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Skyjacked (film)

Skyjacked
Skyjacked 1972.jpg
Directed by John Guillermin
Produced by Walter Seltzer
Written by Stanley R. Greenberg
Based on Hijacked (novel)
by David Harper
Starring Charlton Heston
Yvette Mimieux
James Brolin
Claude Akins
Jeanne Crain
Walter Pidgeon
Leslie Uggams
Mariette Hartley
Nicholas Hammond
Roosevelt Grier
Susan Dey
John Fiedler
Music by Perry Botkin, Jr.
Cinematography Harry Stradling, Jr.
Edited by Robert Swink
Production
company
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • May 24, 1972 (1972-05-24)
Running time
101 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $1.7 million
Box office $6,550,000 (US/Canada rentals)

Skyjacked is a 1972 disaster film, directed by John Guillermin. The film stars Charlton Heston, James Brolin, and Yvette Mimieux, along with an ensemble cast primarily playing the roles of passengers and crew aboard an airliner. Skyjacked is based on the David Harper novel, Hijacked.

This was the last of actress Jeanne Crain's 64 films. It was the film debut for several actors and actresses, including Susan Dey, who at the time was known for her work in The Partridge Family television series (later L.A. Law), along with Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier, a former NFL defensive tackle.

Skyjacked was an example of a Hollywood disaster film. It explores the personal dramas and interactions that develop among the story's characters during a crisis that is endangering all of their lives.

During a routine flight to Minneapolis, a passenger (Susan Dey) aboard Global Airways Flight 502, a Boeing 707, discovers a bomb threat written on the mirror of one of the first-class bathrooms. A second threat is soon found left on a napkin in a galley. Captain Hank O'Hara (Charlton Heston) takes the cryptic threats seriously and follows the instructions -- "Bomb on plane divert to Anchorage Alaska. No Joke, No Tricks. Death"—by changing course for Alaska. To avoid an explosive decompression if a bomb goes off, he flies at lower altitude, increasing fuel consumption.

The weather at Anchorage is so poor, a United States Air Force ground-controlled approach specialist (Claude Akins) is called in. His radar shows a small aircraft with radio failure that is approaching the same runway, but Flight 502 has too little fuel to go around. O'Hara sees the other aircraft at the last moment and manages to avoid a collision and land safely.


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