The airplane disaster movie has been circling Hollywood airspace for decades. (Warning: if youre perusing this article on an airplane, you may want to postpone your read until you safely disembark.) From the very beginning the basic theme has been pretty much the same, namely terror in the sky, as passengers and crew are subjected to the almost unlimited calamities that can befall an airplane while in flight. Here are ten classic airplane disaster movies from the annals of Hollywood along with a discussion of the superb memorabilia they generated for todays collectors. The High and the Mighty (1954). All on board for Trans-Orient Flight 420 bound from Honolulu to San Francisco with John Wayne, Robert Stack, William Campbell and Wally Brown in the cockpit. When an engine fire cripples their DC-4, the Duke and crew spring into action, struggling mightily to avoid ditching their airliner in the turbulent waters of the Pacific Ocean. One of the highlights of the film is John Waynes haunting whistling rendition of the films title song dubbed expertly by Muzzy Marcellino. As befitting the so-called granddaddy of airplane disaster movies, one cant go wrong in acquiring the eight-card lobby set produced for this epic picture. Originally displayed in theater lobbies, the set features various color scenes from the movie. One set in fine/very fine condition sold at auction for $84. Airport (1970). Based on the best-selling novel by Arthur Hailey, Airport was both a huge critical and financial success, earning 10 Oscar nominations and grossing over $100 million during its original U.S. release. Manning the in-flight and ground seats in this air disaster flick are Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jean Seberg, Jacqueline Bisset, Helen Hayes, Van Heflin, George Kennedy, Maureen Stapleton, Barry Nelson and other Hollywood A listers. Dean Martin (as Captain Vern Demerest) and crew attempt to land a crippled Trans Global Airlines Boeing 707 following the detonation of a bomb in midair. The Airport international one-sheet poster (27-by-41 inches) is a real beauty, featuring a soaring airliner, thumbnail portraits of the principal cast, and the blurb, The Great NovelNow An Outstanding Motion Picture! One example in folded, very fine- condition brought a reasonable $25 at auction. Skyjacked (1972). Strong, masculine Charlton Heston stars as Captain Hank OHara, the captain of a Boeing 707 that is hijacked by a disturbed Vietnam veteran (James Brolin) and rerouted to the Soviet Union. Met by Russian MIGs at the border, the hijacked Global Airways Flight 502 sets down in the USSR, where Heston and Brolin battle it out inside while nervous Soviet troops train their weapons on the airliner. The one-sheet style B poster (27-by-41 inches) for Skyjacked fits the bill for collectors, featuring eight thumbnail portraits of the principals along with the tantalizing blurb, One of these people is a maniac with a bomb. One example in folded, very fine condition sold for an affordable $15 at auction. The Crowded Sky (1960). The Crowded Sky tries to make dramatic capital of a brightly colored midair collision between a Navy jet plane and a capacity-loaded passenger liner reported critic Eugene Archer of The New York Times (2/11/61). Dana Andrews pilots the DC-6 airliner while Efrem Zimbalist Jr. commands the Navy Lockheed TV-2 jet. The Crowded Sky, complete with the usual motley group of passengers and their excess personal baggage, produced some fine memorabilia. One of the more visually attractive items is the Italian two Foglio poster (39-by-55 inches) titled Il Cielo EAffollato with expert artwork by Carlantonio Longi. One example in folded, fine+ condition soared to a top bid of $107.55 at auction. Air Force One (1997). Harrison Ford heads the cast as President James Marshall, a former combat pilot in Vietnam and a Medal of Honor recipient. When Russian terrorists hijack Air Force One, the prez springs into action, eventually taking control of the plane and kicking one of the bad guys into the wild blue yonder, growling Get off my plane! Air Force Ones international lobby cards are popular with collectors. One lot of seven cards in mint condition hit a top bid of $26 at auction. The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). James Stewart stars as Frank Towns, a has-been pilot whose Arabco cargo plane crash-lands in the Sahara Desert during a freak sandstorm. Also on board are navigator Richard Attenborough