Sir Richard Attenborough plays Ernest Tilley, a man who lost his daughter in a hit-and-run accident. He tracks down the man responsible for the accident and boards the same plane, threatenin... Read allSir Richard Attenborough plays Ernest Tilley, a man who lost his daughter in a hit-and-run accident. He tracks down the man responsible for the accident and boards the same plane, threatening to blow up himself and everyone on board as an act of vengeance. What follows is an Airp... Read allSir Richard Attenborough plays Ernest Tilley, a man who lost his daughter in a hit-and-run accident. He tracks down the man responsible for the accident and boards the same plane, threatening to blow up himself and everyone on board as an act of vengeance. What follows is an Airport-type movie with all the passengers having their own little subplots and fears.
- Emma Morgan
- (as Dame Sybil Thorndike)
- Clara Forrester
- (as Jackie Lane)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe aircraft on which this movie is set is a Tupolev Tu-104. This was a Soviet Russian-made passenger jet, code-named "Camel" by N.A.T.O. In this movie, the airline, on which the passengers fly, is a British one running a London to New York City service. However, it does seem highly unusual that they are operating this service with a Soviet-made Jet aircraft, especially since this movie was made during the height of the Cold War. In this movie, when the jet takes off, its Aeroflot markings and Soviet flag are easily visible. The Tu-104 was only operated by the U.S.S.R. and other Communist-affiliated countries, and the aircraft would not have been able to run a full passenger London to New York City service without a stopover (as occurs in the movie). Why the producers chose this aircraft and not the British-made Comet 4 or Boeing 707 (both aircraft had the range to cross the Atlantic) is a mystery.
- GoofsWhen Capt. Bardow is pleading with Tilley, he tells him that there are 32 human beings on board the airplane. In fact, there are only 30 people on board the plane, 8 members of the flight team (captain, co-pilot, engineer, navigator, radio man, stewardess, steward, and bartender/purser) and 22 others.
- Quotes
Capt. Bardow: Mr Tilley you're a decent man, you must fight this madness with everything you've got.
It's a real hard film to track down. Packed to the rafters with British acting talent, it has rarely been licensed to even be shown in the United Kingdom. I myself had to order a DVD copy from Australia, but the wait was very much worth it.
As has been noted by the very few reviews of the film on the internet, it's a British prototype disaster movie, but that in no way means this is cornball stuff, it's a very human and intelligent drama. Endfield's film is looking into how a number of people react differently when faced with the possibility of death, while it casts a scathing eye towards a society that creates someone like Ernest Tilley. How would you react if you faced impending death on board a plane? How would you react if your child was killed and the man responsible got away with it? Searching questions that of course don't bare thinking about, but that's why we have cinema, to let us escape into a dramatic world that paints possibilities for us.
The ream of character sub-plots are excellently performed by the huge cast, but it's Attenborough and Baker who shine brightest. The former has Tilley as hollowed and tragic, a man tipped over the edge, pain seeping from every pore. The latter has Captain Bardow as silky smooth, calm during crisis, it's an elegant portrayal by one of Britain's most under valued actors. Elsewhere, Endfield does a marvellous job of threading so many character strands together, making one successful whole and he deftly paces it and brings it in under 90, exposition free, minutes. The lovely title song is called Jetstream (a working title for the film), not Jet Storm as is listed on IMDb, and it's warbled by Marty Wilde (lyrics by Endfield) who also features in the cast.
An under seen British classic of entertaining substance, one that also has the requisite drama and suspense as it dangles its questions. 8/10
- hitchcockthelegend
- Jan 9, 2013
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Der Tod hat Verspätung
- Filming locations
- Shepperton Studios, Studios Road, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK(studio: made at Shepperton Studios, England)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Color