The Disappearance of Flight 412

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. The film was shown as an NBC World Premiere Movie in 1974.

The Disappearance of Flight 412
Genre	Drama Mystery Sci-Fi
Written by	George Simpson Neal R. Burger
Directed by	Jud Taylor
Starring	Glenn Ford Bradford Dillman David Soul
Music by	Morton Stevens
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Gerald L. Adler
Production locations	Oxnard Air Force Base, California Edwards Air Force Base, California Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California
Cinematography	Robert B. Hauser
Editor	Carroll Sax
Running time	72 minutes
Production companies	Cine Films Inc. Cinemobile Productions
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	October 1, 1974 (1974-10-01)

Plot

U.S. Air Force Colonel Pete Moore (Glenn Ford) is the commander of the Whitney Air Force Base 458th Radar Test Group, which has been experiencing electrical difficulties aboard its aircraft. To find the problem, he sends a four-man crew on Flight 412, with Captain Bishop (David Soul) as commander. Lt Podryski (Greg Mullavey), Capt Riggs (Robert F. Lyons), and Lt Ferguson (Stanley Bennett Clay) are Bishop's crew. Shortly into the test, the Grumman Gulfstream II jet, a small twin-engine VIP transport, picks up three blips on radar. Subsequently, two fighters scramble to investigate and mysteriously disappear.

At this point, Flight 412 is forced to land by an unnamed top-level military intelligence group that debunks UFO sightings (referred to throughout the film by their facility's radio call sign "Digger Control", though this is never implied to be the organization's actual name), diverted to a remote, abandoned military airfield somewhere in the desert in the American Southwest. The crew is taken to a barracks building to undergo an 18-hour debriefing by members of a military Special Investigation Division (SID) team, which is more like an indoctrination to convince them that they did not see a UFO. Meanwhile, their aircraft is stored in a dilapidated hangar to hide it from search-and-rescue aircraft. To all appearances, Flight 412 has simply vanished into thin air. Colonel Moore, with the help of Major Mike Dunning (Bradford Dillman), sets out to find out what has happened to his crew.

Just as the government interrogation begins to raise doubts among the flight crew about the "flying saucer" sighting, Moore and Dunning find the secret base. Their efforts to release the crew are stymied by SID leader, Colonel Trottman (Guy Stockwell), who cites national security concerns. Bishop attempts to escape, but Trottman threatens to make things rough on his crew, who agree to accept a sanitized version of their report. Moore presses Trottman for an explanation, despite warning from Dunning to drop the matter. Dunning appears to have faced similar treatment following an incident in which he too faced SID. After their release, when Dunning and Podryski choose to accept the report, the others: Moore, Bishop, Ferguson, and Riggs seek the help of General Enright (Kent Smith). Trottman appears and makes the case to the General that nothing untoward has happened. Speaking to Moore in private, General Enright reveals that some wreckage of the missing jets have been found, but only minimal remains. The pilots are still missing.

Moore tries to pursue the matter, but no one cared, likely because those responsible were unwilling to deal with the implications of the incident.

Four months later, the exercise was repeated, only now with more men overseeing it. Again mysterious objects appear, with the same results. Following a debrief, the matter was dropped.

Those who cooperate get promoted, while the others find that their careers suffer. Colonel Moore was denied promotion, and retired at minimum age.

Cast

As appearing in The Disappearance of Flight 412, (main roles and screen credits identified):

• Glenn Ford as Colonel Pete Moore
• Bradford Dillman as Major Mike Dunning
• David Soul as Captain Roy Bishop
• Robert F. Lyons as Captain Cliff Riggs
• Guy Stockwell as Colonel Trottman
• Greg Mullavey as Lieutenant Tony Podryski
• Kent Smith as General Enright
• Stanley Bennett Clay as 2nd Lieutenant Ferguson (credited as Stanley Clay)
• Jonathan Goldsmith as Smith (credited as Jonathan Lippe)
• Jack Ging as Green
• Ken Kercheval as White
• Edward Winter as Mr. Cheer

The preponderance of stock footage was seen in the early part of the film

Production

The Disappearance of Flight 412 was shot at Oxnard Air Force Base and Edwards Air Force Base. 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-overs, to set the mood. However, the remainder of the film (in color) deals only briefly with the fictitious UFO encounter by the aircrew, focusing instead on their ordeal as they undergo an arduous debriefing and brainwashing (perhaps better described as gaslighting) 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.

Reception

After its broadcast premiere, The Disappearance of Flight 412 was destined for late-night TV and lately, home media release. Later reviews have relegated the film to an also-ran due to its "cheesy" production values with a reliance on stock footage.

References

Bibliography

• Ford, Peter. Glenn Ford: A Life (Wisconsin Film Studies). Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-29928-154-0.
• Thomas, Nick. Raised by the Stars: Interviews with 29 Children of Hollywood Actors. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7864-6403-6.

External links

• The Disappearance of Flight 412 at IMDb
• The Disappearance of Flight 412 at AllMovie