Movie review - "Airport" (1970) ***

There is a special place in Heaven for extras in airplane disaster movies - sitting in their chairs, acting feverishgly, being "ordinary", trying to be realistic, then acting scared when the disaster strikes. The extras are in fine form in this film, in their crappy way - but then so is everyone else, from Dean Martin as a quizzical pilot to Jacqueline Bisset as the stewardess, to Barry Nelson as a co-pilot (when I saw Barry Nelson in this, it was like "everyone is in this movie"). Maureen Stapleton has a breakdown, Helen Hayes does cutsie stuff with cutsie music, Van Heflin has nervous ticks, everyone is having an affair, there's not one but two cuckolded housewives in mink coats (Dana Wynter and Barbara Hale). George Kennedy smokes his cigar and attacks his role with the aplomb of someone who knows that no one could be better in that role (the perfect D plot actor was Kennedy). Someone should do a study one day on the portrayl of stewardesses in films - they all come across as hookers/waitresses. The design usually consists of horrible garish yellows and panelling - the 60s morphing into the 70s before your eyes. The handling seems to be crappy flat television style in that Universal studios specialised in. Great story though.