A routine flight turns into a major emergency as passengers and crew succumb to food poisoning - is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane? If that sounds vaguely familiar, it's... See full summary »

Director:

Writers:

(screenplay), (screenplay) | 2 more credits »
Reviews
Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Jeopardy (1953)
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A man vacationing with his wife and son near a desolate jetty in Baja becomes trapped under a rotten timber as the inevitable tide threatens to drown him.

Director: John Sturges
Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Ralph Meeker
Biography | Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

True story of the life of Jimmy Piersall, who battled mental illness to achieve stardom in major league baseball.

Director: Robert Mulligan
Stars: Anthony Perkins, Karl Malden, Norma Moore
Drama | Romance | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A young naive American and a cynical older British diplomat disagree over politics in 1952 Vietnam and over a beautiful young native girl.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Stars: Audie Murphy, Michael Redgrave, Claude Dauphin
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

In an isolated house, mystery writer Janet Frobisher is involved in potentially murderous relationships.

Director: Irving Rapper
Stars: Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Emlyn Williams
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

A Los Angeles socialite kills a man while home alone one night and claims he was an intruder she did not know. It seems like a clear case of self defense until the story hits the papers and people connected to the dead man come forward.

Director: Vincent Sherman
Stars: Ann Sheridan, Lew Ayres, Zachary Scott
Crime | Film-Noir | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

A young doctor falls in love with a disturbed young woman, becomes involved in the death of her husband, and has to flee with her to the Mexican border.

Director: John Farrow
Stars: Robert Mitchum, Claude Rains, Faith Domergue
Crime | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

Although Vivian Revere is seemingly the most successful of a trio of reunited schoolmates, she throws it away by descending into a life of debauchery and drugs.

Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Stars: Joan Blondell, Warren William, Ann Dvorak
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

An old patriarch unites for his birthday all members of his family. But the group of people is full of personal and social problems.

Director: Daniel Petrie
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Suzy Amis, Patricia Clarkson
Thin Ice (1937)
Comedy | Musical | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

A Swiss hotel's ski instructor falls in love with a man who goes skiing every morning.

Director: Sidney Lanfield
Stars: Sonja Henie, Tyrone Power, Arthur Treacher
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

Burt served in the Marines during the war, but now he is confined to an asylum. His experiences in the South Pacific left him mentally ill and deathly afraid of storm clouds and rain. ... See full summary »

Director: Fred M. Wilcox
Stars: Ralph Meeker, Nancy Reagan, James Whitmore
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

A promising classical musician finds his life poisoned by a music hall dancer -- and by the strange gaps in his memory.

Director: John Brahm
Stars: Laird Cregar, Linda Darnell, George Sanders
Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

Billy the Kid becomes embroiled in Lincoln County, NM, land wars. When rancher who gave him a break is killed by rival henchman, Billy vows revenge. New employer takes advantage of his ... See full summary »

Director: Kurt Neumann
Stars: Audie Murphy, Gale Storm, Albert Dekker
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Ellen Stryker
...
Capt. Martin Treleaven
...
Capt. Bill Wilson
...
...
Tony Decker
...
Stewardess Janet Turner
...
...
Mrs. Joan Wilson (as Carole Eden)
...
First Officer Walt Stewart
Jo Ann Wade ...
Treleaven's Baby Sitter
Ray Ferrell ...
Joey Stryker (as Raymond Ferrell)
...
TV Singer
...
British Army Doctor
...
Air Traffic Controller

Comic-Con 2017: All Aboard the IMDboat

Entertainment news, trailer drops, and photos abound at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con. Check out IMDb’s coverage, featuring Kevin Smith as our host, celebrity interviewer, and captain of the IMDboat, July 20 to 22.

Browse Our Guide to Comic-Con

Edit

Storyline

A routine flight turns into a major emergency as passengers and crew succumb to food poisoning - is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane? If that sounds vaguely familiar, it's because 'Airplane' was a send-up of this forerunner of the 1970s disaster movie.. Written by Michael Brooke <[email protected]>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

It Builds to the Tensest 50 Minutes in the History of the Screen!

Genres:

Thriller | Drama

Certificate:

See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

13 November 1957 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

714 antwortet nicht  »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Westrex Recording System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

S. John Launer (Switchboard Operator) and Willis Bouchey (British Army Doctor) went on to bigger and better things appearing as judges in the Perry Mason (1957) series. See more »

Goofs

Although the DC-4 does have windshield wipers, they would not be running constantly during normal flight as shown in the movie. They are primarily only run on the ground. See more »

Quotes

Lt. Ted Stryker: [enters the cockpit] Oh doctor, the stewardess said...
[Stryker sees the pilot and co-pilot seats empty and the plane on automatic pilot]
Lt. Ted Stryker: BOTH pilots?
Dr. Baird: Can you fly this airplane and land it?
Lt. Ted Stryker: Not a chance!
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Airplane: Long-Haul Version (2005) See more »

Soundtracks

The Gliss Jump
Composed by Billy Regis
Played by Billy Regis Band (as The Billy Regis Band)
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
This poor movie
18 May 2006 | by (Spokane, WA) – See all my reviews

I defy anyone to watch this film on its own terms. You sit down in front of the TV with the best will in the world, and then Crazylegs Hirsch asks the little boy if he's ever been in a cockpit before, and suddenly you're rolling on the floor.

What's amazing is how many of the jokes in *Airplane* work even though they parody specific moments in this movie (which fairly few people had seen).

"How about some coffee, Johnny?" "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking." "He's a menace to himself and everything else in the air!" "Stewardess? I think the man sitting next to me is a doctor." "It's a different kind of flying altogether."

I do wonder why they dropped the Jerry Paris character, who seems like he would have been a rich subject for parody.


9 of 10 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?