Terrore in cielo

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.

I saw this TV movie a long time ago but still remember the excitement that took me for its hour and half duration time. Seen by today standards it would be a very common story, due to the fact that the plot has been painstakingly cloned by hundreds of very bad film killers. But not this one. It's atmosphere involves you in a special way and makes you feel as if you're one of the unfortunate passengers caught on that death trap. Doug McClure is mostly convincing in this role of a Vietnam war ex-chopper pilot,

obliged to recall his skills to lead that plane into a safe landing, counting only on the help from the voice of a controller who gives him an instant training on flying that special aircraft. I've missed this one for many years to be issued in video or in DVD, and hope that someday it will, for the joy of the genre fans.

This was not the original movie with the crew becoming ill. " Zero Hour with Dana Andrews from 1957 was the same story as he had to fly the plane with only military experience that haunted him. There was one other that I can't seem to remember, but I think that it had Scottie from Star Trek involved. In any case it was definitely Zero Hour that was best known and was probably the reason behind Airplane's spoof and Terror in the Sky's sequel. The crew became ill from eating the same spoiled food and the flight attendant had to solicit from the passengers a new pilot. Andrews reluctantly became the man and overall it was quite entertaining.

"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.