Terror in the Sky

"Terror in the Sky" is a remake of "Zero Hour!"...and offers no improvements at all over the original. In fact, in most ways (especially the cast), the original is a far better film.

Speaking of "Zero Hour!", this film is the one that was parodied in "Airplane!". Despite this, it's a very good air disaster movie...one of the best of the 1950s.

A rowdy group of folks have chartered a plane cross-country...not realizing that they nearly paid the ultimate price for not flying commercial! It's because the food aboard the craft is tainted...and anyone eating the chicken pie will become deathly ill. Unfortunately, that means BOTH the pilot and co-pilot...so it's up to one of the passengers to try to land the craft.

If "Zero Hour!" had never been made, I probably would have enjoyed "Terror in the Sky" much more. But again and again, I couldn't help but think the original was just so much better than this cheap made for TV version.

When I first saw Airplane! (1980), it reminded me of Terror in the Sky (1971). However, the primary inspiration for Airplane was actually Zero Hour! (1957). Arthur Hailey wrote both Zero Hour and Terror, as well as Airport (1970).

This movie was typical Movie of the Week fare: The budget was low, the story was old, the plot has holes. MOTW was something different from episodic television, and that made it popular for a few years, but very few of them are worth seeing again.

Many MOTW shows were remakes of black and white movies. Hailey may have intended the novel on which this film is based as a rewrite of Zero Hour!, as opposed to an entirely original work. However, this movie was never billed as a remake.

I have seen this movie several times, mostly after 11pm. The concept of the flight crew all getting food poisoning, becoming incapacitated and a reluctant passenger/pilot having to take over the flight, facing his demons, may sound familiar. After watching this movie I would recommend you immediately re-watch Airplane. I can only assume that Terror in the Sky was the basis of hysterical Abrahams/Zucker film and knowledge of this 'classic' will really make the gags in Airplane even funnier. Doug McClure is excellent as the pilot in this film, he really takes a bad script and made it look believable. My favorite part is watching him trying to learn to fly the aircraft, dipping and rolling, all the while the stewardess screaming from the copilot's seat next him.

The term "Terror" is a bit inaccurate to use for the title, really. "Nausea in the Sky" would make a more honest, albeit admittedly less appealing, title. The plot of this 1978 made-for-TV movie may sound very familiar. It's quite likely that you have seen the underrated disaster movie gem "The Zero Hour", released in 1957 and starring Dana Andrews, of which this film is a remake. It's even more likely the premise of food poisoning aboard a domestic airliner reminds you of that brilliant ZAZ-parody "Airplane!"

Nevertheless, this modest TV-film has every possible right to exist, especially because it contains a handful of suspenseful moments and a couple of very strong acting performances. When on a flight to Seattle a number of passengers, and then subsequently the two pilots, become seriously ill after having bad chicken as meal, it's entirely up to the people who had lamb for supper to save the day! The heroes include Dr. Baird (the always genius Roddy McDowell; for once in a "normal" role), strong and independent stewardess Janet (Lovely Lois Nettleton) and the former Vietnam helicopter pilot George Spencer (Doug McClure) who reluctantly must land the plane with a bit of voiceover help from below in the tower.

Obviously a quick attempt to cash in on the contemporary popular "Airport", "Terror in the Sky" has absolutely nothing special to offer, but it's still worth checking out for fans of disaster movies or admirers of any of the above-mentioned actors.

This film begins in Milwaukee, with a passenger airplane taking off for Seattle, Washington. While flying, one passenger complains of feeling very ill, prompting a man named "Dr. Ralph Baird" (Roddy McDowell) to assist. Soon after, several other passengers also get sick, leading Dr. Baird to suspect food poisoning. However, this concern is overshadowed when he learns that both the pilot and co-pilot ate the same meal and are now sick, meaning there might be no one left qualified to fly the plane. There is, however, a passenger named "George Spencer" (Doug McClure), a Vietnam War helicopter pilot. Despite struggling with trauma from his military service, he might be able to save everyone on board--if he can learn to fly a four-engine passenger plane without any training. Instead of revealing more, I'll just say this was an entertaining made-for-television movie, largely thanks to Roddy McDowell's acting, which seemed perfectly suited for the role. Likewise, Lois Nettleton (as stewardess "Janet Turner"), Leif Erickson ("Marty Treleavan"), and Doug McClure also delivered solid performances. Admittedly, other films have used a similar plot, but this one was enjoyable in its own right, and I rated it accordingly.