The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

"Zero Hour" is the movie that inspired "Airplane" which not only copied it's plot but even took the leading character's name. However, watching Hall Bartlett's picture we are meant to keep our faces very straight indeed, if this is at all possible, (it isn't). I remember seeing this as a kid and loving it and it does hold up pretty well. It also comes as no surprise to see Arthur Hailey's name on the credits. He was the man who gave us "Airport" which touched on similar ground. Unfortunately, this particular hour is hardly Dana Andrews' finest; his po-faced performance is almost a parody in itself. It helps a little that Linda Darnell is on hand, not as the stewardess this time but as Andrews wife who helps him fly the plane while Sterling Hayden huffs and puffs on the ground in the role that Robert Stack and Lloyd Bridges sent up so brilliantly. It's no classic but it is hugely entertaining though I wonder if I would if I would be enjoying it so much if "Airplane" hadn't come along.

When you hear that the spoof "Airplane" was based on this film, you immediately think this must be a lousy film. Well, you're wrong. At worst, this film is dated. And there are a couple of things that seem not right to me. But overall, this is decent film and well worth watching if you like this genre.The 2 things that don't ring true to me: Living in the third world for a while, I had my share of food poisoning and knew quite a few others who also had it. I guess it's possible, but what kind of food poisoning doesn't create diarrhea or vomiting, but does cause severe cramps? Well, while that seems odd to me, I was kinda glad they handled it this way...if you know what I mean. The other thing that seems odd to me -- and I'll let you watch the film to see what I'm talking about, but just why does Dana Andrew's wife take the copilots chair????? The other problem here -- although it;s temporary since both the regular pilot and co-pilot become unconscious -- but they were terribly wooden actors.So the big question of the film is: will World War II pilot Dana Andrews, who crashed during the war and blames himself for the death of his fellow fliers, and who has not flown in a decade, be able to land the plane without cracking up? So, the balance of the film rests on the acting.Dana Andrews, an underrated and much forgotten actor is top notch here, just as he was a few years later in another airplane disaster film ("The Crowded Sky"). Linda Darnell, an actress that is no favorite of mine, does nicely here as his wife, and, of course, they're estranged. The real weakness in the film, at least in terms of the main roles, is that of Sterling Hayden, the pilot who "talks" Andrews down. The two have a bad history from World War II, so it's interesting, if unlikely. Frankly I always felt Sterling Hayden had serious limitations as an actor, and it shows here.Make no mistake, this isn't the greatest airline disaster film ever made, but it's a very good film providing you can put yourself back in flying in the 1950s. Most of you never flew in a prop plane, but I remember doing so; a different time, so don't be too dismissive of what you see here. Recommended to watch...at least once.

Nowadays, Hall Bartlett's "Zero Hour!" will probably only seem significant because it's the inspiration for "Airplane!". Indeed, some of the lines from "Airplane!" are lifted straight out of "Zero Hour!", except that the spoof expanded them. While watching the original, I kept throwing out lines from the spoof while expecting Leslie Nielsen to pop up and tell people not to call him Shirley.Anyway, this version casts Dana Andrews as the man who has to become the pilot, Linda Darnell as his estranged wife, Sterling Hayden as his former commanding officer, Elroy Hirsch as the pilot, Geoffrey Toone as the airplane doctor, Jerry Paris (Jerry Helper on "The Dick Van Dyke Show") as a passenger, and Peggy King as the flight attendant. Nothing special about the movie, but it's still pretty fun.So yes, Joey. Do you like movies about gladiators?

Stryker has reached the destination airport with about two hours of fuel. The airport is closed in by fog and he is told to circle until there is a break in the fog to permit a better chance for safe landing. Although several occupants of the plane are in very urgent need of medical attention, most are not. Stryker decides to proceed with landing without awaiting better conditions, apparently because one of those needing medical attention is his son. He chooses to undertake a significant greater risk of death to most of the plane's occupants (including himself and his wife) for the sake of maximizing the survival chances of his own son. Has he made the right moral choice?