The fourth helping of Airport adventure was subtitled The Concorde, and this time the plot dealt with international arms dealer Dr Kevin Harrison (Robert Wagner) – one of the richest and most powerful men in the world – who attempts to sabotage the Concorde on three separate occasions to destroy some incriminating evidence against him which is being carried by his lover, American television reporter Maggie Whelan (Susan Blakely).
The crew also have to deal with a ‘Buzzard Attack Missile’ chasing the plane, an emergency landing with no brakes, various explosions and doors coming off, and a crash-landing into the snow – all while on a goodwill flight to Moscow with Olympic athletes on board!
The movie was made entirely to the tried and tested formula, with two-dimensional characters taking second place to the aircraft itself and the in-flight drama threatening its destruction.
George Kennedy (again) played the hero, and the large cast under David Lowell Rich’s equally formula direction included Sylvia Kristel (fully clothed, sorry), Eddie Albert, Charo (The Love Plane?) and Cicely Tyson.
Martha Raye’s character provides an endless stream of toilet jokes, while Jimmie (“Dyn-o-mite”) Walker, as a stereotyped jazz musician, provides several doses of marijuana humour.
In case the audience has forgotten that the series of Airport films is basically an airborne soap opera, there are two little children to jerk our tears.
One is the deaf daughter of a Russian athlete (Avery Schreiber), and the other child is never seen onscreen – he’s waiting patiently in Paris for his mother and their doctor to bring him a fresh heart for his forthcoming transplant operation.
Not only is that the corniest part of the film, but – as the mother – skilled actress Cecily Tyson is sadly wasted on the microscopic-sized role.
Sure, it’s not great art, but it’s pretty lively entertainment, and the story manages to hold our interest throughout a Washington to Moscow flight with a stopover in Paris.
Captain Paul Metrand
Alain Delon Maggie Whelan
Susan Blakely Dr Kevin Harrison
Robert Wagner Isabelle
Sylvia Kristel Captain Joe Patroni
George Kennedy Eli Sande
Eddie Albert Francine
Bibi Andersson Margarita
Charo Robert Palmer
John Davidson Alicia Rogov
Andrea Marcovicci Loretta
Martha Raye Elaine Gilbert
Cicely Tyson Boisie
Jimmie Walker Peter O’Neill
David Warner Nelli
Mercedes McCambridge Coach Fyodor Markov
Avery Schreiber Amy Sande
Sybil Danning Gretchen
Monica Lewis Dr Harold Stone
Nicolas Coster Froelich
Jon Cedar Henri
Pierre Jalbert Mary Parker
Kathleen Maguire Carl Parker
Macon McCalman Irina
Stacy Heather Tolkin William Halpern
Robin Gammell
Director
David Lowell Rich
Video
Related Posts
All The Fine Young Cannibals (1960) A bizarre blend of teenage angst movie and Cassavetes-style drama that has Robert Wagner as Chet Baker in all but…
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) When its predecessor, Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery, was released in 1997 nobody took much notice initially, but the often…
Around the World under the Sea (1965) Apocalyptic tidal waves caused by earthquakes threaten to destroy the world's coastal cities, and the fate of the earth is…
1941 (1979) 1941 is a stupid farce based on a stupid idea: What would have happened if, after bombing Pearl Harbor, the Japanese…
Yesterday's Hero (1979) Rod Turner (Ian McShane) is a washed-up drunken footballer trying to get his life back on track. Turner is signed…
American Graffiti (1973) Four California teenagers get a final, nostalgic glimpse of innocence before facing college and life in general in 1962 in…
Airport (1970) For a generation that grew up on Airplane! (1980), the definitive disaster spoof, it may be impossible to take the overblown…
Secret Policeman's Ball, The (1979) The Secret Policeman's Ball was a 100-minute film featuring the highlights of the third Amnesty International charity concert staged over…
The movie was made entirely to the tried and tested formula, with two-dimensional characters taking second place to the aircraft itself and the in-flight drama threatening its destruction.
