Thursday, October 13, 2011

William Shatner, Tammy Grimes & Buddy Ebsen in The Horror at 37,000 Feet (1973)

There's nothing like a truly classy horror film... and this is nothing like a truly classy horror film. What it is, is a campy scream-fest that doesn't disappoint if you're looking for some wacky laughs. Alan O'Neill (Roy Thinnes) has dismantled an ancient abby from his wife's property in England and chartered a 747 to take it back home to Long Island. The unscheduled flight has been booked with only 10 passengers, including business man Glen Farlee (Ebsen), Dr. Enkalla (Paul Winfield), defrocked priest Paul Kovalik (Shatner), Jodi, a child of 8 (Mia Bendixsen) and a wing-nut who knows the dark history of the abby and is dead set against it being removed from British soil (Grimes). Once air born, strange things start to happen. In the hold, freezing temperatures set in and on the flight deck the pilot (Chuck Connors) and crew are dealing with a disturbing anomaly - the plane is stationary in the air as if they're facing a 650 mph headwind. This condition continues even when they make a 180 degree turn. As the night progresses things get weirder, including brown bubbling ooze, holes in the floor and seriously freaked out passengers. Will they survive this flight from hell?

This wacky film is not available on DVD, though it's occasionally shown on 3rd and 4th tier cable stations. It's also available in full on YouTube, thanks to a sequential upload by 70sHorrorRealm. Above is part one.

Obscurity factor: 7 (not on DVD, available on YouTube, somewhat known for its camp value)

4 comments:

  1. Won't make it through this one, this evening, but definitely a campy addition to the "airplane in jeopardy" genre. The director also brought us "SST: Death Flight"(TV 1977)and "The Concorde: Airport 79" ("Why do you think they call it the cockpit?"). I will finish it, however - too odd not to.

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  2. OMG, I remember this as a kid -- it came out during the Exorcist hubbub, when everything was about demons and such. Good bad TV at its best.

    Your powers of kitsch curation are astonishing!

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  3. I noticed these places had this on dvd Thanks

    www.dvdsentertainmentonline.com/product/the-horror-at-37000-feet-tv-dvd-william-shatner-chuck-connors-1973

    www.vendio.com/stores/OldTimeMoviesandTV/item/the-horror-at-37-000-feet-tv-d/lid=25199066

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