Airport (1970)
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, (more)
- Director(s):
- George Seaton
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- G
- Format(s):
- DVD
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Synopsis of Airport
Airport had enough plot and enough star power in its cast for three feature films, and it only encompassed about half of the complexity or characters found in Arthur Hailey's best-selling potboiler. Essentially built around 12 harrowing hours at a major Midwestern airport, the film had everything an audience of the period could have wanted -- suspense, romance, drama, and comedy -- all spread across a vast canvas. Mel Bakersfeld (Burt Lancaster) is the manager of Lincoln Airport, facing a night beset by the worst blizzard in a decade, a wife (Dana Wynter) who announces she wants a divorce, a primary runway blocked by an airliner stuck in a snowdrift, and a governing board ready to fire him. Bakersfeld's cynical, smooth-talking brother-in-law, Vernon Demerest (Dean Martin), won't let up on his criticism of the management at Lincoln, but he has his own problems as well, mostly in the form of a young stewardess, Gwen Meighen (Jacqueline Bisset), who is pregnant by him and whom he finds he genuinely loves. Add to that the presence of an old lady stowaway (Helen Hayes) and a mentally disturbed passenger (Van Heflin) carrying a bomb, and there's more than enough plot to keep viewers engrossed for two hours plus. Airport became one of the top-grossing movies of its era, racking up seven-digit box-office numbers and spawning an entire film genre -- the disaster movie. With Jean Seberg, George Kennedy, Lloyd Nolan, Barry Nelson, and Maureen Stapleton filling out the rest of the leading roles, there was something for almost everyone in this film. The movie still has a lot to offer if only as a prime example of Hollywood at its most successfully glitzy, but, if possible, viewers should try and see the letterboxed version of Airport on DVD (released May 2001). ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 137 mins
Complete Cast of Airport
- Burt Lancaster - Mel Bakersfeld
- Jean Seberg - Tanya Livingston
- George Kennedy - Patroni
- Van Heflin - D.O. Guerrero
- Barry Nelson - Lt. Anson Harris
- Lloyd Nolan - Harry Standish
- John Findlater - Peter Coakley
- Larry Gates - Commissioner Ackerman
- Whit Bissell - Mr. Davidson
- Eileen Wesson - Judy
- Robert Patten - Capt. Benson
- Lew Brown - Reynolds
- Patty Poulsen - Joan
- Sharon Harvey - Sally
- Nancy Ann Nelson - Bunnie
- Lou Wagner - Schuyler Schultz
- Mary Jackson - Sister Felice
- Chuck Daniel - Parks
- Dallas Mitchell - Dispatcher
- Lisa Gerritsen - Libby Bakersfeld
- Benny Rubin - Passenger
- Dean Martin - Vernon Demerest
- Jacqueline Bisset - Gwen Meighen
- Helen Hayes - Ada Quonsett
- Maureen Stapleton - Inez Guerrero
- Dana Wynter - Cindy
- Barbara Hale - Sarah
- Jesse Royce Landis - Mrs. Harriet DuBarry Mossman
- Peter Turgeon - Marcus Rathbone
- Virginia Grey - Mrs. Schultz
- Paul Picerni - Dr. Compagno
- Clark Howat - Bert Weatherby
- Jim Nolan - Father Lonigan
- Ena Hartman - Ruth
- Albert Reed - Lt. Ned Ordway
- Dick Winslow - Mr. Schultz
- Janis Hansen - Sister Katherine Grace
- Shelly Novack - Rollings
- Charles Brewer - Diller
- Jodean Russo - Marie Patroni
- Michael Stearns - Passenger
- Gary Collins - Cy Jordon
- Director(s):
- George Seaton
- Writer(s):
- George Seaton
- Producer(s):
- Ross Hunter
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- G(Suitable for Children, Adult Situations)
- Categories:
- Action / Adventure
- 1970 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
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