In Airport, Burt Lancaster was having one of those days. His neglected wife Dana Wynter is complaining about him not making a banquet for the umpteenth time. But Burt's got his problems other than the normal ones that come with the job of running the Lincoln Airport and I assume they mean Lincoln, Nebraska. Unexpected snow has hit and being from Buffalo that's something I can appreciate. He's got a stuck plane on his best runway. He's getting harassed from the board of directors, he's getting complaints about the noise from the nearby residents. He's been brought a perennial stowaway in Helen Hayes by his girl Friday Jean Seberg. His brother-in-law, pilot Dean Martin, has filed a complaint against him to the Board of Directors. And he's got Van Heflin loose with a bomb. It's just one those days he should never have come to work.
Director George Seaton packed a whole lot of stars and a whole lot of plot into the 137 minute running time of Airport. It's good entertaining drama that made a whole lot of money back in the early Seventies and was so popular it spawned three sequels. Of course these were really giant commercials for the airline industry, but who cared, then or now.
Seaton kept the action going pretty good, almost so that you forget that you're movie star gazing and concentrate on the plot. George Kennedy played maintenance man Joe Petroni, a role he repeated in all four Airport films. Maureen Stapleton gives a tragic, gut wrenching performance as the suicidal Van Heflin's wife, undeservedly, unheralded at the time.
The comic relief in this belongs to the first lady of the American Theater Helen Hayes. She won her second Oscar as the perennial stowaway, Ada Quonset. Her scene with Jean Seberg and Burt Lancaster as she matter of factly tells of her methods of theft of service is a delight. And she figures prominently in the climax as well.
A year ago I saw Peter Riegert when he made an appearance in Buffalo with his film King of the Corner. I asked him about Burt Lancaster who he worked with and he said that Lancaster told him his philosophy of choosing roles was that he alternated his choices. As he quoted Burt Lancaster, Riegert said that Burt's philosophy was that he made one film for himself and one for the poke. One for artistry and one that would be a commercial success so he could afford to do the other.
Airport was one for the poke. But the fact is that Lancaster and the rest of the players made it good entertainment as well.
Director George Seaton packed a whole lot of stars and a whole lot of plot into the 137 minute running time of Airport. It's good entertaining drama that made a whole lot of money back in the early Seventies and was so popular it spawned three sequels. Of course these were really giant commercials for the airline industry, but who cared, then or now.
Seaton kept the action going pretty good, almost so that you forget that you're movie star gazing and concentrate on the plot. George Kennedy played maintenance man Joe Petroni, a role he repeated in all four Airport films. Maureen Stapleton gives a tragic, gut wrenching performance as the suicidal Van Heflin's wife, undeservedly, unheralded at the time.
The comic relief in this belongs to the first lady of the American Theater Helen Hayes. She won her second Oscar as the perennial stowaway, Ada Quonset. Her scene with Jean Seberg and Burt Lancaster as she matter of factly tells of her methods of theft of service is a delight. And she figures prominently in the climax as well.
A year ago I saw Peter Riegert when he made an appearance in Buffalo with his film King of the Corner. I asked him about Burt Lancaster who he worked with and he said that Lancaster told him his philosophy of choosing roles was that he alternated his choices. As he quoted Burt Lancaster, Riegert said that Burt's philosophy was that he made one film for himself and one for the poke. One for artistry and one that would be a commercial success so he could afford to do the other.
Airport was one for the poke. But the fact is that Lancaster and the rest of the players made it good entertainment as well.