One of the highlights from the James T Aubrey regime at MGM - this is a good, solid thriller, expertly handled by John Guillermin and acted by Charlton Heston. The plot involves a plane being hijacked by a bomb threat - the hijacker wants it flown to Russia.
The cast is campy fun: Susan Dey, Nicholas Hammond, Walter Pidgeon, Jeanne Craine, Yvette Mimeux, James
Brolin, Leslie Uggams. It gives Pidgeon a decent role. While Aubrey was a
slash and burner this is in its own way a solid old fashioned piece of
entertainment.
It is hard after Flying High to take the disaster film tropes seriously but it's all good drama - the passengers include a heavily pregnant woman, a stewardess who used to date Heston, a black singer, a nubile young starlet. Actually more could've been done with it - a love triangle between Heston, Mimieux and co pilot Mike Henry feels underutilised. Would've loved to have a character from Brolin's past etc.
Lots of bits are unintentionally funny - the romance between Hammond and Dey, flashbacks to Heston pushing Mimieux on a swing. It's very 70s. But it;s also well done and I loved the third act arriving in Russie. Heston is perfect for this thing - he was born to play a pilot.
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