I Can’t Resist an Airplane Disaster Movie

When I was a kid, I’d watch Million Dollar Movie on WOR-TV Channel 9. Million Dollar Movie (in an era when $1,000,000 was a big deal) played the same movie for a week, each and every day. When there was a good movie, I’d watch it as often as I could.

Every 4th of July they showed Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney. I’m sure if I saw it today, I’d remember much of the dialog.

One of the movies they played was “The High And The Mighty”, starring John Wayne as an airline pilot with a crippled plane flying just past the ‘point of no return’ between Hawaii and San Fransisco. Flight attendants are stewardesses, passengers – geese, and the former knows the name of each of the latter.

“The High and The Mighty” was my first airplane disaster movie. I was hooked. It was obvious the plane wouldn’t crash… and still it held my interest and it still holds my affection.

I love airplane disaster movies! This sets the stage for what I watched tonight on Encore Action, one of the many 2nd run movie channels included in our basic digital package.

Who could ever forget:

Final Descent

Director: MIKE ROBE 1997

Synopsis: A jumbo jet’s crew struggles to land safely after a severe midair collision.

Cast: ROBERT URICH, ANNETTE O’TOOLE, JOHN DELANCIE, STEPHEN MILLER, KEN POGUE, KEVIN MCNULTY, JIM BYRNES, BLU MANKUMA, TOM MCBEATH, GWYNYTH WALSH, LORRAINE LANDRY, CARRIE CAIN SPARKS, AARON JOSEPH, LOUVA MELOCHE, CODY SERPA, OSCAR GONCALVES, FRED KEATING, ROMAN PODHARA, ADDISON RIDGE, SHAYN SOLBERG

This is by far one of the most trite movies ever made. Every possible clich