Illustration : “MF”

This is a Hi-Jack
 

Barry Pollack | USA | 1973

With a solid supporting cast, including the hugely underrated Neville Brand (The Ninth Configuration, Death Trap), this neglected thriller/black comedy from 1973 is without doubt overdue a reappraisal.

Confidently directed by Barry Pollack (Cool Breeze being his only other directed film to date), the feature casts Adam Roarke (Hell’s Angels on Wheels; Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry) as Mike Christie, a troubled gambler who’s heavily in debt to the “Syndicate”. To repay his debt, Christie concocts a dastardly plan to hi-jack a private jet en-route to Dallas, and extort his boss onboard for a $1Million in ransom. In tow to provide added “muscle” are Christie’s associates — three Syndicate henchmen, a rough-and-tumble bunch led by the psychotic Dominic (played with suitable menace by Neville Brand).

Cranking up the tension to boiling point, Dominic starts bullying and rough-housing the passengers. His deranged behaviour, erratic and unhinged, reaches fever-pitch when the money fails to appear, with only the Feds and a local sheriff (played with characteristic aplomb by Hollywood veteran, Dub Taylor) waiting at the designated rendezvous point…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Originally released with the title cash-in of Airport SOS Hijack on Barry Goddard’s trailblazing Video Unlimited label, the post-VRA era was treated to a brace of re-releases. The first, in December 1986, materialised from Krypton Force, appearing on its offshoot Delta Video label. Sleeve illustrator “MF” appears to have had Arnold Schwarzenegger in mind, rendering his own variation of Commando. The beefcake front panel figure completely misleads its likely audience whilst the huge title typeface almost completely blocks out the actual aircraft so significant to the plot!

The second release, pushed out by the cheapo Revolution label, strangely features the on-sleeve title of Call the Terminal It’s a Hijack.

Revolution's release can be found here.

 

aka : Call The Terminal It’s A Hijack; Airport SOS Hijack

cast : Adam Roarke, Neville Brand, Jay Robinson, Dub Taylor, Lynn Borden, Milt Kamen, John Alderman, Sandy Balson, Sam Chew, Don Pedro Colley, Jackie Giroux, Carol Lawson, Barney Phillips, Patricia Winters