SST: Death Flight (1977 TV Movie) User Reviews

This film needed Charlton Heston

[brinkus-2 · 3/10 · 17 November 2020]

Charlton would have been an anchor for the film and steadied the ridiculous plot. The film also needed more crying babies and a little bit of humor. And there was no nun or priest on the flight!

I know this was a TV movie, but they could have spent a little more money and made the scenes where the plane was flying not look like a paper mâché model. They didn't even show the plane crash! And of course some of the survivors still had perfect hair after the crash.

As another reviewer stated, Tina Louise stole Farrah's hair style. Robert Reed had a less severe perm than he had on the Brady Bunch. Since this was 1977, perhaps some disco tunes in the background could have helped the film.

It had good actors in it!

[ericstevenson · 5/10 · 20 December 2016]

I am surprised that the score is so low. Okay, I admit the movie is technically bad but at least we got to see a lot of familiar faces here. You rarely see that in a TV movie. This is the only time I've seen Regis Philban in a movie of any kind. It was hard to recognize Billy Crystal. Probably the coolest part of this movie was when it showed that explosion. A pity it was just that one scene. I know that this movie is really clichéd. It probably helps that "Airplane!" is my favorite comedy too. They mocked stuff like this perfectly.

The version I saw was 92 minutes (on "Mystery Science Theater 3000"). This says it's only 89 minutes. Wow, that is the first time I have ever heard of a movie having a longer version being shown like that. It was certainly an interesting episode as it was their longest ever. Yeah, it's not worth watching on its own, but I think there have been many worse disaster films. I guess it probably did go on too long and there's still nothing unique about it. **

It's more dangerous to cross the street in New York, than to fly over the Atlantic Ocean... Yeah, right!

[Coventry · 5/10 · 7 February 2022]

At a certain point during "SST: Death Flight", one of the passengers calms the others by saying that it's more dangerous to cross the street in a big city like New York, than to fly over the Atlantic in an airplane. He's probably correct, statistically speaking, but that most definitely wasn't the impression you got during the 70s, what with all the disaster movies with airplanes around that time! You could easily lose track of all the aviation disaster movies that were made during these two decades. There's the legendary "Airplane" series, of course, but also other random classics ("Skyjacked", "The Doomsday Flight", "The Crowded Sky", ...) and a whole lot of TV-movies-of-the-week. "SST: Death Flight" is a very formulaic, and by the looks of it also a rather unpopular movie, but I still found it enjoyable.

The problem with this film, and with practically every other made-for-TV disaster movie from the same period, is that it too much feels like a "light-version" of the aforementioned "Airport" series. It's always about a wide range of characters, struggling with their own banal private problems, gathering aboard an aircraft - usually for its maiden voyage - that will crash if it weren't for a handful of heroic people sacrificing themselves. "SST: Death Flight" at least tries to go the extra mile, with not one but TWO deadly issues. The supersonic jetliner's hydraulic system gets sabotaged by a frustrated company employee (who is stupid enough to be on board of the plane he sabotaged) and a doctor from the WHO brought a deadly African flu-virus in his suitcase.

You perfectly know what else to expect. Lots of familiar faces from the TV and cinema industry, usually long after their glory days, and you can generally predict straight away whether they'll be survivors or martyrs at the end. "SST: Death Flight" honestly isn't that bad if you embrace all the clichés and stereotypes. The performances, as well as David Lowell Rich's direction, are competent. Besides, Billy Crystal had to start his career somewhere, right?

1-Adam-12, see Mike Brady, problem in the sky...

[stargazer24 · 15 November 2001]

Being a fan of the boys of Route 66, I just had to see this movie. However, I was very disappointed that they never even bothered to give Marty and George one scene together. Nevertheless, I kept watching and laughed all the way through. Of course, I was watching the MST3K version and I would suggest all do the same if you can find it. I mean, George Maharis is mad at Burgess Meredith (who built the plane), so he puts detergent in the hydraulic system, hoping that when things get bad, Robert Reed will turn the plane around. Bobby doesn't listen to him, and well, you can figure out the rest. That, along with a bunch of other ridiculously funny happenings, including nice-guy Bert Convy dating a bimbo (Miss SST!), make this a MUST SEE for fans of all that was bad 70's TV.

Cookie-cutter 70s disaster film-making

[bensonmum2 · 4/10 · 8 February 2008]

Here's a an idea – let's round-up a bunch of Hollywood has-beens, second rate TV actors, and a bunch of no-names and put them all on board a cross Atlantic flight. And let's add a crazed mechanic with a grudge. Oh, and how about adding a deadly virus that fills the plane? You've got the recipe for a 1970s TV movie-of-the-week!

