The Disappearance of Flight 412
Encyclopedia
The Disappearance of Flight 412 is a 1974 made-for-television
science fiction
drama film
starring Glenn Ford
, Bradford Dillman
, David Soul and Guy Stockwell
.
Colonel Pete Moore (Ford) is commander of the Whitney Radar Test Group, which has been experiencing electrical difficulties aboard its aircraft. To ferret out the problem, he sends a four-man crew on Flight 412. Shortly into the test, the jet, a small twin-engine VIP transport, picks up three blips on radar, and subsequently, two fighters scramble and mysteriously disappear. At this point, Flight 412 is monitored and forced to land by Digger Control, a top-level military intelligence group that debunks UFO information, at a remote, abandoned military airfield somewhere in the desert in the American Southwest
. The crew is taken to a barracks building and undergo an 18-hour debriefing which amounts more to an indoctrination, to convince them that they did not see a UFO. Meanwhile, their plane is stored in a dilapidated hangar
, so it cannot be seen by search-and-rescue aircraft. To all appearances, Flight 412 has simply vanished into thin air. The intrepid colonel, kept in the dark about his crew, decides to investigate the matter himself.
The film starts out with stock black-and-white
clips of UFOs in flight and various individuals reporting sightings in newsreel
style, with narrator voice-over
s, to set the mood. However, the remainder of the film (in color) deals only briefly with the fictitious UFO encounter by the aircrew, and mostly with their ordeal as they undergo an arduous debriefing and brainwashing at the hands of their somewhat mysterious captors. It uses on-screen time stamp titles to lend the feeling of a documentary, similar to the 1971 film The Andromeda Strain
.
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
science fiction
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...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
starring Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
, Bradford Dillman
Bradford Dillman
-Early life:Bradford Dillman was born on April 14, 1930 in San Francisco, California, the son of Josephine and Dean Dillman, a stockbroker. He studied at Town School for Boys and St. Ignatius High School. Later he attended the Hotchkiss boarding school in Connecticut, where he became involved in...
, David Soul and Guy Stockwell
Guy Stockwell
Guy Harry Stockwell was an American actor who appeared in nearly 30 movies and 250 television series episodes....
.
Plot
U.S. Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Colonel Pete Moore (Ford) is commander of the Whitney Radar Test Group, which has been experiencing electrical difficulties aboard its aircraft. To ferret out the problem, he sends a four-man crew on Flight 412. Shortly into the test, the jet, a small twin-engine VIP transport, picks up three blips on radar, and subsequently, two fighters scramble and mysteriously disappear. At this point, Flight 412 is monitored and forced to land by Digger Control, a top-level military intelligence group that debunks UFO information, at a remote, abandoned military airfield somewhere in the desert in the American Southwest
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
. The crew is taken to a barracks building and undergo an 18-hour debriefing which amounts more to an indoctrination, to convince them that they did not see a UFO. Meanwhile, their plane is stored in a dilapidated hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
, so it cannot be seen by search-and-rescue aircraft. To all appearances, Flight 412 has simply vanished into thin air. The intrepid colonel, kept in the dark about his crew, decides to investigate the matter himself.
The film starts out with stock black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
clips of UFOs in flight and various individuals reporting sightings in newsreel
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
style, with narrator voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
s, to set the mood. However, the remainder of the film (in color) deals only briefly with the fictitious UFO encounter by the aircrew, and mostly with their ordeal as they undergo an arduous debriefing and brainwashing at the hands of their somewhat mysterious captors. It uses on-screen time stamp titles to lend the feeling of a documentary, similar to the 1971 film The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain (film)
The Andromeda Strain is a 1971 American science-fiction film, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton. The film is about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly organism of extraterrestrial origin that causes rapid, fatal blood clotting. Directed by Robert Wise, the film...
.