The President's Plane Is Missing | |
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VHS box coverart
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Genre | Drama |
Based on |
The novel of the same name by Robert J. Serling |
Screenplay by |
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Directed by | Daryl Duke |
Starring | |
Music by | Gil Melle |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
Production | |
Producer(s) |
Mark Carliner Peter Gettinger (co-producer) |
Cinematography | Richard C. Glouner |
Editor(s) | John F. Link |
Running time | 100 minutes |
Production company(s) | ABC Circle Films |
Distributor | ABC |
Release | |
Original network | ABC |
Original release |
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The President's Plane Is Missing is a 1973 American television film directed by Daryl Duke with a screenplay by Ernest Kinoy and Mark Carliner based upon the Robert J. Serling novel of the same name. It stars Buddy Ebsen as Vice President Kermit Madigan, Raymond Massey as Secretary Of State Freeman Sharkey, Rip Torn as National Security Adviser George Oldenburg, Mercedes McCambridge as Hester Madigan, and Tod Andrews as President Jeremy Haines.
With diplomatic tensions building and the United States facing a possible military confrontation with China, Air Force One mysteriously crashes in the desert while heading to California, killing U.S. President Jeremy Haines (Tod Andrews). While the crash is being investigated, Vice-President Kermit Madigan (Buddy Ebsen) steps up as Acting President. Unfortunately, Haines had left him uninformed of current foreign policies. Madigan must now rely on the former President's aides to fill him in on information he lacks, but the aides have their own agendas.
National Security Adviser George Oldenburg (Rip Torn) claims that Haines was preparing to go to war if the Chinese did not back down, while career diplomat Secretary of State Freeman Sharkey (Raymond Massey) asserts that Haines was pursuing a peaceful solution to the problem with China. Madigan's wife Hester (Mercedes McCambridge) sees this as an opportunity to advance his career, but the Washington political community doubts his competence. In dealing with growing tensions and conflicting advice, Madigan struggles to avoid a nuclear war with the Chinese. Meanwhile, it turns out that President Haines was not aboard the crashed plane after all.