Zero Hour! (1957)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Hall Bartlett

Writers:

Arthur Hailey (teleplay "Flight Into Danger")
Arthur Hailey (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 November 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

It Builds to the Tensest 50 Minutes in the History of the Screen!

Plot:

A routine flight turns into a major emergency as passengers and crew succumb to food poisoning - is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane...

Plot Keywords:

Disaster | Passenger | Food Poisoning | Airplane | Canada

Cast

Dana Andrews	...	Lt. Ted Stryker
Linda Darnell	...	Ellen Stryker
Sterling Hayden	...	Captain Martin Treleaven
Elroy 'Crazylegs' Hirsch	...	Capt. Bill Wilson, Pilot
Geoffrey Toone	...	Dr. Baird
Jerry Paris	...	Tony Decker
Peggy King	...	Stewardess Janet Turner
Charles Quinlivan	...	Harry Burdick
Patricia Tiernan	...	Mrs. Joan Wilson (as Carole Eden)
Steve London	...	First Officer Walt Stewart
Jo Ann Wade	...	Treleaven's Baby Sitter
Raymond Ferrell	...	Joey Stryker
John Ashley	...	TV Singer
Willis Bouchey	...	British Army Doctor
Robert Stevenson	...	Air Traffic Controller

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #18728) | Sweden:15

Company:

Bartlett-Champion Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The sign on the door of the control tower (seen in reverse from inside the tower) reads AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. Since the film takes place in Canada, the sign would have used the British spelling AUTHORISED.

Quotes:

Treleaven: I guess I picked the wrong week to give up smoking.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Airplane! (1980)

Gripping stuff

This is an exciting film which is well acted and directed with all the tension needed to keep you sitting bolt upright throughout the climactic finale. Perhaps the rushed narrated intro is just a little too over-dramatic but it does not detract from the quality of the rest of the film.

I am well aware of the film's relation to "Airplane!" (which is hilarious) and some moments are impossible to watch without one being reminded of their parody versions (the reference to quitting smoking especially). Nevertheless, it still works as an exciting piece of cinema.