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Melodrama about a bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost closed by snow, and various personal problems of the people involved.
Credits: TheMovieDb.
Film Cast:
- Mel Bakersfeld: Burt Lancaster
- Cindy Bakersfeld: Dana Wynter
- Vernon Demerest: Dean Martin
- Sarah Demerest: Barbara Hale
- Tanya Livingston: Jean Seberg
- Gwen Meighen: Jacqueline Bisset
- Joe Patroni: George Kennedy
- Marie Patroni: Jodean Lawrence
- Ada Quonsett: Helen Hayes
- Peter Coakley: John Findlater
- D. O. Guerrero: Van Heflin
- Inez Guerrero: Maureen Stapleton
- Anson Harris: Barry Nelson
- Judy Barton: Eileen Wesson
- Captain Benson: Robert Patten
- Dr. Compagno: Paul Picerni
- Robbie Bakersfeld: Ilana Dowding
- Libby Bakersfeld: Lisa Gerritsen
- Bert Weatherby: Clark Howat
- Cy Jordan: Gary Collins
- Harry Standish: Lloyd Nolan
- Harriet DuBarry Mossman: Jessie Royce Landis
- Millie Miles: Sandra Gould
- Katherine Grace: Janis Hansen
- Jack Ingram: William Boyett
- Steven Lonigan: James Nolan
- Marcus Rathbone: Peter Turgeon
- Ned Ordway: Albert Reed Jr.
- Mr. Schultz: Dick Winslow
- Mrs. Schultz: Virginia Grey
- Schuyler Schultz: Lou Wagner
- Mr. Davidson: Whit Bissell
- Ruth: Ena Hartman
- Bunnie: Nancy Ann Nelson
- Felice: Mary Jackson
- Joan: Patty Poulsen
- Maria: Malila Saint Duval
- Sally: Sharon Harvey
- Rollings: Shelly Novack
- Reynolds: Lew Brown
- Ackerman: Larry Gates
- Parks: Chuck Daniel
- Diller: Charles Brewer
- Controller: Richard Mathews
- Mrs. Jerry Copeland (uncredited): Pat Priest
- Mrs. Donovan: Cathleen Cordell
- Waiter at Men’s Club: William H. O’Brien
- Woman on Dais: Leoda Richards
- Gilbert Price (uncredited): Ray Ballard
- New York Dispatcher (uncredited): Chuck Bowman
- Mrs. David Corman (uncredited): Eve Brent
- Cab Driver (uncredited): John Dennis
- Maurice David (uncredited): John Francis
- Dr. Avery Smith (uncredited): Harry Harvey
- Man Inspecting Hole in Plane (uncredited): Gordon Jump
- Mrs. Henry Bron (uncredited): Eve McVeagh
- Richard Ross (uncredited): John Nolan
- John (uncredited): Don Ross
- Joan Myers (uncredited): Marion Ross
- Pfc. Bud Miller (uncredited): Mark Russell
- Ted Fields (uncredited): Frank J. Scannell
- First Class Flight Attendant (uncredited): Susan Seaforth Hayes
Film Crew:
- Set Decoration: Mickey S. Michaels
- Stunts: Dean Smith
- Costume Design: Edith Head
- Sound: Waldon O. Watson
- Original Music Composer: Alfred Newman
- Director of Photography: Ernest Laszlo
- Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen
- Hairstylist: Larry Germain
- Makeup Artist: Bud Westmore
- Sound: Ronald Pierce
- Additional Photography: Loyal Griggs
- Director: George Seaton
- Stunts: Bob Yerkes
- Editor: Stuart Gilmore
- Art Direction: E. Preston Ames
- Producer: Ross Hunter
- Associate Producer: Jacques Mapes
- Novel: Arthur Hailey
- Stunts: Nick Cravat
- Stunts: Don Nagel
- Stunts: Joe Gray
- Stunts: Carol Daniels
- Script Supervisor: Betty A. Griffin
- Set Decoration: Jack D. Moore
- Stunt Double: Donna Garrett
- Stunts: Bud Walls
- Music Editor: Arnold Schwarzwald
- Sound: David H. Moriarty
- Unit Production Manager: Raymond Gosnell
- Assistant Director: Donald Roberts
- Gaffer: Everett Lehman
Movie Reviews:
- Wuchak: _**Quaint, but fairly compelling airport soap opera with a disaster element**_
- During a snowstorm at Lincoln International Airport in Chicago, the manager of the airport (Burt Lancaster) works overtime to clear the main runway of a Boeing 707 that’s stuck in the snow while dealing with his failing marriage. Meanwhile the next flight to Rome piloted by his brother-in-law (Dean Martin) has a suspicious person with an attaché case on board (Van Heflin). George Kennedy plays the head mechanic, Jean Seberg a customer relations agent, Jacqueline Bisset a flight attendant and Helen Hayes a stowaway.
- “Airport” (1970) was the movie that kicked-off the disaster craze of the 70s. It’s not great like “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972), but it’s more compelling and less bloated than “The Towering Inferno” (1974). The soap operatic first half paves the way for the disaster-oriented second. It’s intentionally old-fashioned and was a huge hit at the box office. I wasn’t sure about it for the first 20 minutes, but I then found myself involved in the characters and their story, keeping my interest till the end.
- After disaster films developed a bad rap years later, Lancaster panned “Airport” as the “worst piece of junk ever made,” which is ironic considering it was his most successful movie at the box office BY FAR.
- The film runs 2 hours, 16 minutes, and was shot at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Minneapolis, and Universal Studios, Universal City, California.
- GRADE: B

