Hangar 18 (film)
Encyclopedia
Hangar 18 is a 1980 science fiction film
that was released to capitalize on the UFO
interest of the era. The film itself carries ties to Area 51
, as well as ufology
. Although it flopped (reportedly earning a gross of only $6 million), it tantalized those who saw government cover-ups of UFOs (such as the Roswell incident
). In May 1989, Hangar 18 was featured in an episode of the movie-mocking television show Mystery Science Theater 3000
during the KTMA era.
The picture was released by Sunn Classic Pictures
, an independent U.S.-based film distributor whose library is now owned by Paramount Pictures
, notable for presenting what TV Guide
called "...awful big-screen 'documentaries' [like] In Search of Noah's Ark and In Search of Historic Jesus".
. The orbiter is launching a satellite, which collides with an unidentified object passing close by. The space collision kills a fellow astronaut
who was in the bay at that time, however, the entire incident is witnessed by astronauts Price and Bancroff.
Upon returning to Earth, both men slowly investigate what they know happened in space — and which the government authorities try their best to hide. The damaged spacecraft however, has been recovered after it is observed making a controlled landing in the Arizona
desert. Although the aliens on board die, the government technicians begin their foray into trying to understand the extremely delicate processes which operate the complex ship. On board the craft, the technician team makes three discoveries. The first is an unknown woman in some sort of stasis, who later awakens in the back of an ambulance
screaming (leading moviegoers to believe she may have been an abductee). The second is the fact that symbols found on certain control panels are the same as symbols which reside here on Earth, albeit in ancient places. The third is the fact that the aliens have been here before—as the team discovers some type of surveillance footage noting power installations, military installations, and major cities worldwide.
Meanwhile, with their persistence in trying to uncover the truth, both Bancroff and Price are marked for death by the government. In an escape from agents, Bancroff manages to get away, but Price is killed. All is not lost, as Bancroft finally manages to make his way to Hangar 18 — the namesake hangar of the movie where the alien craft is being disclosed and studied.
In an attempt to cut their losses and maintain secrecy, government agents remote control a jet filled with explosives into the hangar—a desperate move aimed at killing off all involved in the on site cover-up. After the explosion, an announcement is presented in the form of a news bulletin regarding the sudden explosion of the hangar, and a congressional hearing scheduled to hear evidence concerning the activities in Hangar 18; it is revealed that Bancroft and the small team of scientists survived the explosion, due to being inside the alien ship when the plane hit. They have also discovered that the ship contains plans for the alien invasion of earth.
and Big Spring, Texas
.
film critic Vincent Canby
dismissed the film, writing, "Hangar 18 is the sort of melodrama that pretends to be skeptical, but requires that everyone watching it be profoundly gullible...It stars ...Robert Vaughn as the ruthless and fatally unimaginative White House
Chief of Staff
...In the supporting cast is Debra Macfarlane, who plays a beautiful female specimen found aboard the saucer, a young woman who looks amazingly like a Hollywood starlet. But then, I guess, she is. The flying saucer itself looks like an oversized toy that might have been made in Taiwan
."
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
that was released to capitalize on the UFO
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
interest of the era. The film itself carries ties to Area 51
Area 51
Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. It is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield...
, as well as ufology
Ufology
Ufology is a neologism coined to describe the collective efforts of those who study reports and associated evidence of unidentified flying objects . UFOs have been subject to various investigations over the years by governments, independent groups, and scientists...
. Although it flopped (reportedly earning a gross of only $6 million), it tantalized those who saw government cover-ups of UFOs (such as the Roswell incident
Roswell UFO incident
The Roswell UFO Incident was the recovery of an object that crashed in the general vicinity of Roswell, New Mexico, in June or July 1947, allegedly an extra-terrestrial spacecraft and its alien occupants. Since the late 1970s the incident has been the subject of intense controversy and of...
). In May 1989, Hangar 18 was featured in an episode of the movie-mocking television show Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
during the KTMA era.
The picture was released by Sunn Classic Pictures
Sunn Classic Pictures
Sunn Classic Pictures, also known as Schick Sunn Classic Pictures is an independent U.S.-based film distributor, founded in 1971. The company was notable for family films and documentaries, and was bought by Taft Broadcasting in 1980.-History:...
, an independent U.S.-based film distributor whose library is now owned by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, notable for presenting what TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
called "...awful big-screen 'documentaries' [like] In Search of Noah's Ark and In Search of Historic Jesus".
Plot
Hangar 18 involves a U.F.O. cover-up following an incident aboard the space shuttleSpace Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
. The orbiter is launching a satellite, which collides with an unidentified object passing close by. The space collision kills a fellow astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
who was in the bay at that time, however, the entire incident is witnessed by astronauts Price and Bancroff.
