Although several air crisis films contributed a range of clichés that would appear in the parody Airplane! (1980), Airplane! was directly based on this film. The writers noted down every quirk and came up with such great material that they decided to make their own comedy film. To avoid lawsuits and royalty issues, and as Zero Hour was so obscure, they found that they could afford to buy the rights to the entire film and then do whatever they wished. This would inspire Airplane! fans to view Zero Hour with cult-like status, organizing viewings during which they could spot all the clichés.
Early in the flight, three male passengers are sharing a drink and talking about football. The Scotsman in the trio is explaining a new player position recently introduced to the game, called a "flanker," which he describes as being impossible to defend against. In reality the position of flanker was created in the 1950s by Elroy 'Crazylegs' Hirsch, the pro football player turned actor who plays Capt. Wilson in this film.
Although the sight of a captain moving through a plane and greeting guests, or of visitors welcomed into the cockpit, might seem unfathomable now, such occurrences were common in the postwar years of commercial aviation. Flying in a plane was still a glamorous new adventure. Passengers dressed accordingly, too.
Dramamine, the old standard for motion sickness, is still in use in 2022.
Dana Andrews would play a commercial pilot in the disaster film The Crowded Sky (1960) and then a small plane pilot in Airport 1975 (1974). In addition, he played a former B-17 bombardier in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), whose job required him to temporarily fly the plane when over the bombing target.