Hangar 18 (1980)

A low budget, conventional film about alien visitation which tapped into the UFO craze which was more prevalent in the seventies. At the start, a written screen scrawl suggests a government conspiracy that we need to be aware of, but the film proper takes place on some alternate Earth or near-future, since it features a U.S. President I never heard of. This begins in Earth orbit, as the latest space shuttle mission is in the process of leaving a satellite up there. But, an unknown flying object destroys the satellite, also killing an astronaut. The alien ship ends up crashing in the Arizona desert and is quickly sequestered by the government in Hangar 18, where it's studied by a scientific team (headed by NASA guy Darren McGavin and including Pamela Bellwood & Steven Keats).  Now, here's where the plot gets a bit daffy: government bureaucrats (Chief of Staff Robert Vaughn and his no.1 Joseph Campanella) decide to keep this all secret and place the blame for the orbital disaster on the astronauts (Gary Collins & James Hampton), because of concerns about the upcoming presidential election - it seems that the last time that the President brought up alien UFOs, his favorable rating dropped drastically.  

In essence, the two DC staffers set into motion a chain of escalating unpleasant and - this is key - unnecessary events. Of course, getting blamed for the 'accident' in orbit does not sit well with the two astronauts and they set out to find the alien ship. They are dogged by government agents and things soon become violent.  This has the feel of a TV movie and is on the dull side, though it is watchable to the very end.  There are some revelations  uncovered during NASA's study of the alien ship but it's nothing new - a 'been there-done that' vibe - and the production design is definitely lacking. Everyone gives a decent performance, but the plot unravels a bit by the end. This most important moment in human history is controlled by and disposed of by 2 sneaky pencil pushers in Washington DC who have an ultimate form of tunnel vision - this may also include the unseen, fictional President Tyler. And, at least one plot thread is just abandoned - the female alien is simply forgotten in the abrupt conclusion, which is capped by an odd, convenient written explanatory epilogue.  BoG's Score: 5.5 out of 10



Hangar Trivia: McGavin was credited first on the movie posters, but on the screen credits, Collins is credited first and McGavin is given the special "and" credit at the end of the credits. Vaughn, who also starred in Battle Beyond the Stars that year, is credited 2nd in both places.