie.

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I'll agree that Hayden was fantastic in Strangelove, but if you haven't seen him in 1950's The Asphalt Jungle, you owe it to yourself to watch it. Everyone always mentions Bogart and Cagney as tough guys. And both of them were tough in real life, but Hayden was tougher, in my opinion. And in The Asphalt Jungle, Hayden's the quintessential film noir protagonist-victim...caught up in events and unseen forces beyond his control, a classic case of taking a wrong turn that leads to his downfall. The film is full of shadows, just like Hayden's Dix Handley.

A lot of people probably don't remember it, but when Sterling Hayden first went to Hollywood, he was hailed as a "young golden god" for his classic good looks.

A little useless fun fact. Julie Haggerty's brother Kim and I have been friends for a long time. He is quite the guitar player and we have worked together a lot.

He came in the shop one time and said "hey Rusty, Julie's coming into town...ya want her to bring ya anything"?

I said "tell her to bring me a kiss".

He said "will do".

A week later he walked in and gave me an empty beer can with lipstick all over it signed by her.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Possibly not but,the toy models they used were the pits.

Try this Zero Hour vs Airplane:

Jive talking female passenger: June Cleaver (Barbara Billingsly) from Leave it to Beaver.

Asphalt jungle had one of the best ever quick draw shootings of any movie. Dix gets shot but the other guy dies.

Roger, roger, over, over.

Kept getting funnier each time I saw the movie.

"Zero Hour" screenplay co-written by Arthur Hailey, author of "Airport." It was originally filmed as "Flight Into Danger" and broadcast on CBC-TV in 1956. Then Paramount made the 1957 movie and Hailey published it as "Runway Zero-Eight" in 1958. I remember seeing that movie when I was 18 right after I started working for Delta.

CW

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And Arthur Hailey and John Castle actually novelized the script under the "Flight into Danger" title. You can still find it as a paperback in used book stores if you're lucky. It's a pretty good read.
There is also another American re-make from 1971 with Doug McClure, called "Terror in the Sky".
And if you're a nerd, you can watch a German remake from 1964 on youtube here:

My wife and I watched it last night. I could envision Lloyd Bridges' "I sure picked a good week to quit smoking" line, and many others. It got to the point where I could forecast the next line. And the only thing missing from Sterling Hayden's wardrobe were the multiple sunglasses that Robert Stack wore.

The only thing missing in "Zero Hour", was the scene where the woman was in panic mode, and I was waiting for someone to slap her.

Macho Grande.

Airport, Hotel, The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno. The list is long and distinguished.

"Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue."

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I was wiaiting for the slapping scene too,but--

Earthquake was on last night. I hadnt seen that in ages. Had a great--aging cast too.However,at least in one scene--the SX-was horrible.The quake going on and people trying to go down in an elevator--and when you figured they hit bottom--cartoon blood splats acro the screen.

Re: "Airport"

Burt Lancaster made a ton of money from the movie because of a contract provision that gave him 10% of the profits after the first $50 million. He later said that "Airport" was "the worst piece of junk ever made".

Strangely enough, Airport was never one of my favorite "disaster'' flicks--neither was Hijack. However,Avalanche--was a different 'bird.'

I think THE most politically incorrect (and therefore wonderful) movie is "Slapshot" with Paul Newman.

So Ringo, you're saying that Airplane is a spoof of a 50's movie...? "Surely, you can't be serious." "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."

Reporter, "so, what kind of plane is it?"
Johnny, "oh, it's a big pretty plane with white stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels, it looks like a big Tylenol!"

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The sequal wasnt as good but not bad. I liked Chuck Connors spoofing himself--plus some Star Trek sound effects also used.

The funniest part of Airplane! was Lt. Frank Drebin pretending to be a doctor

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In dog years I'm dead.

"I don't avoid women, I just deny them my essence".

LOL!

Dr.Strangelove was good-nay--great. I cant help but favor the Nuke Bomb scenes when Slim Pickens takes it for a final "ride."

There's a sale at Penny's.