Airport (1970)

79% of critics liked it
(14 reviews)
49% of users liked it
(10,750 ratings)

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… More 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

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: G, 2 hr. 17 min.
Directed By: George Seaton, Henry Hathaway
Written By: Arthur Hailey, George Seaton
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Mar 5, 1970 Wide
On DVD: Jan 15, 1999
Studio: Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

Wesley Lovell, Oscar Guy
Before there was Airplane! there was Airport, a surprisingly engaging disaster drama that ignited a trend.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
If it weren't for a mad bomber story line, it would be the perfect empty movie for airlines to show on long flights.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
One of the most embarrassing films to be nominated for Best Picture and other Oscars, Airport is a trashy flick that began the cycle of disaster movies; the spoof Airport is better and more enjoyable.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Old-fashioned and fairly stagy, but this great-granddaddy of disaster flicks has an undeniable old-fashioned charm.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
It spawned a sub-genre, but it was old-fashioned when it was new.
Edward Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly
Cheesy fun.

Read all 6 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Dean !

The first of the Airport disaster films. I remember seeing most of them on Sunday afternoons on TV as a young kid. Big budget blockbusters for the time with an all star cast! I think there were three sequels in the end Airport '75, '77 and '79 concorde! Check them out,… More
The first of the Airport disaster films. I remember seeing most of them on Sunday afternoons on TV as a young kid. Big budget blockbusters for the time with an all star cast! I think there were three sequels in the end Airport '75, '77 and '79 concorde! Check them out, still pretty good films and few disaster films about planes have been made since to this standard. Not too mention it inspired two of the funniest spoof films (Airplane) as well!
AJ V

A good cast, but the story is predictable and the movie is very long. This is the first of the 70s disaster movie fad, I think, so it's interesting to watch anyway.
Spencer S

The best cast imaginable, a plot that is fresh and enjoyable, and sequences that couldn't be less comparable to any other film.
Drew S

This movie is about an airport. Bad things happen at this airport sometimes. Every woman at the airport is either pregnant or a sad wife. The snow makes it hard to fly, as does the man with the bomb in seat 23A. It received 9 Oscar nominations, which says some very bad things about… More
This movie is about an airport. Bad things happen at this airport sometimes. Every woman at the airport is either pregnant or a sad wife. The snow makes it hard to fly, as does the man with the bomb in seat 23A. It received 9 Oscar nominations, which says some very bad things about the Academy and the state of film in the early 70s, and actually won one because those crazy Oscar folks love conniving old women. Unfortunately, these days it's about as tense as a wet fart, even though the cast is mildly engaging and the characters aren't all that bad. It's pretty fluffy entertainment and is most interesting as an odd action time capsule. My God, how the genre ages hard.
jay n

A little hokey to be sure but eminently watchable, Helen Hayes IS endearing but her oscar was surely a sentimental one and really should have gone to Maureen Stapleton who gives a real and very touching portrayal of a woman in an impossible situation. The rest of the cast is fun, Burt… More
A little hokey to be sure but eminently watchable, Helen Hayes IS endearing but her oscar was surely a sentimental one and really should have gone to Maureen Stapleton who gives a real and very touching portrayal of a woman in an impossible situation. The rest of the cast is fun, Burt Lancaster and Dana Wynter inject a touch of reality as they come to grips with the end of their marriage in a wonderfully played scene. Jacqueline Bissett is young and beautiful, the chicest stewardess to ever fly the friendly skies.
xGary X

One of these ridiculous hand-wringing disaster movies that are now impossible to take seriously after Airplane!
Barry L

Aw come on its a disaster movie. Its great.

Read all 7 featured audience ratings

Cast

            Burt Lancaster as Mel Bakersfeld

            Dean Martin as Vernon Demerest

            Jean Seberg as Tanya Livingston

            Jacqueline Bisset as Gwen Meighen

            George Kennedy as Patroni

            Helen Hayes as Ada Quonsett

            Van Heflin as D.O. Guerrero

            Maureen Stapleton as Inez Guerrero

            Barry Nelson as Lt. Anson Harris

            Dana Wynter as Cindy

            Lloyd Nolan as Harry Standish

            Barbara Hale as Sarah

            John Findlater as Peter Coakley

            Jesse Royce Landis as Mrs. Harriet DuBarry Mossman

            Larry Gates as Commissioner Ackerman

            Peter Turgeon as Marcus Rathbone

            Whit Bissell as Mr. Davidson

            Virginia Grey as Mrs. Schultz

            Eileen Wesson as Judy

            Paul Picerni as Dr. Compagno

            Robert Patten as Capt. Benson

            Clark Howat as Bert Weatherby

            Lew Brown as Reynolds

            Jim Nolan as Father Lonigan

            Patty Poulsen as Joan

            Ena Hartman as Ruth

            Milila St. Duval
            
            Sharon Harvey as Sally

            Albert Reed as Lt. Ned Ordway

            Nancy Ann Nelson as Bunnie

            Dick Winslow as Mr. Schultz

            Lou Wagner as Schuyler Schultz

            Janis Hansen as Sister Katherine Grace

            Mary Jackson as Sister Felice

            Shelly Novack as Rollings

            Chuck Daniel as Parks

            Charles Brewer as Diller

            Gary Collins as Cy Jordon

            Lisa Gerritsen as Libby Bakersfeld

            Harry Harvey
            
            Celia Lovsky
            
            Dallas Mitchell as Dispatcher

            Jodean Russo as Marie Patroni

            Michael Stearns as Passenger

            Benny Rubin as Passenger

            Jodean Lawrence
            
            Beverly Garland
            
            Charlton Heston
            
            Christopher Norris
            
            Dana Andrews
            
            Ed Nelson
            
            Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
            
            Erik Estrada
            
            Gloria Swanson
            
            Guy Stockwell
            
            Helen Reddy
            
            Irene Tsu
            
            Jerry Stiller
            
            Karen Black
            
            Larry Storch
            
            Linda Blair
            
            Myrna Loy
            
            Nancy Olson
            
            Norman Fell
            
            Roy Thinnes
            
            Sharon Gless
            
            Sid Caesar
            
            Susan Clark
            
See full cast