along with passengers Peter Finch, Hardy Kruger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy and Gabriele Tinti. With their old plane inoperable, the men proceed to construct a new, hybrid plane in order to fly out of their desert prison. Supervising the construction is Hardy Kruger, a German model airplane designer who has never worked on the big stuff. The color still set from The Flight of the Phoenix is a real treasure, featuring eleven 8-by-10-inch photos from the movie. One set in very fine/near mint condition brought $51 at auction. Airport 1975 (1974). When a Boeing 747 collides with a private airplane, killing and/or incapacitating the crew, chief stewardess Nancy Pryor is forced to take the controls of the crippled airliner. Hotshot pilot and boyfriend Al Murdock (Charlton Heston) is then dropped into the cockpit via jet helicopter, where he tries to nurse the plane back to Salt Lake City. Climb, baby, climb, Heston implores, as the damaged airliner approaches an oncoming mountain range. The sequel to 1970s Airport, Airport 1975 produced a number of collectible items. The movies half sheet poster (22-by-28 inches) is a real gem, featuring artwork by George Akimoto. One example in rolled, fine/very fine condition sold at auction for $22. Con Air (1997). Talk about your motley group of passengers, the appropriately titled Con Air stars Nicolas Cage as Cameron Poe, a recently paroled inmate who is being transported via a Fairchild C-123 Provider called the Jailbird. Also on board are a number of dangerous prisoners headed to their new home, a recently-constructed supermax prison. Inciting a riot as a distraction, several inmates take control of the plane, with their eventual destination being a non-extradition country. The eight-card lobby set is a winner for this action film, featuring color scenes from one of the more bizarre flicks in the airplane disaster genre. One set in near mint condition brought a top bid of $18 at auction. Snakes on a Plane (2006). The films gruesome title pretty much says it all. Samuel L. Jackson and Mark Houghton play FBI agents escorting a murder trial witness to Los Angeles. A mobster defendant arranges to silence said witness via the release of a deadly cargo of venomous snakes on the plane. A race for antivenom, a battle with marauding vipers and a rappers bodyguard trying to land a Boeing 747 all add up to slithering, wicked terror in the wild blue yonder. And people think they have a problem when the airline misplaces their luggage? Snakes on a Plane, famous for Samuel L. Jacksons profanity-laced rant on our reptile friends at 35,000 feet, produced a wild one sheet poster (27-by-40 inches) featuring two menacing rattlesnakes coiled around an airplane. One example in rolled, very fine+ condition sold at auction for $21. Airplane! (1980). It was bound to happen, a movie spoof of airplane disaster films. That came in 1980 via the hilarious Airplane!, starring Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Julie Hagerty, Robert Hays, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lorna Patterson and Stephen Stucker. When the crew of an airliner comes down with food poisoning, a disgraced ex-pilot (Hays) is forced to take the left seat and fly the bird. Sight gags, satire and slapstick humor populate the film, with one of the more memorable lines voiced by flight attendant Julie Hagerty: Theres no reason to become alarmed, and we hope youll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly an airplane? The mini lobby card set for Airplane! is a fabulous piece of memorabilia, featuring eight 8-by-10-inch color cards from the film. One card pictures young Stephen Stuckers visit to the cockpit, where he encounters co-pilot Roger Murdock (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), who is wearing his Los Angeles Lakers uniform underneath his airline digs. Abdul-Jabbar later reported that when boarding an airline flight, many people would simply call out, Dont worry, we have Murdock on the plane. One lobby set in near mint condition hit a strong tailwind at auction, selling for $143.40. Auction results and images are courtesy of Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas. William J. Felchner is a graduate of Illinois State University. His work has appeared in a number of periodicals, including True West, Hot Rod, Sports Collectors Digest, Corvette Quarterly, Old West, Movie Collectors World and Pennsylvania Magazine.