How many of these doomed airplane movies did they make? If you believed what you saw at the movies and on television, planes were dropping out of the skies like flies in the 70s. These kinds of movies were all the rage and SST: Death Flight was meant to grab onto the disaster-cycle coattails. I'll give the movie credit, though – it's actually not much worse than most of the rest of its ilk. The acting is what you would expect from the likes of Lorne Greene, Tina Louise, and Bert Convy. The manufactured tension comes across 30 years later as more humorous than anything else. The characters are cardboard cutouts with overly dramatized problems that can miraculously be solved in an hour or so. The one thing SST: Death Flight has going for it is a slightly unusual twist at the end where the characters the choice of life or death. Other than that, it's cookie-cutter 70s disaster film-making at it's best (or worst, depending on how you look at this stuff.)

It's so hard to believe...

[icehole4 · 3/10 · 26 October 2001]

That so many good actors would get together in such a bad film. This movie's premise seems to be "take a cast, put them on an SST, and then subject them to trouble after trouble." I also find it hard to believe that so many good actors would have an off day every day of filming and at the same time. How many of their careers didn't get ruined by this film is beyond me, especially that of John de Lancie. Avoid this one at all costs. Airport '79 was a much better film, and Airplane! was a whole lot funnier.

A cavalcade of 1970s Who's Who

[Sterno-2 · 2/10 · 3 December 1999]

Let me say straight away that this movie is toxic waste for the mind. This movie is not watchable because it has a good story; it doesn't. It's not watchable because there's good acting; there is none. It's watchable because of the cast. This will take you down TV memory lane...how many former TV stars can you pick out?

As with any TV "Movie of the Week", the drawing power is in the stars. The story involves the inaugural flight of "Maiden One" the first supersonic transport plane. (The movie ignores the fact that it was a British-French conglomerate that first built the Concorde, and had to sue for the right to land in America during this time.) In this movie, we have a disgruntled worker who sabotages the flight by putting detergent in the hydraulic lines in order to get revenge on his boss (Burgess Meredith).

We also have Doug McClure trying to get back into Tina Louise's pants, Billy Crystal playing a rather fey steward, John Delancie in training for his future role as Q, and Peter Graves as one half of a former May-December romance. Did I mention that there also happens to be a plot line about the airplane carrying the Senegal flu, which is now spreading among the crew? If you don't have sabotage, you've got the untamed strain of flu floating around.

There are two references that date this movie. One is a reference to the "Swine flu". The other is the way that Burt Convy discusses abortion with his bimbo girlfriend -- the concept is mentioned, but she won't let him say the word.

The movie does have a reverse natural selection -- the megastars like Meredith & Graves die, but losers like Convy, McClure, etc. live to make another bad TV movie. Check out the cameo of Regis Philbin (and his hair) as an annoying TV reporter.

Sterno says SST Death Flight is a guilty pleasure.

Crappy even for a crappy 70s disaster movie!

[Nyssareen_77 · 2/10 · 3 June 2022]

I must start off by saying that I LOVE crappy disaster movies, especially stupid ones from the 70s. However, even for a crappy 70s disaster movie, this was a REALLY badly thought-out movie. I am still unclear why this plane was forced to make an emergency landing first in Paris, then in London, but somehow still managed to make it to Africa without just ending up in the ocean. I also highly question how it was more reasonable and "responsible to our fellow men" to literally crash the plane in the middle of nowhere in Africa, rather than to land it safely at the airport in London. London already had quarantine measures in place to contain the deadly disease on board and has the advantages of a major city, such as real hospitals and lots of qualified doctors, including, I'm sure, many epidemiologists familiar with highly deadly flu viruses. I understand that the country in Africa had already been exposed to the disease and London had not, but it is MUCH easier to contain and quarantine people when you land them safely in a controlled environment like an airport in a major city than when they crash in a random desert. And just because people in said African country had been exposed to the disease, doesn't mean that ALL the people in the country had been exposed. How "responsible to our fellow men" would it have been if they'd crashed their plane near a little out-of-the-way village which hadn't been exposed and they ended up killing all of the villagers?

The addition of John de Lancie as the requisite asshole who cares only for himself was nice, and it was really fun to see Mike Brady playing a rather jerky guy too, but even they couldn't make up for the stupid in this movie. I gave the movie 2 stars because, as I said, I enjoy stupid 70s disaster movies, but this one was a bit too stupid even for my tastes.

