The Stolen Airliner | |
---|---|
Directed by | Don Sharp |
Written by | Don Sharp John Pudney |
Based on | novel Thursday Adventure by John Pudney |
Produced by | Howard Thomas |
Starring | Fella Edmonds Diana Day Michael Maguire |
Cinematography | Jo Jago |
Edited by | Eily Boland |
Music by | Philip Green |
Production companies | |
Release date | 1955 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Stolen Airliner is a 1955 British Children's Film Foundation production, directed by Don Sharp and starring Fella Edmonds, Diana Day, and Michael Maguire. [1] It was based on John Pudney's adventure story for boys, Thursday Adventure (1955). [2]
It was Don Sharp's debut film as director [3] following his decision to abandon acting. According to Anthony Hayward the film "demonstrated his ability to keep the action fast-paced". [4]
An international gang of revolutionaries hijack a plane which is being guarded by three young air cadets. The crooks are overpowered in midair, and the Royal Air Force eventually comes to the rescue.
It was Don Sharp's first feature as director, although he had directed some documentaries. Sharp had written a number of films with John Pudney, whose novel formed the basis for this film. Sharp called it "a very good little action movie". [5]
Mario Francis Puzo was an American author and screenwriter. He wrote crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably The Godfather (1969), which he later co-adapted into a film trilogy directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the first film in 1972 and for Part II in 1974. Puzo also wrote the original screenplay for the 1978 Superman film and its 1980 sequel. His final novel, The Family, was released posthumously in 2001.
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John Sleigh Pudney was a British poet, journalist and author. He was known especially for his popular poetry written during the Second World War, but he also wrote novels, short stories and children's fiction. His broad-ranging non-fiction, often commissioned, served as his primary source of income.
The Devil-Ship Pirates is a 1964 British pirate adventure film directed by Don Sharp.
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Conflict of Wings is a 1954 British comedy drama film directed by John Eldridge and starring John Gregson, Muriel Pavlow and Kieron Moore. The film is based on a novel of the same title by Don Sharp who later became a noted director. Villagers in Norfolk rally to prevent the RAF from attempting to use an island for target practice.
The Blue Peter is a 1955 British film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Kieron Moore and Greta Gynt. The film was retitled Navy Heroes and released in the United States in December 1957. The film is about youth seamanship at the original Outward Bound in Aberdyfi, Wales, a program similar to Sea Scouting or Sea Cadets.
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