The Horror at 37,000 Feet (1973) (TV)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

David Lowell Rich

Writers:

V.X. Appleton (story)
Ronald Austin (writer)

Release Date:

13 February 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

An architect and his wife are flying from London to L.A. with an altar from an ancient abbey secured in the plane's cargo hold...

Plot Keywords:

Architect | Demon | Pilot | Stewardess | Frost

Cast

Chuck Connors	...	Captain Ernie Slade
Buddy Ebsen	...	Glenn Farlee
Tammy Grimes	...	Mrs. Pinder
Lynn Loring	...	Manya
Jane Merrow	...	Sheila O'Neill
France Nuyen	...	Annalik
William Shatner	...	Paul Kovalik
Roy Thinnes	...	Alan O'Neill
Paul Winfield	...	Dr. Enkalla
Will Hutchins	...	Steve Holcomb
Darleen Carr	...	Margot
Brenda Benet	...	Sally
Russell Johnson	...	Jim Hawley
H.M. Wynant	...	Frank Driscoll
Mia Bendixsen	...	Jodi

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

And did you pack this satanic altar yourself sir?

A waspish couple are flying to America with an altar from a convent. Travelling with them is a typical cross section of the public; a lone little girl, a woman obsessed with her dog, a black doctor in a bowler hat, a millionaire, a flirty cowboy and a model. Best of all though there's a priest who has lost his faith (Shatner!) and what seems to be his girlfriend and of course his Terry Wogan wig.

Not long into the flight some moss gets loose from the hold, you see that altar was sealing up some kind of evil spirit thing that looks like bubbling blob moss.

When things start going wrong the passengers take about 30 seconds to decide that they should probably just offer the kid as a sacrifice, can the holy power of Shatner help them or will he just sit getting drunk all through the entire movie and making cryptic comments about God? Although this film is pure hokum and the effects are seriously quite awful it's got a certain charm. Much like the plane though you may encounter some serious drag in the last half an hour or so.

Worth a watch though, if only for those almost fetishistic airline hostess skirts, Shatner looking bored and the amusing effects.