End of the line hell

This article deals with the American disaster film from 1972. For the television film of the same name, MacGyver - Hell's End, see there.

Movie
German title	End of the line hell
Original title	Skyjacked
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1972
length	101 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	John Guillermin
script	David Harper , Stanley R. Greenberg
production	Walter Seltzer
music	Perry Botkin Jr.
camera	Harry Stradling Jr.
cut	Robert Swink
occupation
Charlton Heston : Captain O'Hara James Brolin : Jerome Weber Yvette Mimieux : Angela Thacher Claude Akins : Sergeant Puzo Susan Dey : Elly Brewster Walter Pidgeon : Senator Lindner Roosevelt Grier : Gary Brown Jeanne Crain : Clara Shaw Ross Elliott : Harold Shaw Leslie Uggams : Lovejoy Wells Nicholas Hammond : Peter Lindner Mariette Hartley : Harriet Stevens John Fiedler : Robert Grandig John Hillerman : Walter Brandt Mike Henry : Sam Allen

Endstation Hell (Original Title: Skyjacked ) is an American disaster film by director John Guillermin from 1972. The screenplay of the film is based on the novel Hijacked , which was written by screenwriter David Harper.

action

The Global Airways Flight 502 is en route from Oakland , California , to Minneapolis , Minnesota . The captain of the Boeing 707 is Henry O'Hara. During the flight, O'Hara is called to the on-board toilet by a stewardess. A bomb threat has been deposited there, instructing him to fly to Anchorage , Alaska . O'Hara gives in and changes the course of the plane to Anchorage. There he can land the aircraft safely despite the adverse conditions.

The Vietnam veteran Sergeant Jerome Weber is the originator of the bomb threat. Most tourist class passengers can escape the Boeing through an emergency exit. Weber allowed the other passengers to leave the plane. Only the first class passengers remain on board as hostages. Among the hostages is Senator Arne Lindner, who is dismayed to hear that Weber wants to leave for the Soviet Union.

Although the machine does not have a permit to fly in Soviet airspace, Weber insists that O'Hara head for Moscow directly. When the machine reached Soviet airspace, it was intercepted by military machines. O'Hara extends the landing gear and adjusts the landing flaps to signal to the Soviet fighter pilots that this is a civil aircraft and not a military jet as the Soviet commander believes. O'Hara can convince the Soviets that it is a plane hijacking.

The fighter pilots escort the 707 to Moscow. Weber realizes that he cannot count on recognition from the Soviets. O'Hara attacks Weber, who shoots him in the shoulder in the ensuing fight. Weber - armed with a pistol and a vest that is equipped with hand grenades - leaves the aircraft standing on the runway via a gangway that was placed next to the aircraft - together with the injured captain, behind whom he is hiding. At a suitable moment the captain drops, whereupon the Soviets open fire on Weber. He falls forward to the floor, whereupon a hand grenade from his vest explodes under his body. In the end, the captain is transported to the ambulance on a stretcher; he sees an airplane in the sky that is climbing.

background

It premiered on May 24, 1972 in New York City. In Germany, the film was shown for the first time on October 27 of the same year.

The MGM production had an estimated budget of $ 2.7 million. One of the locations was the Metropolitan Oakland International Airport . A World Airways Boeing 707 , which was based in Oakland at the time of filming, was used.

For Susan Dey the film marked her screen debut, while Jeanne Crain ended her acting career after this film. Leading actor Charlton Heston was seen in other disaster films after this film, including Earthquakes , Giants in the Sky , Two Minute Warning and U-Boat in Distress .

Reviews

The lexicon of international films described the film as "adventurous entertainment that loses tension in the course of the cliché story". The film magazine Cinema drew the conclusion that the film was “in constant danger of falling despite the stars”.

AH Weiler of the New York Times , on the other hand, praised the film as a simple, straightforward thriller. John Guillermin treated the ordinary plot with speed and efficiency. Director Guillermin also garnered praise from industry journal Variety , which found his fast-paced directing made the most of the large cast of top-class actors.

Web links

• Skyjacked in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See Business on imdb.com ( Memento from January 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Hell terminus. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed June 9, 2019 .  
3. ↑ See cinema.de ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ AH Weiler : Skyjacked ( Memento from January 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). In: The New York Times , May 25, 1972.
5. ↑ See Skyjacked . In: Variety , 1972.