Directed by: Jerry Jameson
Starring: Jack Lemmon (w/ tremendous mustache), Lee Grant, and many others I’ll list below
From: Universal
Featuring Tabletop Pong, an actual Karen & DiscoVision
My journey through the Airport sequels continued last night with this one that also was amazingly of its time. The fashion-even the duds a young boy wore screamed “late 70’s”-the soundtrack a few times sounding like it was played on a Moog, all the wood paneling and carpet in the airplane, a tabletop version of Pong being played in one scene, and an early moment where what is now known as a LaserDisc (but had a few different names originally, including DiscoVision) is presented. The movie was made about two years before MCA and Philips introduced the device to the United States & it’s obvious that MCA used its subsidiary Universal to broadcast what was then astounding technology… even if it was only shown and no one bothered to mention what its name was.
This time two other stalwarts of the 1970’s were part of the plot: airline terrorism and the Bermuda Triangle. Jimmy Stewart is a philanthropist who is so filthy rich (he’s not presented like an uber-rich A-hole like the stereotypical jerk billionaires we have now) he has his own private 747 jet which is outfitted like a ritzy lounge. He’s also transporting rare art so some thieves have an elaborate scheme to hijack the plane then steal said art. Regrettably for them, someone does something really stupid and they crash in the Bermuda Triangle. For those not in the know, back then there was an urban legend where the three points of the triangle were never even confirmed but in a roughly defined area there were allegedly a greatly increased likely of a sinking, a disappearance or other disaster. Truthfully, that was all codswallop as the purported data to prove this was either misinformation or blatant lies; that region is no more dangerous than any other.
Anyhow, this has another noteworthy cast: Jack Lemmon w/ tremendous mustache, Lee Grant as a character named KAREN who in fact was actually a Karen, Darren McGavin, Brenda Vaccaro, Joseph Cotten, Olivia de Havilland, George Kennedy returning for a few minutes, Christopher Lee, Robert Foxworth, Kathleen Quinlan, George Furth, Gil Gerard, and what was at least the most surprising role for me, M. Emmet Walsh playing someone who was NOT a villain or otherwise a heel; instead he was a helpful doctor. That may be even more shocking than Lee in a heroic part. After the crash, the plane sinks into the ocean so yes this will remind you of The Poseidon Adventure.
Of course, this is rather silly yet there is more disaster action than in Airport 1975 and the supporting cast also has more to do after the crash than in 1975. After all, all but one of the people involved in the hijacking simply vanish after the crash; did those people conveniently all die? You see what I mean when I say “silly”… yet it was still fun.
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