This Week's Poll: What is your favorite movie set primarily aboard an airplane?

Film sequels are rarely as good as the originals...but does that hold true for movie polls? After last week's surprisingly popular poll about movies set on submarines, I thought it'd be fun to ask a similar question: What is your favorite film set aboard an airplane?

The challenge, of course, is to narrow the nominees to a reasonable number. Therefore, this poll focuses solely on films set primarily aboard an airplane. There are several post-1980s movies that fit this criterion (e.g., Air Force One, Passenger 57, Executive Decision, Red Eye, Flightplan)...but they're too recent to qualify as classics at the Cafe. Therefore your nominees for this week are:

The High and the Mighty - The grandaddy of disaster films recounts the drama aboard Trans-Orient-Pacific flight 420 when the plane suffers an engine fire midway between Honolulu and San Francisco. Robert Stack plays the pilot with John Wayne as his first officer (whose wife and child died during a crash in which he was the pilot). The passengers include a Grand Hotel gathering of stars such as Laraine Day, Claire Trevor, Robert Newton, and Phil Harris.

Airport - This 1970 adaptation of Arthur Hailey's bestseller features Van Heflin as a mentally unbalanced passenger who plans to blow up an airliner so that his wife can collect on the life insurance policy. Burt Lancaster stars as the airport manager coping with the crisis on the ground, with Dean Martin as the pilot who tries to talk Heflin's character out of sabotage. The all-star supporting cast included Helen Hayes, who won an Academy Award as a charming stowaway. This huge hit spawned several sequels of declining interest.

The Horror at 37,000 Feet - In this bizarre 1973 made-for-TV film, millionaire architect Roy Thinnes and his English wife (Jane Merrow) transport a Druid altar from England to the U.S. aboard a chartered flight. Unfortunately, they don't realize that they have disrupted a sacrificial ceremony that occurs once every 100 years. The Druid spirits escape from the altar, determined to take a new sacrifice--and, by the way, they have halted the plane flight in mid-air. That's bad news for pilot Chuck Connors and passengers William Shatner, Paul Winfield, Tammy Grimes, and Buddy Ebsen.

Airplane! - This grand spoof of disaster films is probably the funniest collaboration among Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker (ZAZ). Robert Hays plays a pilot Ted Striker, who has a fear of flying (due to wartime trauma) and Julie Hagerty is his stewardess girlfriend. But the plot is just an excuse for a succession of hilarious sight gags and one-liners. Playing against type, Lloyd Bridges (as a wacky air traffic controller) proved he could be an adept comedian; it revived his career. Followed by a non-ZAZ sequel.

The Spirit of St. Louis - How do you make a movie about Charles Linbergh's solo transatlantic flight and keep audiences engrossed for the full running time? Director Billy Wilder's solution was to intersperse flashbacks that flesh out James Stewart's portrait of the famed aviator. Considered a misfire by some critics, the film still has its fans who admire Wilder's ingenuity and Stewart's subtle performance.

If I've made left out any notable films, please leave a comment below. Last week, several Cafe readers were aghast that Run Silent, Run Deep was omitted from the list of submarine-set films. (Apologies abound, but tough choices had to be made!) In the meantime, please cast a vote for the nominees in the green sidebar on the right.