Skyjacked (1972)

When a passenger (Susan Dey) on a Boeing 707 en route to Minneapolis discovers a message written in lipstick on a mirror stating there is a bomb on board the plane, the Captain (Charlton Heston) works frantically to discover who the bomber is in an attempt to avert disaster. His only clue is that it is one of the first class passengers. Based on the novel by David Harper and directed by John Guillermin. As long as the movie stays on the actual hijacking, Guillermin does a decent job of keeping the tension quotient strong. But when it diverts to the human stories among the passengers and crew, the cliches and cringe inducing dialog proliferate. There are unnecessary flashbacks to the adulterous affair between the married Heston and the chief flight attendant (Yvette Mimieux) and indicative of the dumb dialog, the co-pilot (Mike Henry) comforts girlfriend Mimieux with, "Don't worry, honey. It's only a bomb".  Then there's the very pregnant Mariette Hartley who you know is going to pop the kid out mid air when all hell breaks loose! Guillermin does manage a neat bit of suspense when the jet enters Russian air space. There's only one really bad performance and that's James Brolin as a crazed Vietnam vet. If you're a fan of the "disaster" genre, don't expect too much but it's better than AIRPORT 1975. With Jeanne Crain, Walter Pidgeon, Leslie Uggams, John Hillerman, Claude Akins, Roosevelt Grier and Ken Swofford.