Skyjacked (1972)

Director:

John Guillermin

Writers:

David Harper (novel)
Stanley R. Greenberg (writer)

Release Date:

8 September 1972 (Finland)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The Sky's The Limit For Suspense

Plot:

A crazed Vietnam vet bomber hijacks a Boeing 707 in this disaster film filled with the usual early '70s stereotypes...

Plot Keywords:

Sergeant | Airplane Hijack | Disaster | Vietnam | Airplane

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Capt. Henry 'Hank' O'Hara
Yvette Mimieux	...	Angela Thacher
James Brolin	...	Jerome K. Weber
Claude Akins	...	Sgt. Ben Puzo
Jeanne Crain	...	Mrs. Clara Shaw
Susan Dey	...	Elly Brewster
Roosevelt Grier	...	Gary Brown
Mariette Hartley	...	Harriet Stevens
Walter Pidgeon	...	Sen. Arne Lindner
Ken Swofford	...	John Bimonte
Leslie Uggams	...	Lovejoy Wells
Ross Elliott	...	Harold Shaw
Nicholas Hammond	...	Peter Lindner
Mike Henry	...	Sam Allen
Jayson Kane	...	William Reading (as Jayson William Kane)

Also Known As:

Sky Terror (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The 'Global Airways' plane used in the movie was a World Airways Boeing 707 (N374WA). World Airways home base at the time was Oakland Metropolitan Airport, where just about all of the airport scenes in the movie were filmed.

Goofs:

Continuity: The crew of the airliner lower the gear when the Soviet fighters approach them to escort them to Moscow. However, within 10 miles of the Moscow airport, when the fighters break away from the airliner, the airliner's gear is still up.

Quotes:

[first lines]
John Bimonte: [Hank is doing his walk-around the aircraft] Hey, Hank! Ready to go.
Capt. Henry 'Hank' O'Hara: Wrong! You got a broken cowling latch here.
John Bimonte: What the hell? I'll get right on it.
Capt. Henry 'Hank' O'Hara: Take all the time you want, John. You got 10 minutes.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Drive-In (1976)

Well worth watching

I first saw this film when it was released at the theatre in 1972, (I was 12yrs old), under the title "Sky Terror". Being an aviation buff, I was in my glory- This film had everything! Some of the best shots of a Boeing 707 in flight, (Most flight scenes today are computer generated and are extremely phony) and Yvette Mimieux, who has never looked more glamourous, as the first Stewardess. What more could an airline buff want. Charlton Heston reprises "Moses" in the cabin, as only he could. James Brolin is the resident bomb-carrying, psycopathic war vet, who's released on a 4F and wants to hijack everyone to Russia so he can be decorated. Mariette Hartley, is a believable "expectant-mother", who boards the flight as she's about to give birth. (How'd she slip past the gate agent?) Then there's Susan Dey, who was suspect immediately, as a Hippie traveling first class! There's a fairly good story here with the usual soap opera flair. (Mimieux's character has had an affair with the Captain and currently dating the 1st Officer). Geat interior and exterior scenes combined with above average acting and good dialogue, makes this all-star film, worth watching.

I give it a: * * 1/2 rating, they lose half a star for being an almost direct rip-off of "Airport".