Airport (film)

Airport is a 1970 American disaster film about an airport manager trying to keep his airport open during a snowstorm, while a suicidal bomber plots to blow up a Boeing 707 in flight.
 * Directed by George Seaton. Written by George Seaton, based on the novel of Arthur Hailey.

The #1 novel of the year - now a motion picture! Tagline

Joe Patroni

 * Okay. But you keep those dinky toys out of my hair and away from this plane for 15 minutes, maybe less. I'll DRIVE it out.


 * I'll be back in time if I have to pull that plane out with my teeth!


 * Hold the whipped cream; I just had a dessert.


 * Aww, a tractor-trailer jack-knifed and flipped over. It's laying on its side like a drunken dinosaur.


 * That's one nice thing about the 707. It can do everything but read.


 * Nice going sweetheart (as he taps the fuselage of the damaged plane)

Ada Quonsett

 * My late husband played the violin. Not professionally, but he was very good. He once played the Minute Waltz in 58 seconds.


 * When you get to be older, there isn't a lot left to be frightened of.

Dialogue

 * [an elderly woman walks by carrying her luggage]
 * Capt. Vernon Demerest: Hey, now, that's a good idea, Mel. Using little old ladies for skycaps. You keep that up. You're doing a good job.
 * Sarah Bakersfeld Demerest: [after Vernon leaves] Mel! For my sake, be patient with him.
 * Mel Bakersfeld: How you can live with that overage juvenile deliquent, I'll never know.
 * Sarah Bakersfeld Demerest: There's just the two of us. If I left him, what would I have?
 * Mel Bakersfeld: Would you have any more if he decided to leave you?
 * Sarah Bakersfeld Demerest: He won't. The moment a girl gets too serious, he waves his wedding ring like a flag. I'm his disaster insurance.
 * Mel Bakersfeld: More like group insurance!
 * Sarah Bakersfeld Demerest: Thanks for caring, Mel. Don't worry. Someday he'll come home for some other reason than to just change his clothes.
 * Mel Bakersfeld: Well, I hope so.


 * Ada Quonsett: My late husband taught me to be thorough. He was a teacher of geometry. He always said: "You must consider every angle".
 * Tanya Livingston: My late husband was a lawyer, and he always said: "Watch out for sweet-looking innocent, little old ladies." I'm beginning to understand what he meant.


 * Ada Quonsett: You've been so busy, we just haven't had a chance to chat. I'm Ada Quonsett.
 * D. O. Guerrero: How do you do.
 * Ada Quonsett: What's your name, sir?
 * D. O. Guerrero: Guerrero.
 * Ada Quonsett: Guerrero! That's Spanish, isn't it?
 * D. O. Guerrero: Yes, but way... back.
 * Ada Quonsett: You look more Irish.
 * D. O. Guerrero: So did my mother.


 * Gwen Meighen: Nuts to the man in 21D
 * Ruth: You said it.


 * [discussing the effects of the bomb on a 707]
 * Joe Patroni: The sudden decompression at 30,000 feet is something you gotta see to believe.
 * Tanya Livingston: He'll get sucked out, won't he?
 * Joe Patroni: So will anyone sittin' next to him. Until that pressure equalizes, everything within 20 feet of him that's not nailed down or strapped in is gonna get sucked right out of that hole.
 * Bert Weatherby: Is it that powerful, are you sure?
 * Joe Patroni: Yeah, I'm sure. When I was a mechanic in the Air Force, I was being transferred on a MATS plane. At 20,000 feet, one of the windows shattered. The guy sitting next to it was about 170 pounds. He went through that little space like a hunk of hamburger going down a disposal, and right after him coats, pillows, blankets, cups, saucers. Yeah, I'm sure.
 * Mel Bakersfeld: Takes about 3 seconds, doesn't it?
 * Joe Patroni: 3, 4 or 5, depends on the size of the hole. Everything fogs up just like that. [Snaps fingers] And THEN watch out! At that altitude, you can't breathe. So unless they get on oxygen in 45 seconds, it's good-bye!

Taglines

 * The #1 novel of the year - now a motion picture!

Cast

 * Burt Lancaster – Mel Bakersfeld
 * Dean Martin – Capt. Vernon Demerest
 * Jean Seberg – Tanya Livingston
 * Jacqueline Bisset – Gwen Meighen
 * George Kennedy – Joe Patroni
 * Helen Hayes – Ada Quonsett
 * Van Heflin – D. O. Guerrero
 * Maureen Stapleton – Inez Guerrero
 * Barry Nelson – Capt. Anson Harris
 * Lloyd Nolan – Harry Standish
 * Dana Wynter – Cindy Bakersfeld
 * Barbara Hale – Sarah Bakersfeld Demerest