Back home

Zero Hour!

49 votes

Producing House

In 1950s Canada, during a commercial flight, the pilots and some passengers suffer food poisoning, thus forcing an ex-WW2 fighter pilot to try to land the airliner in heavy fog.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 1957-11-13

Runtime: 81 mins

Director: Hall Bartlett

Spoken language: English

Genres: Drama, Thriller

Original title: Zero Hour!

Production Companies: Carmel Productions, Bartlett-Champion Productions, Delta Enterprises Inc

Production Countries: United States of America

Reviews

J

John Chard
Tension and Terror in the Skies! Famously parodied as Airplane in 1980, it gets forgotten just what a rollicking good thriller Zero Hour! is. Dana Andrews is the airman scarred by an incident during the war who has to battle his demons when the crew and passengers of the jumbo jet he is aboard fall victim to food poisoning. Sterling Hayden is down on the ground smoking loads of ciggies and having no faith in trying to talk Andrews down safely. One of the first disaster aeroplane movies, it follows what we now regard as the staples of the genre. Troubled protagonist, family strife, calm characters, panic characters, lovely ladies, square jawed men, raging weather conditions and an aeroplane in serious danger of plummeting from the sky and killing all on board. It's sometimes hokey and one dimensional in terms of plot developments, but it commits to the drama and grinds out a suspenseful last half hour that can have you edging towards the edge of your seat. A must see for fans of such fare. It's ok to love Airplane! and prefer its comedy smartness, but it's also ok to doff a respectful pilot cap towards Zero Hour! as well. 7.5/10
2014-12-29

Recommendations

Christmas Holiday
3.2

Christmas Holiday

1944-06-17

A young femme fatale realizes that the man she married is an incorrigible wastrel.

Nomads
2.4

Nomads

1986-03-07

One night, in a Los Angeles hospital, Dr. Flax attends to a seriously injured man who, apparently cr

Saigon
2.9

Saigon

1947-12-05

After World War II Larry learns that his flying buddy Mike will only live a short time despite the e

Wit
3.7

Wit

2001-02-09

A renowned professor is forced to reassess her life when she is diagnosed with terminal ovarian canc

Public Hero Number 1
3.1

Public Hero Number 1

1935-05-31

G-Man Jeff Crane poses as a crook to infiltrate the notorious Purple Gang, a band of hoodlums which

I Walked with a Zombie
3.4

I Walked with a Zombie

1943-04-21

A nurse in the Caribbean turns to voodoo in hopes of curing her patient, a mindless woman whose husb

Goodbye, Mr. Germ
1.5

Goodbye, Mr. Germ

1940-09-18

A doctor explains to his children the dangers of tuberculosis, what it is and how to prevent against

Black Jack: The Movie
3.2

Black Jack: The Movie

1996-11-29

Black Jack is a master surgeon who possesses impeccable skills, enabling him to perform operations t

Silence of the North
2

Silence of the North

1981-10-23

Director Allan King's 1981 drama, based on true events, stars Ellen Burstyn as a strong-willed woman

A Wish for Giants
4.3

A Wish for Giants

2018-02-17

Sophie, a young volunteer, meets her kindred spirit in Roxie, a girl with a life threatening medical

The Mechanic
3.3

The Mechanic

2011-01-13

Arthur Bishop is a 'mechanic' - an elite assassin with a strict code requiring professional perfecti

Airport 1975
2.9

Airport 1975

1974-10-18

When an in-flight collision incapacitates the pilots of an airplane bound for Los Angeles, stewardes

Closing the Ring
3

Closing the Ring

2007-09-14

During the 1940s, a group of young men go off to war, leaving behind Ethel Ann, who is in love with

Owning Mahowny
3.4

Owning Mahowny

2003-05-02

Dan Mahowny was a rising star at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. At twenty-four he was assis

Five Miles to Midnight
2.9

Five Miles to Midnight

1962-12-12

American ex-Air Force man and current businessman Bob Macklin is married to the impoverished Italian

The Grey Zone
3.3

The Grey Zone

2001-09-13

The story of Auschwitz's twelfth Sonderkommando — one of the thirteen consecutive "Special Squads" o

Above the Clouds
3

Above the Clouds

1933-12-13

Robert Armstrong stars as Scoop Adams, an ace newsreel cameraman whose love affair with the bottle a

Quiet Murders
3.5

Quiet Murders

2020-02-17

A mild-mannered doctor develops a taste for blood after the hiring of an assassin to kill his wife g

Griffin & Phoenix
3.5

Griffin & Phoenix

2006-09-12

A terminally ill man falls in love with a woman who has a secret that threatens their time spent tog

Running Scared
3

Running Scared

1986-06-27

Two street-wise Chicago cops have to shake off some rust after returning from a Key West vacation to