The 1970s was a prolific period for made for television movies, and a large number of the films produced during the era placed their feet squarely in the horror genre. Movies like The Night Stalker, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Gargoyles, and Trilogy of Terror were all made during that faraway decade. One of the most entertaining of these vintage television fright films is The Horror at 37,000 Feet, originally broadcast by CBS in 1973. The story concerns a group of passengers on a Boeing 747 traveling from London to New York who are threatened by otherworldly forces. Architect Alan O'Neill and his wife Sheila have brought an ancient Druid altar on board, and apparently the ancient spirits within that artifact aren't too thrilled to be flying economy class in the cargo hold. This flight just might be a one-way ticket to supernatural terror and death!
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| The passengers discuss The Horror at 37,000 Feet |
Weird things happen after the flight takes off. The plane doesn't seem to be making any progress. The jet appears to be just flying in circles, despite the best efforts of the pilot. There's wind, cold air (and an eerie sort of green mud) inside the aircraft, as well as strange voices and other odd occurrences, like Sheila passing out and speaking Latin. It becomes apparent that there is some sort of demonic presence onboard, and it's centered on the ancient artifact in the cargo hold. Can an alcoholic former priest who's lost his faith help the passengers and crew defeat the terrifying and evil forces plaguing them?
The cast of The Horror at 37,000 Feet features a virtual who's who of 1960s and 1970s TV stars, including Roy Thinnes, Chuck Connors, Buddy Ebsen, Russell Johnson, Tammy Grimes, Lynn Loring and Paul Winfield, who sports a British accent playing a doctor. There are also appearances by other familiar faces, including Jane Merrow, H.M. Wynant, France Nuyen, Darleen Carr and TV Western star Will Hutchins, playing (what else?) a Western star! But the one who really gets to act up a storm in the film is none other than William Shatner, who portrays Paul Kovalik, the former priest having a crisis of faith. It's up to him to lead the battle against the dark forces that threaten them all, if he can just pull himself together. Shatner dials things up to 11 on the over the top scale. His acerbic, cynical character interacts well with the rest of the cast, all of whom are effective in their roles, though it's tough to beat Shatner at his most...Shatner-ian! Tammy Grimes does give Shatner a run for his money as a woman who feels that the Thinnes character has doomed them all by bringing the altar on board.
The movie is sort of a cross between all-star disaster films like Airport and supernatural thrillers like The Exorcist. No one's going to place The Horror at 37,000 Feet on the list of the best made for TV chillers of all time, but it's certainly one of the most enjoyable. It's a fun ride, and at 73 minutes in length, it doesn't drag on too long. The movie was directed by David Lowell Rich, who helmed a lot of feature films and television episodes from the 1950s right on through to the 1980s. In 1973, the same year he directed The Horror at 37,000 Feet, he was also behind the camera for the classic TV terror tale Satan's School For Girls, which co-starred Roy Thinnes and Kate Jackson. He also returned to "panic in the sky" mode for the made for TV movie SST: Death Flight (1977) and on the big-screen for The Concorde: Airport '79. The Horror at 37,000 Feet is available on DVD, and if you do some looking around on YouTube, you might find it there as well. Watch out for evil Druid spirits and those 1970s fashions!
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