Last night's movie was "Jet Storm"(1959), almost certainly the inspiration for "Airport", right down to the mentally disturbed man with a bomb on board the plane. All the requisite "personality types" are present, too, including the Divorcing Couple, the Professional Comedian sitting with the Grand Old Dame, the Hard-Guy Business CEO, the Young Hotshot Pop Star with his Hottie Girlfriend, the Ice-Cool Socialite, the German-Jewish Doctor (though he's not a psychiatrist), the Middle-Aged Shrew, and the Monacled Man of Indistinct Extraction but likely Turkish or Russian.
And of course there's The Innocent Kid, The Pilot (Stanley Baker from "A Prize of Arms"), and his pretty, sweet Stewardess (Virginia Maskell), who will show her mettle by keeping a cool head when chaos reigns. I think a stewardess would make an ideal President of the United States in the event of World War 3. Stewardesses always keep their cool.
The madman is Richard Attenborough, who - before he ditched his hairpiece and became a director of epics and a knight, was excellent at playing disturbed 40-ish men. Remember him in "Seance on a Wet Afternoon", or in "10 Rillington Place"? He was a serial killer in that one, a terrifying portrayal. Attenborough, as an actor, seemed to truly understand the emotionally unbalanced personality. Here, he's the prototype for Van Heflin, who himself was the prototype for Edward Van Heflin. In this film, Attenborough is the aggrieved father of a hit and run victim; his little 7 year old girl was killed by a man who happens to be on the plane. That's why Attenborough has booked the flight for himself and his wife, to finally get the man cornered where he can't get away. A chemist by trade, Attenborough's specialty is unstable compounds, i.e. explosives. He's planted a bomb under the jet wing with suction cups, and he's got a push-button detonator stuffed into his waistband.
The CEO hard-ass (the head of a steel corporation, big metaphor) tries to organize some of the macho-er men on board to overthrow the tall, capable and handsome but level-headed pilot, who he feels is letting the bomber run the show. These guys, including the rock star, want action! now! "Lost Flight", anyone? Calling Ralph Meeker and Jonesy!
But Attenborough is determined to go through with his plan and can't be coerced, even by torture. He's not crazy but stricken with ultimate grief, not just over his daughter's death but the fact that Mr. Brock, her killer, who hit-and-ran, got away with it due to his money and influence.
Attenborough is so stricken that, because no one stood up for his dead daughter to deliver justice, he hates the whole human race as a result. As an actor, he excels in expressing the dialogue in these scenes, and it's heart wrenching, because we all know that money and power win every time. Again, look at John Landis and the Twilight Zone deaths (the book by Steve Chain is a must-read.)
The passengers, in different ways according to the screenwriter, try to help or hinder the bomb diffusion effort. Some ignore it altogether, like the Divorcing Couple, who share drinks and play cards, and may get back together if they live through this experience, and the Comedian and the Old Lady, who just want good company on the fatal plunge into the ocean. In the end, The Kid is used as a final speech maker to try and talk Attenborough out of blowing everyone to Kingdom Come. "He's gotta listen to a child", says the stewardess. I do think a stewardess should be US president, but it has to be a stewardess and not a "flight attendant." A flight attendant wouldn't do half as good a job as a stewardess. Two Huge Thumbs Up for "Jet Storm." The drama warrants the 90 minute running time, and the picture is dvd quality. ////
The previous night we found a version of "The Lodger" we hadn't heard of before, called "The Phantom Fiend"(1932), starring silent actor Ivor Novello (a Welshman using a stage name to capitalize on the Latin Lover trend). Novello plays "Angeloff", a quiet, depressive pianist who rents a room at Mrs. Bunting's lodging house. Her daughter "Daisy" (Elizabeth Allan) becomes intruigued with the introverted man. She likes his music, then falls in love with him, to the chagrin of her bossy reporter boyfriend, who spends most of his free time at the house and doesn't like Mr. Angeloff.
A series of murders are taking place in the parks of London. Angeloff warns Daisy not to walk through them at night, but when Mrs. Bunting (Barbara Everest) voices her opinion that the killer should be drawn and quartered, he defends the unknown maniac by saying "maybe he isn't aware of what he's doing." If you've never seen any of the Lodger films, this is a huge clue, and of course you've already guessed that Angeloff is the murderer. The only other guy it could be is the boyfriend, and he's too "normal". Novello is doing the Silent Movie exaggerated facial expressions. He speaks in a mournful voice. As Angeloff, he plays Chopin late at night, and courts Daisy. "You are the only woman who understands me." A police psychiatrist speculates that the killer, who is finally identified and hails from a foreign country, has held a grudge against all women ever since his mother died and his father remarried. Again, it's pretty well telegraphed that it's Angeloff, but he charms Daisy and steals her away from her boyfriend, who reacts like a belligerent jerk. But then one night, Daisy, who works as a telephone operator gets a call from Angeloff to meet him at a nearby park, the very place he's said she should never go.
She must've forgotten his warning, because she leaves work early to meet him and......that's all I can tell you. While not as cinematically sophisticated as Hitchcock's Lodger or the classic 1944 version starring Laird Cregar, "The Phantom Fiend" has its own special spookiness and tension, and a believable romance between Daisy and Mr. Angeloff. Elizabeth Allan and Ivor Novello are both excellent. Two Big Thumbs Up. The picture and sound are slightly damaged but the print is definitely watchable. ////
And that's all I know. My blogging music is "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" by King Crimson, my late night is St. John Passion by JS Bach. I wish you a Happy Easter tomorrow and I send you Tons of Love, as always.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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