Bad flight = Bad movie

[InzyWimzy · 1/10 · 7 October 2000]

A plethora of stars are here. I was surprised to see a fay Billy Crystal, annoying Regis, Mike Brady, Burgess, Ginger, Q, Peter Graves. It's Titanic in the sky as anything that can go wrong does go wrong on this plane's maiden voyage. Lots of sub plots are thrown at you and still no story can be found. I loved the realism of how passengers could easily walk up and down aisles freely during the flight. This wild ride couldn't end any faster for me.

I expected far far worse

[searchanddestroy-1 · 7/10 · 17 June 2018]

Of course this is maybe the one hundred and first AIRPORT rip off, in the line of the disaster movies fashion which proliferated in the seventies. And Dave Lowell Rich was a specialist for this kind of topic. Of course, you find here so many clichés already seen dozens of times before...of course nothing new, but that remains rather pleasant to watch, and I have seen far far worse in that disaster movies field.

Fluffy,predictable and frustrating. Wasted my time!

[thejcowboy22 · 1/10 · 18 July 2016]

All the hoopla and pomp and circumstances for this maiden flight. BIG DEAL! Just get me to Europe on time Mr. Brady.Actor Robert Reed is the Pilot of the plane. Of course the plane is sabotaged and Our Dear Doctor brings a rare strain of virus aboard which makes for a frustrating finish to a frustrated viewer. The cavalcade of 70's personalities the likes of Bert Convy and Chrystie Jenner who was married to Bruce Jenner and we all know how that turned out! Other actors of interest Peter Graves, Lorne Green who looks more natural in a cowboy suit. Barbara Anderson, George Maharis and Burgess Meredith plus Brock Peters, Doug McClure and Susan Strasberg who probably received an ear full from her Dad for excepting work to complete this disaster film in more ways than one.This movie was doomed from the beginning with the Regis Philbin seal of approval! I was waiting for Capt Stubing Of the Love Boat to come aboard.

Better than expected!

[gypseykitten-43-511218 · 8/10 · 22 July 2014]

I watch a lot of disaster movies, and while I wouldn't place this with the Towering Inferno or The Poseidon Adventure, I enjoyed this a lot. I was surprised it was a TV movie because the acting was so good. They spent enough time for character development. There were several subplots, but that is true for many many disaster movies. I got this movie as part of a collection and some of the movies were really bad. This one was worth at least twice what I paid for the set. I will be watching this movie at least 3 times a year and definitely will recommend it to anyone who likes this kind of film. This movie was well worth my time. I was shocked that the only other review was really bad.

RIP George Maharis

[TheFearmakers · 7/10 · 1 June 2023]

George Maharis didn't do much after leaving the series ROUTE 66 c-starring Martin Milner (who wound up with a bland replacement for a final bland season), and yet he worked plenty... on perhaps the wrong things: a load of episodic guest appearances on various episodic dramas, as well as TV-movies..

One in particular wielding his usual edgy persona for the disaster-thriller DEATH FLIGHT (originally titled SST: DEATH FLIGHT) where, surprisingly, Robert Reed turns in an intense performance as a Concord pilot forced to join with former workmate Doug McClure to, of course, save all the passengers, consisting of the usual list of familiar 1970's faces...

Between AIRPORT-style romantic melodramas between passenger-couples, from Bert Convy with Misty Rowe, McClure with Tina Louise, Season Hubley with Peter Graves while future airplane disaster BREAKING BAD actor John de Lancie (who died while Jeff Bridges survived a plane crash in FEARLESS) complains in-between: And while infamous, this FLIGHT isn't boring as there's no stopping the bad-luck domino effect beyond the initial sabotage by Maharis...

Leading to a virus outbreak: a double-whammy for hypochondriacs afraid to fly... plus they might run out of gas to reach their only safe destination... and, ironically, as a memorial to George Maharis, Martin Milner (with fiance Susan Strasberg) plays a has-been football star with the energy and performance-quality equaling Reed... but sadly, there are no scenes with his fellow ROUTE 66 traveler Maharis, RIP in 2023, in this pretty good TV-movie.

Dumb but never boring

[kamikaze-4 · 5/10 · 3 May 2022]

Another TV movie disaster movie of the week. Another group of stock characters is portrayed by ABC network stock players. Another way to waste a few hours. And Misty Rowe topless. HUH? This must have been one of those infamous European versions ABC would send overseas with extra footage. I know I didn't see the Misty Rowe scene on network TV. And I certainly didn't hear Burgess Meredith utter a certain four-letter word on the movie's original broadcast. Oh well, this movie isn't a thrill ride, but its never boring.

