Philip
Stevens (James Stewart) is a multi-millionaire collector, and announces
that his new museum, containing all of his collected artworks, is to be
opened to the public. To celebrate this, he is having his newly
designed private airliner flown down from Washington, containing
various artworks for the museum, along with a selection of friends and
family. However, before the plane takes off, some crewmen start to
tamper with the plane's air supply. Mid flight, the pilot (Jack Lemmon)
is knocked out, and the knock-out gas released - the co-pilot and two crew
take over the plane and fly it off radar, heading for a small island
in the Carribean, however, flying low over the sea the plane strikes an
oil platform and crashes into the sea, eventually sinking in the
shallow waters. With the aircraft remaining pressurised, the passengers
find themseves stuck under the sea, miles away from the search area,
and have to think of a way to save themselves, especially when it
emerges that water is leaking in...
After the sucess of Aiport (1970) and the follow-up Airport 1975
(1974), a third film was rapidly on the cards. The first two films had
focused around a mid-air catastrophy and the difficulty in landing the
plane afterwards - much to its benefit however, for Aiport '77
the writers changed this formula into something rather different. The
idea of a plane crashing into the sea is actually plausible,
considering the relatively shallow water it sinks into (although not technically possible - it should actually float, if it somehow avoided breaking up on impact), as is the
scheme to hijack the plane (these villains are not the gratuitously
evil bad guys of most disaster movies, and actually don't plan to kill anyone). Unlike the prototype Airport (1970) that boasted over an hour of character development before take-off, Airport '77
takes a typical disaster movie approach by not introducing the
characters until after they are on the plane - fortunately, unlike Airport 1975,
the characters are not simple stereotypes, comedy drunks or guitar
playing nuns, but an interesting mix and surprisingly well defined -
making it possible for the
characterisation to become evident (a lot of scenes, including some
flash-backs to life before the crash were filmed, but cut before
release). This all helps in the final climax
as the rescue attempt swings into action - and we do actually care for
the fate of those on board (unlike Airport 1975).
Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your outlook), despite being promoted as a Bermuda Triangle film (very
popular at the time) this mythos does not factor into the story.
Director
Jerry Jameson does an effective job, boosted by an obviously sufficient
budget - the model shots are kept to a minumum and the sets are good
looking. The synthsised and orchestral soundtrack is effective in
giving the film a strange atmosphere, and would perfectly suit a
Bermuda Triangle movie, but does seem occasionally out of place here.
Airport '77 probably boasts the most
all star cast of the Airport sequels. Jack Lemmon (
Some Like it Hot
(1959)) takes the lead role as the pilot and has clearly put a lot of
effort in, even going as far to study flying and diving for the role.
Hollywood Icon Jimmy Steward has a relatively passive role as the
plane's owner Philip Stevens, but gives a typically strong performance.
Cult movie fans should instantly recognise Christopher Lee in a
relatively short, but very impressive performance including some rather
unexpected stunt work, and he plays very well alongside Lee Grant (
Damien: Omen II (1978)) as his nagging wife. Veteran actor Joseph Cotten, best known for his performance in critic's favourite
The Third Man
(1949) was more at home in European cult movies by the 1970s, and makes
one of his last Hollywood appearances, in a relatively small role,
alongside another veteran Olivia de Havilland (
Gone with the Wind
(1939)). George Kennedy appears again as Joe Patroni, although he only
gets a few scenes (most of his role ended up on the cutting room floor).
Airport '77
is probably the most entertaining of the sequels, boasting a suitably
over-the-top disaster movie set-piece and an all star cast who take it
all very seriously. Recommended to disaster movie fans, although most
people simply won't get it! Partly recommended.
