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''ABC Bookworld''. Retrieved: September 6, 2014. In 1964, a German version of the television film was produced under the title ''Flug in Gefahr''. Czechoslovak radio (Československý rozhlas) has produced it as part of the radio series ''Let do nebezpečí'', directed by Jiří Horčička. An Australian television version was produced in 1966. In ''Flight into Danger'', Hailey created the template for future disaster films. Character-driven plot lines built up among diverse characters would dominate, with brief episodes or flashbacks giving back stories, and all the individual stories coming together at the climax. Hailey's story was adapted as a novel by John Castle (a pseudonym for Ronald Payne and John Garrod), with Hailey receiving credit as co-author. The book was called ''Flight into Danger'' (Souvenir Press) for its British publication in 1958, but retitled ''Runway Zero-Eight'' (Doubleday) for its American publication in 1959.Hailey, Sheila (1978). ''I Married a Best Seller: My Life with Arthur Hailey''. Open Road Media, 2014. Kindle Edition. The story was again produced for American television in 1971 as ''
"Zero Hour."
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: September 6, 2014.
''Flight into Danger'' is a 1956 Canadian live television play starring
Playwright Hailey, a former British pilot in the Second World War, emigrated to Canada in 1947. He began working as a sales promotion manager for a tractor-trailer manufacturer in Toronto. On a flight between Vancouver and Toronto in 1955, he came up with the original idea that spawned ''Flight into Danger''. The story of an airliner whose passengers and crew were threatened by an unforeseen event such as food poisoning was written in only nine days and shopped about as a screenplay. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, whose television service was less than four years old, bought the script for $600.
The production acquired the cockpit of a
in the James Doohan
James Montgomery Doohan (; March 3, 1920 – July 20, 2005) was a Canadian actor, author and soldier, best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series '' Star Trek''. Doohan's characterization of the Scottis ...
, Corinne Conley
Corinne Alexandra Conley (born May 23, 1929) is an American actress who spent the majority of her career in Canada, notable for having won the Canadian Council of Authors and Artists' Best Actress Award. Conley is known for her voiceover work i ...
and Cec Linder
Cecil Yekuthial Linder (March 10, 1921 – April 10, 1992) was a Polish-born Canadian film and television actor. He was Jewish and managed to escape Poland before the Holocaust. In the 1950s and 1960s, he worked extensively in the United Kingdom, ...
. It was written by Arthur Hailey, produced and screened by CBC Television, and broadcast on April 3, 1956, on the ''General Motors Theatre
''General Motors Theatre'' (also known as ''CBC Theatre, Encounter, Ford Television Theatre,'' and ''General Motors Presents'') was a Canadian television anthology drama series of television plays, which ran on CBC Television under various title ...
'' series. It was later adapted into two different feature films, a parody feature film, a novel, and international television versions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia.
Plot
While on a flight fromToronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, to Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...
, the pilots at the controls of a Canadair North Star, a large commercial airliner, fall victim to food poisoning. Approximately half of the passengers have also been incapacitated by eating the same fish served to the pilots. After the stewardess (Corinne Conley) asks for help from the passengers, George Spencer (James Doohan
James Montgomery Doohan (; March 3, 1920 – July 20, 2005) was a Canadian actor, author and soldier, best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series '' Star Trek''. Doohan's characterization of the Scottis ...
), an ex-Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
fighter pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
, is forced to take over, with the stewardess's assistance.
Cast
Production
Playwright Hailey, a former British pilot in the Second World War, emigrated to Canada in 1947. He began working as a sales promotion manager for a tractor-trailer manufacturer in Toronto. On a flight between Vancouver and Toronto in 1955, he came up with the original idea that spawned ''Flight into Danger''. The story of an airliner whose passengers and crew were threatened by an unforeseen event such as food poisoning was written in only nine days and shopped about as a screenplay. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, whose television service was less than four years old, bought the script for $600.
The production acquired the cockpit of a Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
(RCAF) Canadair North Star and had it shipped by road to RCAF Station Trenton
Canadian Forces Base Trenton (also CFB Trenton), formerly RCAF Station Trenton, is a Canadian Forces base located within the city of Quinte West, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is the hu ...
, where the filming took place, including aerial shots. The Malton Airport
Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the su ...
at Malton, Ontario
Malton is a neighbourhood in the northeastern part of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located to the northwest of Toronto.
