When Arthur Hailey’s novel Airport was published in 1968, the literary world was introduced to TWA maintenance chief Joe Patroni, a no-nonsense, cigar chomping trouble-shooter operating out of Chicago’s fictional Lincoln International Airport. In the novel, Patroni races the clock to remove an Aero-Mexico Boeing 707, that is mired in snow and mud, blocking a crucial runway, before another crippled 707 can make an emergency landing on the same runway. Set during a massive snowstorm, Airport unfolds over an 8-hour period, and takes the reader on an in-depth journey through the operations of a major midwestern airport, and the trials and tribulations of the people who make it all work. The novel was a massive best-seller.

              Produced by Ross Hunter, adapted and directed by George Seaton, Universal Pictures brought Airport to the big screen with a stellar cast in 1970, featuring Burt Lancaster, Jean Seberg, Dean Martin, Jacqueline Bissett, and George Kennedy as Joe Patroni. Remaining faithful to the original novel, Patroni remained TWA’s maintenance chief at the same fictional Lincoln International. He chomped his cigar trying to save a 707 of the fictional Trans Global Airlines and delivered dialogue almost word for word as Hailey had originally written them. Kennedy was perfect casting, and George Seaton’s Airport remained faithful to the tone, atmosphere, and story of Arthur Hailey’s novel. The movie was a massive hit. (See my in-depth look at Airport from May 4, 2023)

              Airport had it’s first tv airing in November 1973 and received huge ratings. By this time, Twentieth Century Fox scored at the box-office with The Poseidon Adventure, and the disaster era of the 1970’s had begun. Fox was upping the ante with The Towering Inferno, Universal was prepping Earthquake, and were eyeing one of their existing properties. Although I have never considered Airport a disaster film, nor do I feel it is the film solely responsible for the disaster craze of the 70s, Universal nevertheless saw the potential, conceived and thrust Airport 1975 into the fray.

Airport 1975

Released: 1974

Dir. Jack Smight

              On a snowy night in January 1970, Joe Patroni is snuggling with his wife Marie (Jodean Russo). Their kids are stashed away at his mother’s, so Joe and Marie can be alone for the night, when Joe is called away for an emergency at Lincoln International. “They don’t call them emergencies anymore; they call them Patronis.” Joe, gainfully employed by TWA, is the go-to guy in an emergency, no matter which airline is involved. Airplane mechanics is in his blood. He was a mechanic in the air force, knows every inch of the 707, knowing what it can and can’t take, has a license to taxi large aircraft, and has more faith in the aircraft than in the men who pilot them, at least on the ground. He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty and has a certain disdain for most ‘stiffs’ who work in the front office. With mocking wit, he gets the job done.

              Jump ahead five years. Joe Patroni is now Vice-president of Operations for Columbia Airlines, a stiff who works in the front office, who still likes to get his hands dirty. When we first meet Patroni 1975, his mocking wit is still getting the job done, even if it is just picking up a wrench for a clumsy mechanic who’s just cracked wise about Joe’s front office job. He’s a mechanic’s mechanic through and through. Sadly, this is really the only glimpse we get of the original 1970 Patroni. But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself.

              Airport 1975 begins at Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C., and after about 15 minutes Columbia Airlines Flight 409 takes-off, and we leave the airport part of the movie behind and follow Columbia 409 as it wings its way to LA loaded with a pitiful band of misfits also known as passengers, who are onboard for comic relief and turn out to be funny for all the wrong reasons. Also on hand are, a plucky group of stewardesses, and a horribly sexist flight crew. The set-up of all these characters can be painful, but there is a pay-off, courtesy of film noir legend Dana Andrews.

              Andrews plays Scott Freeman, a businessman who pilots his own Beechcraft Baron, and as luck would have it Freeman suffers a massive heart attack and crashes his plane into 409’s cockpit, killing 2/3rds of the flight crew, and severely injuring the captain, leaving Head Stewardess Nancy Pryor(Karen Black) at the controls. This is fortunate for us, the viewing public, as we can now, for the most part, forget all that rubbish we had to endure to get to this point. The only real important thing to remember from the passenger cabin is that Joe Patroni’s wife, Helen(Susan Clark) and 10 year old son, Joe. Jr, are onboard. Wait, what!? What the hell happened to Marie and the rest of the kids!? Forget about Columbia 409, we’ve got a bigger emergency here, Patroni’s wife and kids have disappeared, and more puzzling still, his namesake was born in 1965, presumably while Patroni was married to Marie. Who is this charlatan Helen and what’s she done with Marie and the kids? And how is Joe involved? Sadly, none of this is explored and we are left with the conundrum of how to get Flight 409 safely down.

              To be fair, I do find this part of the movie kind of exciting and interesting. The smashed cockpit feels convincing as does Karen Black’s performance. All the aviation stuff sounds right, although I’m not an expert. The aerial shots of the 747 flying through the mountains are beautiful and well executed. Like the original Airport, at least all the technical stuff seems accurate, as we learn the basics of flying the most advanced airliner of the time. It is easy to get caught up in this kind of stuff.

              In the safety of a corporate jet, Al Murdock(Charlton Heston) and Patroni hatch a hairbrained scheme to transfer a pilot from a high speed Air Force Helicopter and into the hole of 409’s cockpit. Oh, did I mention that Murdock is Nancy’s boyfriend? Never mind. With Nancy flying figure eights through the mountains (not really), the Air Force reluctantly agrees to the stunt. Fortunately, the only man for the job happens to be stationed nearby. Unfortunately, he’s killed during his attempt to board the crippled 747.

              Murdock steps in and with no training dangles above the Columbia jetliner. To the films credit, this stunt was performed for real. An actual guy is hanging above the 747 as it flies through the mountains, it is spectacular and the kind of stunt you just don’t see in movies anymore. Nowadays it would be done with cheap CGI effects. However, the actual transfer onto the cockpit was done in the studio, for obvious safety concerns, but still, Charlton Heston dangling above a 747, you don’t see that every day. Nevertheless, Murdock plants himself in the captain’s seat and lands the plane.

              What does Joe Patroni have to do with all of this? Well, aside from his ‘wife’ and ‘son’ being onboard, not much really. He acts mostly as Murdock’s sounding board, and his skills as a mechanic or Vice-President of Operations don’t really come into play in this situation. It’s more of an issue of piloting and landing a crippled plane rather than fixing it. The planes broke and can’t be unbroke. Nancy must work with what’s she’s got, and Murdock, the guy who knows the most about piloting a 747, is the man for the job. Joe is only allowed to taxi. So, Joe does the obvious and climbs atop a rescue vehicle as it races down the runway after Flight 409, ‘the wife’, and several unanswered questions. What happened to Marie and the Kids? Does Helen know about Marie and the kids? Does Marie know about Helen and Joe Jr.? Is Marie even alive? Are the kids still with Joe’s mother? What other skeletons are in Joe’s closet? What prompted his exit from TWA? What the hell is Gloria Swanson doing in this picture?

Oh, did I mention Gloria Swanson is in this movie? She is.

To Be Continued…

All 4 Airport films are available on Blu-Ray and DVD in the Airport Terminal-Pack from Universal Home Video.