Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Melanie Bouvet The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Maddyclassicfilms Jet Storm is directed and written by C. Raker Endfield. The film stars Richard Attenborough, Stanley Baker, Paul Eddington, Diane Cilento, Harry Secombe and Hermoine Baddeley.I have mixed feelings about this one. Excellent lead performance by Richard Attenborough and solid support from Stanley Baker. Nice to see Paul Eddington and Harry Secombe.The rest of the film isn't as good though. Most of the passengers seem way too calm and unconcerned with the terrifying situation they find themselves in (that couple who play cards and joke throughout the whole thing among others). I found the lack of reaction quite laughable to be honest; I know we have the stiff upper lip here in Britain, but these passengers are all taking it to a whole other level.Ernest Tilley(Richard Attenborough) is a bereaved father, who puts a bomb on a passenger plane. He plans to detonate it to kill another passenger who killed his daughter. The pilot(Stanley Baker)has to discover where the bomb is and find a way to talk the man out of his plan.Also, I was left wondering as to how Attenborough's character knew that the man he was after would be on that particular flight, on that particular day? There are some tense moments. Attenborough gives a very good performance, the scene between him and the boy near the end was quite moving. There is a very impressive and dramatic scene(you will know it when you see it) that was really the only highlight of the film.I had been looking forward to seeing this for a while, but was left quite disappointed. It has its moments, but they are few and far between. A mixed bag, but well worth a look for the performances of Attenborough and Baker.

Andy Howlett Ernest Tilley (Attenborough) has discovered the identity of the man who drunkenly killed his baby daughter in a hit-and-run, and armed with a bomb boards the same flight as him. Tilley is deeply depressed and obsessed with killing this man at any cost, even if it means killing his own family and everyone on board. Attenborough plays Tilley very quietly, a man hollowed out by his depression and hatred, not only for the hit-and-run driver, but for the whole world. As the film progresses, it is very easy to feel real sorrow for him. The writer and the director keep the lid firmly on for most of the time, only allowing the anger and fear to burst out in small doses. The other seats on board are occupied by many faces of the time, including Dame Sybil Thorndyke and Harry Secombe, who sit together and do a grand job of lightening the mood with their witty and charming performances. Husband and wife Bernard Braden and Barbara Kelly don't do much and neither does Marty Wilde. Very nice to see Stanley Baker playing against the usual 'thick ear' parts he normally gets, and he turns in a very good part. This film will not appeal to modern audiences who need an explosion or slanging match every five minutes. It's a character study, and a very British one at that. If you like your thrillers with a bit of humanity and depth, I can thoroughly recommend this impressive film. DVD from Simply.

Alan Baker You know you're in trouble right at the start when the credits roll up the screen and when the title appears Marty Wilde starts warbling "Jet Stream" rather than "Jet Storm". A breakdown in communication between songwriter and producer? Nope. The lyrics were written by Cy Endfield who is, of course, the same as C. Raker Endfield, the director. Presumably the title of the movie was changed at the last minute (maybe TWA objected, they were still flying their piston engined Lockheed Starliners across the Atlantic and hopefully promoting them as "Jetstreams" in competition with Pan Am's and BOAC's real jets). Others have described the cast as "all star" which is pushing the definition a bit. Many of them achieved some fame in future years, but not necessarily as film stars (as opposed to character actors). The economics of this airline are questionable as there are only 32 passengers on board and the seat pitch seems to be about 5 feet. The passengers are the usual stereotypes and none generate any sympathy with the audience so we don't particularly care what happens to them. Stanley Baker's turn as the Captain is so wooden that he might have been replaced with a plank. The decision to use stock footage of the Soviet Tupolev Tu-104 is bizarre, particularly as the feeble model bears only a cursory resemblance. Presumably they didn't use the Boeing 707 or DH Comet as at the time only two airlines were using them transatlantic and they did not want the association with potential disaster. To add to the confusion the scenes of the passengers boarding shows them embarking on a BEA Vickers Viscount, the registration of which is clearly visible on the fin. The most laughable aspect of the whole thing, of course, is the bomb attached to the underside of the wing by "suction pads". Wow, they must have been incredible to survive a 500mph jetstream......, which is where we came in.

howardmorley "Kidboots" critique above informs us adequately of the basic plot.However I would like to concentrate more on the actors and their performances.This is rather a cloistrophobic production since 95% of the action is filmed at Shepperton studios in a mock-up of the interior of a passenger jet airliner in 1959.It was rather sad to note the passing of so many famous actors among them, Stanley Baker, Hermione Baddeley and Harry Seacombe teamed with Dame Sybil Thorndyke.Regarding the latter, I had only seen her playing the mother of the Rev. Marston in "Gone To Earth" (1949); but here she shows her acting versatility by adopting a rather humorous role, while Harry Seacombe couldn't resist the odd "Goon" like facial gesture.It was surprising to see the obviously suited Canadian married couple of Barbara Kelly (who I had only ever seen in the 1950s TV panel game "What's My Line") and her husband Bernard Braden (tv's "The Braden Beat"), acting together as a divorcing couple.Stanley Baker keeps impeccably calm as the airliner captain and there is a rather touching romance between Virginia Maskell and the American co-pilot.The "Brummy" actor who plays the hit-and run driver played a very similar role in "The Night My Number Came Up" with Sir Michael Redgrave.I had never seen Marty Wilde in a film acting role, of course playing a pop star, and noted he composed the opening popular theme music.With all the actors competing for dialogue, no one should be singled out as that would be unfair since they all give professional performances.The "Brummy" hit-and run driver met an end like Gert Frobe's "Auric Goldfinger".