70s TV Disaster Fluff

[Eric-62-2 · 30 March 2001]

The success of "Airport", "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Towering Inferno" proved there was a big appetite for disaster movies so naturally television felt they had to get into the act by offering their own lower budget knockoffs of the Irwin Allen disaster movie formula. "SST: Disaster In The Sky" is the ultimate example of this, since not only do we see a gaggle of 70s TV stars (all of whom it should be noted had one thing in common at the time. Their once popular series had all been cancelled by then!) like Robert Reed, Martin Milner, Peter Graves etc. we even see two future 80s TV stars Billy Crystal and John DeLancie in smaller roles (I hope David Letterman some day springs a clip of this on Crystal the next time he appears on the show). That alone is enough to make you keep watching despite the bad dialogue (characters have to engage in a lot of implausible exposition at various points in order for certain things to make sense), cheap FX and silly plot resolutions at the climax. Heck, "SST" is even better than some of the worst theatrical disaster movies coming out by then like the dreadful "Concorde: Airport 1979" so if you loved the quality disaster movies of the time like "Airport" and "Towering Inferno" settle back and enjoy this intriguing TV knockoff of the genre.

Airplane TV

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 24 May 2020]

David Lowell Rich directed Eye of the Cat and Satan's School for Girls before this made-for-TV movie, which originally aired February 25, 1977 on ABC. He also directed The Horror at 37,000 Feet, which probably is why he was selected to make the final movie in the Airport series, the absolutely insane The Concorde ... Airport '79.

There's also a European version of this called Death Flight that has nudity in it, if you want some more death in the sky with breasts action. You'll get that but no realism, as the plane model used for the film is actually American SST as the first of its kind. The aviation sequences utilized a Concorde with Boeing 747 turbofan engines attached in some scenes and a Lockheed L-2000 in others. Neither of these planes ever flew at these speeds.

On the maiden flight of Maiden 1, Captain Jim Walsh (Robert Reed, The Brady Bunch), Flight Engineer Roy Nakamura (Robert Ito, Quincy M.D.), stewardess Mae (Tina Louise, Gilligan's Island) and steward David (Billy Crystal, City Slickers) are preparing for the first supersonic flight from New York City to Paris. Joining them are plenty of guest stars, like the designer of the ship (Burgess Meredith, Rocky), the head of PR (Bert Convy!) and the supermodel who he's sleeping with (Misty Rowe, Hee-Haw, Meatballs Part 2) and a former pilot (Doug McClure, Firebird 2015 A.D.).

There are so many people in this and you know that I love movies like that. Peter Graves, John de Lancie (the Q!), Season Hubly (Hardcore), Susan Strasberg, Regis Philbin, George Maharis, Martin Millner, Brock Peters...1977 was such a great time for TV movies like this.

There's also a virus unleashed on the plane beyond all the mechanical failures that you'd expect. Man, disaster films - on a budget! - are where it's at.

Somehow, despite both being on Route 66, Milner and Maharis don't appear in a single scene together.

Yet another airplane movie...

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 1 November 2021]

A TV movie that feels very much like a rip-off of the AIRPORT franchise, complete with a lower-rent but no less all-star cast including action legend Doug McClure doing his square-jawed hero bit! Elsewhere we get Burgess Meredith and Peter Graves and even a couple of future famous faces (John De Lancie and Billy Crystal) in the tale of a supersonic passenger jet that gets into difficulties in the air. There are two separate plots here; an act of sabotage takes up the first half of the running time, while a COVID-style virus takes up the second, and they don't really gel at all, but this is still fun in an amusing and dated kind of way.

Flight of the Maiden

[dakki78 · 9/10 · 6 May 2006]

The truth is that about 80% of the people who see (have seen) this movie won't like it. Why? Because it is not that original. But in saying that, I happen to belong to the 20% who really like it.

I first saw it back in the eighties when I was about 8 or 9 years old. Now almost 20 years on I saw it again, and it really brought back nostalgic memories from when I was a kid.

Some people say this movie has bad acting. I don't agree at all. While the story might not be the best ever, there is definitely nothing wrong with the acting. And the supersonic Maiden One plane looks absolutely stunning, even though it is 70's B-TV-movie material.

I really recommend it to fans of disaster movies. It is hard to get a hold of these days, but if you have a chance to see it, do so.

A fun trip back in time

[steven_r-11883 · 6/10 · 29 October 2022]

I love these old made-for-tv movies - they're an insight into an earlier time. And seeing these old beloved actors is a real pleasure. Really, the only way I could have enjoyed this more is if they'd taken a more realistic approach to the lethal virus aspect of the situation. I think the air traffic controller in France should have notified the French military of the threat in the sky, and the French military should have ordered the SST out to sea and then scrambled some fully-fueled and armed military jets to shoot down the sst. To be sure that the virus and all the people who might be carrying it are fully destroyed, the military should aim their planes at the sst wreckage on the sea, and then eject. Kaboom! Flambé!

