Birds of Prey (1973) (TV)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

William A. Graham

Writers:

Robert Boris (screenplay)
Robert Boris (story)

Release Date:

30 January 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller | Crime

Plot:

Harry Walker, X-military pilot, works for a radio station in Salt Lake City as a traffic helicopter pilot...

Plot Keywords:

Helicopter | Bank Robbery | Pursuit | Chase | Aviation

Cast

David Janssen	...	Harry Walker
Ralph Meeker	...	Jim McAndrew
Elayne Heilveil	...	Teresa Jane
Harry Klekas	...	Captain Slater
Sam Dawson	...	Inspector Sinclair
Don Wilbanks	...	Trucker
James W. Gavin	...	Police Pilot
Paul Grace	...	Robber #1
Wayne D. Wilkinson	...	Robber #2
Larry Peacey	...	Robber #3
Larry Doll	...	Robber #4

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 (video rating) | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Company:

Tomorrow Entertainment

Quotes:

Jim McAndrew: Hey Walker, remember how we used to make simultaneous approaches on intersecting runways?

It's an action/chase thriller from the '70s with helicopters instead of cars.

This film was part of the edge-of-your-seat action/chase genre made popular in the '70s. Films like Vanishing Point, and Smokey and the Bandit, where nothing more than a car chase sequence with a little cohesive drama or comedy thrown in.

The makers of Birds of Prey obviously had the same thing in mind, but they added an interesting twist; helicopters instead of cars.

David Janssen plays Harry Walker, an ex-WWII fighter pilot longing for the glory days of dog fights and heroic aerobatics. He is a now twice divorced, lonely, and somewhat bitter, Salt Lake City helicopter traffic reporter. Ralph Meeker plays Jim "Mac" McAndrew, a former war buddy of Walker's who prefers to stay on the ground, forget flying, war planes, and the past, to focus on the his career as a Salt Lake City cop.

On a routine day Walker witnesses a bank robbery from the air. He calls it into Mac who thinks he's pulling a gag. The robbers kill a bank guard and take a hostage then get away in a stolen car. The chase begins. The police join the chase as car and chopper scream through urban Salt Lake City.

This was a pretty good film for a made-for-TV movie. The flying sequences are well done and well coordinated. The flying stunts, including diving under overpasses, flying into and out of buildings, tumbling (auto-rotating), and flying between sky scrapers, are all done with real helicopters. No toys on strings or models with goofy trick photography were used. The acting and drama aren't bad, but that's not what this movie's about. Like Top Gun, this movie's about flying.