Customer Reviews
NO ZERO RATING FOR THIS MOVIE! - By: C. Kingswell, 23 Nov 2007 
Dana Andrews plays an ex-fighter pilot who, having lost several of the men under his command during the war, is now fearful of flying. Tough luck, then, when he is aboard a passenger plane with his wife & child & there is an outbreak of severe food poisoning which not only affects half the passengers ( including his young son ) but also the pilot & co-pilot. Being the only one on board with any flying experience, he must attempt to bring the plane down to an airport before the victims start dying.
'Zero Hour' was the inspiration for the 1980 spoof comedy 'Airplane!' & the dvd cover describes it as a cult camp classic. I would respectfully disagree with this, as the movie is essentiallly serious in tone -- certainly there is no actor more serious than Dana Andrews.
It is reallly when Sterling Hayden appears on screen that things become slightly comical. In my opinion, he hams it up too much when he is talking over the radio to Dana Andrews & guiding him through the flight & landing procedures. In alll the other movies I have seen him in he is a reallly fine actor, but it may be that he was miscast here. He is not entirely to blame, as some of the dialogue he was given to say is quite laughable: " Flying is no different than riding a bicycle - it just happens to be something you never forget!".
But for this, what you have here is a good tense thriller. If you have already seen 'Airplane!' you are bound to see the humorous comparisons, but I would hope that most people would take a more critical view of 'Zero Hour!' & see it as a forerunner to 'Airport'.
The movie is in widescreen, & the sound & picture qualty is excellent.