Fun flight

[Uffe-13 · 27 November 2000]

This is a very enjoyable disaster movie, about yet another one of those star-filled planes heading for trouble. This time, a Concorde is sabotaged, and if that wasn´t enough, there is also a virus spreading inside the plane. The film has everything an airplane-disaster movie buff could ask for: tacky effects, lots of stars and fun dialogue. Pretty good stuff.

It changed my life!

[dontim · 10/10 · 2 October 2005]

This, according to most, was not the best film of all time! And, perhaps they're right, but one never knows just what can happen when you see a film. My winter vacation had already been planned when, one Monday evening in February 1982, I saw "SST: Disaster in the Sky" (one of its other names). It only took me 'til Friday to call my travel agent and change my destination from Columbus, Ohio to Dakar, Senegal. I took off within a few days and with no hotel, old French and a small bag, I landed in Dakar. It turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. For that reason, this movie for me is a 10! No one ever said that a film had to win Oscars in every category to have a profound effect on the viewer. This one did it for me and that is why I watch it whenever it's on TV. Unfortunately, so many years have passed, that no channel shows it anymore. Ah, if only there were a DVD. I'd buy it immediately.

Decent airplane disaster film-but those awful special effects!

[mrb1980 · 30 October 2020]

With a cast of 1970s TV stalwarts and a lame-sounding plot, I was preparing for the worst. However, I was pleasantly surprised that this film, although it wouldn't win any awards, was quite watchable.

A group of familiar TV faces (including Peter Graves, Robert Reed, Burgess Meredith, Bert Convy, George Maharis, Lorne Greene, Season Hubley, Doug McClure, and Tina Louise) takes off for disaster on a new supersonic airliner. The opening sequences establish that many of the characters absolutely hate each other, setting the stage for high drama in the sky. Angry bad guy Les Phillips (Maharis) sabotages the plane's hydraulic systems (apparently because he wants a promotion), leading to the inevitable crisis as the good guys (Reed, McClure, Brock Peters, and Meredith) fight to save the plane and passengers. Throw in a deadly virus that has escaped some onboard containers, and things get hairy pretty fast. Burgess Meredith saves the day with a pair of pliers, and the final crash landing seems a little contrived but overall the movie's not bad.

As with all disaster movies, the plot is pretty easy to figure out, and the next crisis is always predictable, but it was fun to see a lot of familiar 1970s actors again. Billy Crystal and Regis Philbin even appear, and boy are they young! The "special effects" are really atrocious, as an unconvincing model clumsily flies on a wire though the whole movie. However, you could do a lot worse than this TV disaster film, especially if you lived through the 70s.

PS-One final question: after Maharis sabotaged the plane, why on earth did he get on board it?

Absolute garbage....I want the bluray

[branaginslaw · 10/10 · 15 March 2022]

So tacky,so lame ,so 70s. I dig it.this time. The detergent is corrosive...d..d..dooooo.

Its got Q from star trek, Billy crystal, mission impossible guy and Rocky's trainer. And the Brady bunch dad.

A great cheesy disaster movie that will keep you hooked and entertained.

[itsmrbigtoyou · 10/10 · 2 October 2006]

This is one classic disaster movie from the late 1970's. Starring: Billy Crystal, Lorne Greene, Peter Graves and Misty Rowe. ''Death Flight'' begins with a scene of a silver, white, red and orange supersonic passenger jet which looks like a Concorde with four turbo-engines from a 747, two on each wing, flying through the sky. Next we see Capt. Jim Walsh played by Robert Reed making announcements to his cabin supervisors to not worry about going twice the speed of sound to his crew members.

Next are the movies main titles at JFK airport in New York. The story of this movie revolves around 7 crew members, 250 contest winners turned passengers and a deadly flu virus. One hour after takeoff, the first flight of America's first S.S.T. is struck by, in this order: an on-board explosion due to faulty hydraulic lines, three crew members burning to death on-board, and last but not least, a virus being released. After many attempts to land at various worldwide airport's, the plane crashes and explodes in South Africa, leaving only most of the films main stars alive, and all of the extras dead naturally. One things for sure, if you can find this movie do not miss it. In total, so far, there are eight different versions of the movie on release, this includes foreign releases.

For Irish TV, in the summers of 2004 and 2005, RTE ONE showed the ''Death Flight'' uncensored release at times between 12:15 a.m. and 12:30 a.m. Let's hope they show it again soon.