Two Fridays ago the Watch Party enjoyed Horror at 37000 Feet, a 1973 telemovie and a modest crowd pleasure. Good cast (where all the money went, plainly); Chuck Connors, Buddy Ebsen, Roy Thinnes, Russell “The Professor” Johnson, Paul Winfield, Tammy Grimes, and easily the star of the show, William Shatner. He plays that ’70s staple, the Priest Who’s Lost his Faith. He’s really quite good in this. Still, you’d think he’d want to start avoiding commercial aircraft.
The menace is a haunted Druid abbey we never actually see; it’s all dry ice and mumbling voices and a whole in the carpet. One candidate for the film’s monster is Man; several characters exhibit potentially violent mob tendencies. I’m going with the above, though. Smoking on planes is still weird to be but entirely normal. Not so much: The cowboy who removes his boots and reclines in his socks–yeah, I’m sure that smelled great. I’m going with the guitar player above though. Luckily, the film’s modest but essential 75 minute run time precludes her treating us to her inexpert but highly enthusiastic rendition of Classical Gas, but the threat always looms.
I’m off to Utah this week for T-Fest (U-Fest?), so after Wednesday MotD will be on hiatus for a week.