Malton is bounded by Highway 427 to the east, the Brampton city limits (a Canadian National Railway (CN) rail l ...
, present day Toronto Pearson International Airport, was also used for the airport scenes.
Reception
When ''Flight into Danger'' was broadcast live-to-air on April 3, 1956, on the network's ''General Motors Theatre'', it was seen by two million people and received a resounding positive reaction. "In the words of one journalist, it was 'probably the most successful TV play ever written anywhere'." Akinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 194 ...
of the live production was broadcast in August 1956 due to viewer demand. The play was remade with a new cast and production staff on NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
's anthology series ''The Alcoa Hour
''The Alcoa Hour'' is an American anthology television series that was aired live on NBC from 1955 to 1957. The series was sponsored by Alcoa.
Overview
Like the ''Philco Television Playhouse'' and ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' that had prec ...
'' on September 16, 1956, and later the same month the original CBC version was shown by the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and was a major factor in the supervising producer of CBC's television dramas, Sydney Newman
Sydney Cecil Newman (April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman w ...
, being brought across to work in the UK. There he made a significant impact on the British television drama industry.
In 1957, ''Flight into Danger'' was adapted into the feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
''Zero Hour!
''Zero Hour!'' is a 1957 drama film directed by Hall Bartlett from a screenplay by Bartlett, Arthur Hailey, and John Champion. It stars Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, and Sterling Hayden and features Peggy King, Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, Geof ...
'' and, in 1962, the story was adapted for an episode of the BBC series ''Studio 4
Studio 4 was an acting and filmmaking school located in New York City and Los Angeles, founded by James Franco in 2014. Franco opened the school after studying at Playhouse West in Los Angeles.
In 2017, multiple female students of the school c ...
''."Arthur Hailey".''ABC Bookworld''. Retrieved: September 6, 2014. In 1964, a German version of the television film was produced under the title ''Flug in Gefahr''. Czechoslovak radio (Československý rozhlas) has produced it as part of the radio series ''Let do nebezpečí'', directed by Jiří Horčička. An Australian television version was produced in 1966. In ''Flight into Danger'', Hailey created the template for future disaster films. Character-driven plot lines built up among diverse characters would dominate, with brief episodes or flashbacks giving back stories, and all the individual stories coming together at the climax. Hailey's story was adapted as a novel by John Castle (a pseudonym for Ronald Payne and John Garrod), with Hailey receiving credit as co-author. The book was called ''Flight into Danger'' (Souvenir Press) for its British publication in 1958, but retitled ''Runway Zero-Eight'' (Doubleday) for its American publication in 1959.Hailey, Sheila (1978). ''I Married a Best Seller: My Life with Arthur Hailey''. Open Road Media, 2014. Kindle Edition. The story was again produced for American television in 1971 as ''
Terror in the Sky
''Terror in the Sky'' is a 1971 television film remake of 1957's ''Zero Hour!'', which itself was based on the 1956 television play ''Flight into Danger''. Arthur Hailey recycled the premise in his book ''Runway Zero-Eight'' which was co-written ...
'', a Movie of the Week
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
, and more famously parodied in the 1980 comedy feature film ''Airplane!
''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American parody film written and directed by the brothers David Zucker, David and Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison (film prod ...
''.Cady, Brian"Zero Hour."
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: September 6, 2014.
References
Citations
Bibliography
* Fromow, D. L. ''Canada's Flying Gunners: A History of the Air Observation Post of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery''. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Air O.P. Pilot's Association, 2002. . * Haliley, Sheila. ''I Married a Best Seller: My Life with Arthur Hailey''. New York: Open Road Media, 2014. . * Kay, Glenn and Michael Rose.''Disaster Movies: A Loud, Long, Explosive, Star-studded Guide to Avalanches ...'' Oakville, Ontario, Canada: Mosaic Press, 2006. . * Sparber, Max. '' Ultra-Actors: William Shatner''. Seattle, Washington: Ultramod, 2011. .External links
* {{Arthur Hailey English-language Canadian films 1956 television films 1956 films Canadian aviation films Canadian drama television films CBC Television original films Films set on airplanes Films with screenplays by Arthur Hailey 1950s English-language films Films directed by Gabriel Axel 1950s Canadian films Canadian black-and-white films