Concorde Affaire '79

''Concorde Affaire '79'' ( it, Affare Concorde), also known as ''The Concorde Affair'', is a 1979 Italian action thriller directed by Ruggero Deodato and written by Ernesto Gastaldi and Renzo Genta. Released in the same year as '' The Concorde ... Airport '79'' and featuring actor Joseph Cotten, who appeared in ''Airport '77'', the film was an attempt by producers to take advantage of the success of the "Airport" film franchise of the 1970s.

Plot

L.P.A. Flight 820, a Concorde test flight, is sabotaged which forces the plane to crash land in the ocean off coast of Martinique in the French Antillies of the Caribbean. The only survivor is a Jean Beneyton ( Mimsy Farmer), a French hostess on the flight. Two fishermen find her, but then are soon killed off by a group of suited corporate agents who ride out in a speedboat, because they were witnesses to the crash.

In New York City, an American investigative reporter, Moses Brody (James Franciscus), receives a phone call from his ex-wife Nicole (Mag Fleming), who runs a local restaurant in Martinique, who tells him about an "important story". But upon arrival in Martinique, Brody learns that Nicole has died from an apparent "heart attack". Brody is devastated. Later that evening, while wandering the streets of the town, Brody is attacked by a gang of thugs, but is rescued by a mysterious local man named George, who owns a fishing trawler and tells him that Nicole was a friend of his and she was killed because she knew that the crashed Concorde flight landed on a reef nearby and the two of them decide to investigate.

Meanwhile, a shady businessman named Milland (Joseph Cotten) and his business partner Danker ( Edmund Purdom) learn about the Concorde crash and after consulting with their associate, Martinez, plot to cover up any evidence involved with the crash. It becomes apparent that Milland and Danker are behind the events.

Brody and George are in a boat when they see Jean Beneyton jump off of the henchmen's boat and attempts to swim away before she is recaptured. Later, they arrive at the crash site and after donning scuba gear they find the wreck of the Concorde submerged under 100 feet of water in the Caribbean. While Brody goes inside the wreck, George gets his arm stuck in a jagged part of machinery and Brody has to amputate George's left arm to free him. Moses discovers explosive charges on the downed plane which were planted earlier by Milland's henchmen to destroy any evidence of foul play.

Upon surfacing, George gets hit in the goggles by a bullet as several henchmen in a speedboat appear and attack. Brody is forced to go back down under the water with two scuba men in chase. Brody outwits them by hiding in an underwater cave in which he goes back to the surface and pulls out the henchman who remained behind in the speedboard and steals it.

Brody then goes to the United States Consul of Martinique, and wants to start an investigation. He then takes them to the site and finds nothing. They call off the search for the missing Concorde. Brody then says that he saw Jean on a yacht. The Consul then says that if he knew it was Brody, he would have gotten him off the case as Brody was reporting a scandal concerning a Congressman.

Meanwhile, Milland and his men watch a video as the submerged Concorde explodes. They then find out that Jean is alive and being held for a $1 million ransom. At the same time, another L.P.A. Concorde plane lands in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil which prepares itself for a flight from Venezuela to London.

That evening, Brody sneaks on board the henchmen's boat, where he overhears them saying that they want to get rid of Jean and also overhears them talking about their superiors taking down a second Concorde flight. Brody rescues her and they escape from the boat. After reaching the shore, Brody tries talking to Jean about the crash, but she is so shaken by the traumatic experience that she can't remember very much. In the morning, they hitch a ride on a banana truck driven by a local farmer. But soon Milland's henchmen, led by Forsythe (Venantino Venantini