L'avion du président a disparu

I saw this on TV back in the 1970s, and again on video in the 1990s. It is a well-done political/mystery movie, a pleasant evening's diversion. The cast and plot are solid. I read Robert J. Serling's novel recently; the movie holds up well against the book.

This was probably a novel and a top tier 1973 TV movie. 50 years later it doesn't hold up. It just doesn't have the punch to keep up any suspense or momentum. The film just drags and drags. It seems longer than 90 minutes.

The film has a top notch catch of movie and TV veterans. There are so many most have little to do.

I think this film tries to be a Seven Days in May or political conspiracy film but it fails on that note. Unfortunately, it also fails on a cheap exploitative suspense level as well.

It is still worth watching just for it being such a time capsule of the early 1970s culture.

This political mystery thriller involves as the title says, the President's plane is lost from radar and the mystery begins. In the same tone and ambiance of Seven Days in May (1964) about a military coup of the American government or Fail Safe (1964) that came out the same year about a B-52 nuclear armed bomber appearing to be going towards Russia, The President's Plane is Missing doesn't quite have the intensity and machinations of those movies, yet its more slow-paced, long on narrative and less on action in some ways reflects a more deliberate and believable storyline that even excels over relatively more recent political thrillers such as Clear and Present Danger (1994). Somewhat dated now this movie still offers a strong dose of theater that upon further consideration is a solid, if not spectacular, solid mystery as a similar vein as Fate is the Hunter (1964) about a mystery involving the crash of a commercial airliner.

I thought the other reviews were more negative than they needed to be, so here is my take. This White House drama presents the scenario of Air Force One crashing, but the President was apparently not on board, although video evidence appears to show him boarding. Where is the President? Is he dead or not? What should the Vice President do? Suspense is well sustained throughout this telemovie, and it is well written and crisply directed. Buddy Ebsen copes well with his part, causing my opinion of his talents as an actor to rise! Raymond Massey and Arthur contribute their mature acting talents. Rip Torn is annoying and hammy with his stagey pipe and eyeglasses. Otherwise this is acceptable entertainment, and I don't feel it suffers greatly from being dated, other than some of the scenarios are maybe less sophisticated than they would be in modern versions of the story.

This installment of "The ABC Movie of the Week" is based on a novel by Robert J. Serling. When it begins, the President is headed out on Airforce One when the unthinkable happens...the plane disappears and it appears as if it's crashed. The Vice President (Buddy Ebsen) has been told and it's likely he's now the President! The worst part about this is that this Vice President may be called on to deal with a huge Chinese crisis...and it will take a very strong and decisive person to deal with the escalating problem. But, when they are unable to find the President's body in the wreckage, things get really confusing!

As far as the cast goes, this one is a bit more star-studded than usual for a made for a TV movie. Apart from Ebsen, Peter Graves, Arthur Kennedy, Raymond Massey, Mercedes McCambridge and Rip Torn star in this one. Because of this and because it's a really interesting story, this installment of "The ABC Movie of the Week" is a standout...well worth seeing and very well made. And, if you'd like to see it, many of the movies from this series (including this one) are available to watch on YouTube.