THE HORROR AT 37,000 FEET

Chuck Connors

THE HORROR AT 37,000 FEET (CBS telefilm/1973). Director: David Lowell Rich. 

Captain Slade (Chuck Connors of Hot Rod Girl) is flying a passenger plane from Heathrow airport to New York. Architect Alan O'Neill (Roy Thinnes of The Invaders) is shipping, via the cargo hold, an altar, among other items, from an abbey that was built over a place of Druid sacrifice. Another passenger, Mrs. Pinder (Tammy Grimes), failed to stop Alan from taking the altar from England via legal means but is planning to try again in New York. Meanwhile, once the flight takes off, Alan's wife, Sheila (Jane Merrow), begins hearing frightening voices. And the cargo bay begins to develop a frigid atmosphere that quick-freezes the poor flight navigator (Russell Johnson). Before long there's a full-stage panic aboard the plane as Slade tries to get his ship out of an unholy wind and the passengers fight against the demonic force in the cargo bay. 

William Shanter, Jane Merrow, Roy Thinnes

The Horror at 37,000 Feet is one of a great many made-for-TV horror films that proliferated during the seventies, and it's an entertaining picture, although anyone expecting a masterpiece of terror will be disappointed. Despite the absurdities of the plot and some of the situations, the movie is fast-paced and harrowing enough to easily help the viewer suspend disbelief. A big plus for the production is the way the entire cast plays so well together even after things get seriously weird and some of the characters become understandably hysterical. Although William Shatner [Dead Man's Island] doesn't quite get a handle on his role as an ex-priest, generally playing in too perfunctory a style (but at least not over-acting), Conners is solid and Tammy Grimes excellent as the strange Mrs. Pinder. 

Buddy Ebsen and Will Hutchins

Being a TV movie, it's no surprise that the film is full of TV stars, including the already named along with Buddy Ebsen (as a wealthy entrepreneur) and Will Hutchins (as a cowboy star in foreign movies) with Paul Winfield and Lynn Lowry along for the ride. The whole thing reminds one of a slightly longer episode of Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, and works on that level. One wishes there had been more outside shots of the plane in flight to remind viewers that everyone is miles up in the air, adding another degree of fear and tension to the proceedings. France Nuyen plays a model and H. M. Wynant is a co-pilot. Jane Merrow is an English actress who did a lot of work on American television (as well as British TV series) and appeared in such films as Hands of the Ripper and Island of the Burning Damned; she is fine. Creepy theme music by Morton Stevens. 

Verdict: Don't watch before booking your next plane trip. ***.