Birds of Prey (1973)

Truly Dreadful Film

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Set in 1973 Salt Lake City, this movie is about a WWII fighter pilot working as a radio station traffic reporter who chases down bank robbers in his helicopter. The robbers have a hostage, a 22-year-old bank employee who's about to be married at the end of the week. The robbers make their getaway first in a car then in a helicopter. Later, the tables turn and the robbers are chasing the ex-fighter pilot.Many reviews rave about the stunt flying, chase sequences and the canyons of Utah. There really is a lot of sensational flying and gorgeous scenery. From my point of view, though, this is an incredibly sad story. Harry Walker, the pilot, has never let go of the past. At one point, while being chased by the bad guys, his old friend who was also a fighter pilot but is now a captain on the police force, tells him to go home and let the cops handle it. Walker says, "Don't you get it, Mac? I am home." The great David Janssen plays Harry Walker as a sentimental romantic, a hero longing for the old days.Oh, and David Janssen has a nice voice.

This movie was released in 1973 primarily for TV, not a theatrical release. With respect to acting, cast and production quality it was done on a very limited budget, so it is really not fair to compare it to bigger budget Hollywood pictures. One of the ways that the defunct Tomorrow Entertainment chose to save production money was to only license the 1940s music used in the film for a very short number of years (I believe 10 years). The cost savings move by shorter music licensing was hailed by the entertainment industry back in 1973 as an example of thinking outside of the box, but since the music in this movie was so very much a part of the tone and theme of the movie, this means that the impact of the VHS, Beta and DVD versions is disappointing, because the original soundtrack is not there. You have to remember that home video systems like Beta, BetaMax, VHS and DVD really did not exist until years afterwards. What did exist was expensive and not for the average consumer in 1972-1973. Video systems were bulky, reel-to-reel and required a vidicon tube camera to record. Color recording was damn expensive. It is not surprising that the executive producer had no thoughts at the time of a home release product. Home video recording and playback technology was still years away and would not be affordable or mass marketable for years. By the time it was affordable and mass marketable, the permission (license) to use the original music had expired.The movie has some terrific flying scenes. I've flown both helicopters and fix wing aircraft and helped develop military flight simulators in the 1980s, and my hats are off in respect for the stunt pilots on this movie. This particular movie actually inspired me to work in the aerospace industry in the 1980s.It is a decent movie with a decent plot and acceptable acting and interesting characters. Janssen and Meeker play well off of each other. Although the music is dramatically different than what was originally used, I still have this in my DVD collection. I do wish that I could find out who sang "I'll Get By" in the original soundtrack. She was a superb singer who was better than the others I have heard singing that same song.

...and then some. David Janssen plays a military-vet-turned-newschopper-pilot in Salt Lake City who happens upon a bank robbery involving the baddies, a female hostage and an Aerospatiale Llama; Thus, it's off to the rescue in his trusty Hughes 500D, tailing the baddies and along the way: Rescuing the female hostage, blockading a fuel truck on the freeway for a fill-up, and camping out under the stars in the desert wilds (Flying helos that low at night isn't entirely safe, as the Army can adequately prove). In the climactic ending, both helicopters duel it out at an abandoned desert airstrip where the baddies and law converge, and finally, David's character's Hughes 500 collides with the Llama in mid-air. But the story resumes in a dare-to-sequel ending as the awaiting baddies flee in a Cessna 206, with the law in hot pursuit. Excellent action/adventure movie from the '70s, should be archived alongside the greats as "Two-Lane Blacktop", "Vanishing Point" and "Duel".

Just corny enough to be fun, once the chase starts - hang up onto your seat. Not a movie for those prone to air sickness. Only Blackhawk Down holds a candle to it in terms of 'copter flicks, and the actual stunt flying here is better, a lot better. I'm guessing the copyright holder of the original version of "Three Little Fishies" is hanging onto it tightly, as it's hard to find as it is. I've always thought the movie is really about us old, burned out old-time hero types, always tempted to take that one last fling at glory that we know we really shouldn't. Great fun flick, one of my faves. Needs restored on DVD with some Dolby sound remastered. A must see for anyone who likes helos.