{"id":35963,"date":"2015-05-13T17:21:18","date_gmt":"2015-05-13T21:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/?p=35963"},"modified":"2018-11-09T13:51:45","modified_gmt":"2018-11-09T18:51:45","slug":"required-viewing-airplanes-inspiration-zero-hour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/2015\/05\/13\/required-viewing-airplanes-inspiration-zero-hour\/","title":{"rendered":"Required Viewing: AIRPLANE!\u2019s Inspiration ZERO HOUR!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ZeroHour\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The plot for 1957\u2018s Zero Hour!<\/strong> \u2013 The crew of a transcontinental passenger airplane flight take sick, forcing a war veteran to confront his own fears to save the lives of all aboard \u2013 may sound familiar, if a little serious, if you have ever seen the 1979 comedy classic Airplane!<\/strong>. That\u2019s because Airplane!<\/strong>\u2019s three writer\/directors Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker famously based their film on the B-movie thriller after having videotaped it off of late night television.<\/p>\n

What many cinephiles possibly don\u2019t realize is how closely the Zucker- Abrahams -Zulcker teamed followed the blueprint laid out by Zero Hour!<\/strong>. Lines like \u201cOur survival hinges on one thing – finding someone who not only can fly this plane, but didn’t have fish for dinner.\u201d and the great run of escalating one liner that begins with \u201cLooks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking.\u201d were lifted straight out of Zero Hour!<\/strong> verbatim, their melodramatic seriousness played for ironic laughs.<\/p>\n

Tonight, Turner Classic Movies is presenting Zero Hour!<\/strong> as part of their month-long salute to actor and Zero Hour!<\/strong> star Sterling Hayden. The movie screens at 8 pm Eastern, but if you have the time before, or if you are DVRing the film to watch later, I suggest that you give Airplane!<\/strong> a quick rewatch beforehand. Doing so not only makes the similarities stand out more, but it also makes for a crazy fun double-feature, especially with friends.<\/p>\n