Upon returning to Earth, both men slowly investigate what they know happened in space — and which the government authorities try their best to hide. The damaged spacecraft however, has been recovered after it is observed making a controlled landing in the Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
desert. Although the aliens on board die, the government technicians begin their foray into trying to understand the extremely delicate processes which operate the complex ship. On board the craft, the technician team makes three discoveries. The first is an unknown woman in some sort of stasis, who later awakens in the back of an ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
screaming (leading moviegoers to believe she may have been an abductee). The second is the fact that symbols found on certain control panels are the same as symbols which reside here on Earth, albeit in ancient places. The third is the fact that the aliens have been here before—as the team discovers some type of surveillance footage noting power installations, military installations, and major cities worldwide.
Meanwhile, with their persistence in trying to uncover the truth, both Bancroff and Price are marked for death by the government. In an escape from agents, Bancroff manages to get away, but Price is killed. All is not lost, as Bancroft finally manages to make his way to Hangar 18 — the namesake hangar of the movie where the alien craft is being disclosed and studied.
In an attempt to cut their losses and maintain secrecy, government agents remote control a jet filled with explosives into the hangar—a desperate move aimed at killing off all involved in the on site cover-up. After the explosion, an announcement is presented in the form of a news bulletin regarding the sudden explosion of the hangar, and a congressional hearing scheduled to hear evidence concerning the activities in Hangar 18; it is revealed that Bancroft and the small team of scientists survived the explosion, due to being inside the alien ship when the plane hit. They have also discovered that the ship contains plans for the alien invasion of earth.
Cast
- Gary CollinsGary Collins (actor)Gary Ennis Collins is an American film and television performer.-Early life and career:Collins was born in Venice, California, to a waitress/factory worker mother. After attending Santa Monica City College, he enlisted in the U.S...
as Steve Bancroft - James HamptonJames Hampton (actor)James Wade Hampton is an American actor, television director, and screenwriter.-Early life:Though born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Hampton was reared in Dallas, Texas, where his father operated a cleaning business. He majored in theatre arts at the University of North Texas in Denton...
as Lew Price - Robert VaughnRobert VaughnRobert Francis Vaughn, , is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work. His best known roles include the suave spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., wealthy detective Harry Rule in the 1970s television series The Protectors, Albert Stroller in...
as Gordon Cain - Pamela BellwoodPamela BellwoodPamela Bellwood is an American actress most famous for her role as Claudia Blaisdel Carrington on the 1980s prime time soap opera, Dynasty....
as Dr. Sarah Michaels - Philip AbbottPhilip AbbottPhilip Abbott was an American character actor and occasional voice actor.Abbott was a secondary lead in several films of the 1950s and 1960s. Miracle of the White Stallions...
as Lt. General Frank Morrison - Tom Hallick as Phil Cameron
- William SchallertWilliam SchallertWilliam Joseph Schallert is an American actor who has appeared in many films and in such television series as The Smurfs, The Rat Patrol, Gunsmoke, The Patty Duke Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Waltons, Bonanza, Leave It to Beaver, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Love, American Style, Get...
as Professor Mills - Darren McGavinDarren McGavinDarren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
as NASA Deputy Director Harry Forbes - Cliff OsmondCliff OsmondCliff Osmond is an American character actor and television screenwriter most famous for his role of "Barney" in Billy Wilder's "Kiss Me, Stupid"...
as Sheriff Duane Barlow - Stuart PankinStuart PankinStuart Pankin is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Pankin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Dickinson College, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Columbia University.-Career:...
as Sam Tate - H.M. WynantH.M. WynantH.M. Wynant is an American film and television actor.Among his many television credits are appearances on shows such as Playhouse 90, Hawaiian Eye, The Wild Wild West, Perry Mason, Daniel Boone, Gunsmoke, Get Smart, Hawaii Five-O, Mission: Impossible, and Dallas.One of his more memorable appearances...
as Flight Director
Production
Parts of the movie were filmed in MidlandMidland, Texas
Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...
and Big Spring, Texas
Big Spring, Texas
Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20. With a population of 25,233 at the 2000 census, it is the largest city between Midland to the west, Abilene to the east, Lubbock to the north, and San Angelo...
.
Reception
When the film was released The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
film critic Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
dismissed the film, writing, "Hangar 18 is the sort of melodrama that pretends to be skeptical, but requires that everyone watching it be profoundly gullible...It stars ...Robert Vaughn as the ruthless and fatally unimaginative White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
...In the supporting cast is Debra Macfarlane, who plays a beautiful female specimen found aboard the saucer, a young woman who looks amazingly like a Hollywood starlet. But then, I guess, she is. The flying saucer itself looks like an oversized toy that might have been made in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
."
External links
- Hangar 18 film at Google VideoGoogle VideoGoogle Videos is a video search engine, and formerly a free video sharing website, from Google Inc. Before removing user-uploaded content, the service allowed selected videos to be remotely embedded on other websites and provided the necessary HTML code alongside the media, similar to YouTube...
- Hangar 18 film trailer at You Tube