“The Stewardess Is Flying The Plane!”
And she was fresking out while doing so! Yes, the late Actress Karen Black was in the cockpit as those words were uttered! It’s just one reason I love 70’s films, and a great book tells the whole wild wild tale!
“The Stewardess Is Flying The Plane! American Films Of The 1970s!”
This “Wednesday Bookmobile” heads back to the golden age of 70’s cinema, with an in-depth look at some of the greatest films of that decade!
Author Ron Hogan is joined by Director Peter Bogdanovich, who made such seminal 70’s films as “The Last Picture Show” and “What’s Up Doc?” for this terrific look at a decade where disaster films ruled!
“The Stewardess flying the plane” happened in the disaster film “Airport ’75” – a film that showcased 70’s cinema at its most disastrous!
“It’s Nancy Pryor… stewardess. Something hit us! All the flight crew is dead or badly injured! There’s no one left to fly the plane! Help us! Oh my God, help us!”
How can you not love this dialogue?
Yes, Karen Black was the “Stewardess Who Flew The Plane”! This book is a fantastic love letter to the movies of the 70’s, looking at disaster films, comedies, blaxploitation, cult films and more.
The 70’s were the decade for classic films like these:
Here is what Publishers Weekly had to say about this great book:
“With films such as The Godfather, Star Wars, The Sting, Rocky, Apocalypse Now, Jaws and M*A*S*H, the 1970s is now considered the second Golden Age of Hollywood. There is renewed interest in some of the decade’s most durable genres, including disaster films and blaxsploitation flicks, allowing viewers to rediscover early performances from major stars such as Jeff Bridges, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton.”
The book helps uncover some of the decade’s “forgotten” films, like “Looking For Mr. Goodbar” – the intense story of a lonely schoolteacher roaming the bar of New York in the 70’s…you can see the trailer Lus more about this film by clicking on my story here:
“The Stewardess is Flying the Plane!” is a lavishly illustrated, fun and informative look at more than 400 films of the decade – not just classics like “The Godfather” or “Taxi Driver”, but other amazing disaster films like “The Poseidon Adventure!”
“Hell Upside Down!”
This is one of the greatest movie taglines ever! An all-star cast including Gene Hackman, Shelley Winters and Ernest Borgnine have to climb “UP TO THE BOTTOM” of a capsized ocean liner!
Click here to see the trailer and more about this film – and why it had one of the best celebrity feuds of the decade:
It was a decade of some of the best films of all time – and some great action thrillers as well:
Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw and Hector Alizondo head up a stellar cast – the story of the hijacking of a New York subway car!
Click here to see the trailer and so much more:
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Categories: 70's Cinema, Action Films, Albert Brooks, Art, Books / Media, Comedy Movies, Cult Movies, Director Martin Scorsese, Film Fight Club, Film Noir, Great Films, Hollywood, Movies, Movies About Movies, New York, Obscure Movies, Pop Culture, Revenge Movies, Talent/Celebrities
johnrieber 
In my humble opinion, the 1970s is the best decade for American Cinema! Even the B-movies are great! Anyhow, I’ve been waiting patiently for Looking For Mr. Goodbar to show up on DVD/Blu-ray but it seems that there are problems with the music rights. Too bad, because I think it is a fascinating movie (I thought Diane Keaton won the Oscar for the wrong movie, and same goes for Richard Dreyfuss).
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You are right Eric! That was the year that Hollywood went “Star Wars” and disco…the time wasn’t right for gritty (see “Sorcerer” two years later). Terrific insight from you, love getting it!
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Am I the only one who loved The Poseidon Adventure? Of course Jaws and The Godfather were top of the list.
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NO! Poseidon is actually a beloved disaster film – like so many great movies, it fades from view which is why I keep bringing it back up! Thanks as always for your comments, I love hearing from you!
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I’m so glad to know that! The cast is superb, too. Frankly, the B movies are some of the best. Best to you, John.
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Yes indeed…”A” list cast in a great “B” movie is much more enjoyable that some of the ponderous, pretentious “art” that Critics rave over! (see “Mank!”)
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Absolutely!!
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Ahhhhh..The 70’s a great era for films and music…Love this post thank you for the memories, John x
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I love these zany offerings
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Thanks, it’s a terrific book!
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Don;t forget “The Big Bus”.
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You are SO right! Never go wrong with the great Joseph Bologna!
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Don’t forget “The Big Bus”!
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Ooooh, no, John, I can’t watch movies about plane disasters. I’m already permanently scarred by Jaws and don’t ever swim at night. I did love The Rocky Horror Picture Show and have watched it several times including as a live production.
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Robbie, the best part of this book about 70’s cinema is that it uses that quote from “Airport 1975”, which is a pretty lousy film – but what a funny line!
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Some great classic films featured here. I went to see Airport ’75 at the cinema. Despite all the ‘tension’, and a lot of very overwrought acting, you always knew someone was going to land that plane. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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HA! Indeed Pete! It’s an incredible decade – thanks for your comment!
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It was truly a sucky decade (and I have the scars to prove it), except for the films made during this extraordinary period. BTW, I got to show Airport 1975 at the Huntington Park Warner Theatre in ’76, when I was working there as a projectionist. Karen Black was great in it.
Fine post, John.
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Thanks for sharing that! I grew up during this decade of incredible cinema, and 70’s films stuff my shelves to this day!
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Ah the good old days before Marvel Comics took over Hollywood.
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Great point. Far too much “soulless cinema” for me – I lost interest when they used CGI to “kill buildings” with overdone effects that became quickly numbing…
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Amen
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