Zero Hour! (1957). "Our survival hinges on one thing - finding someone who not only can fly this plane, but didn't have fish for dinner!"
Troubled wartime pilot Ted Stryker must land a stricken passenger plane as the pilots and half the passengers have eaten poisoned fish. With his estranged wife Ellen as his copilot, and his angry former commanding officer Captain Treleaven in the control tower, can Stryker conquer his demons and land that plane?
Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker wisely bought the rights to Zero Hour! before they made Airplane! (1980) as they do borrow much of the dialogue, plot and characters. That said, the 1957 film is still a fine melodrama. "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking."