The helicopter duel
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The helicopter duel |
| Original title | Birds of Prey |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1973 |
| length | 80 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | William A. Graham |
| script | Robert Boris |
| production | Alan A. Armer |
| music |
Jack Elliott , Allyn Ferguson |
| camera | Jordan Cronenweth |
| cut | Jim Benson |
| occupation | |
| |
Duel der Helikopter (Original title: Birds of Prey ) is an action film by William A. Graham produced in 1973 for the broadcaster CBS . David Janssen and Ralph Meeker play the leading roles.
action
Former fighter pilot Harry Walker is still an avid aviator. He works as a traffic jam reporter for a local radio station in Salt Lake City . During one of his helicopter flights, he witnessed a brutal robbery on a money transporter, which resulted in several deaths. The perpetrators flee in a limousine and also take the young bank clerk Teresa Jane hostage. Harry contacts the police and follows the fugitives. Harry's friend McAndrew is the sheriff of Salt Lake City and thus receives valuable information about the robbers.
The gangsters flee into a parking garage and switch to a helicopter with their hostage. Harry stays with the helicopter that flies out of town. The gangsters' helicopter lands at a prepared spot to refuel. Teresa Jane manages to escape with the prey. Harry is able to take her in and learns from her that the gangsters' goal is to be an abandoned airfield. Both spend the night on the ground, and the gangsters refrain from chasing Teresa Jane in the dark.
The next morning, Harry informs McAndrew of the gangsters' plans. McAndrew makes his way to the abandoned helicopter in his private small plane. The gangsters find Harry who is doing some maneuver to help Teresa Jane escape.
A pilot with a Cessna is waiting for the gangsters at the airfield. Both helicopters reach the airfield, McAndrew arrives there too. Harry lures the gangsters' helicopter into a hangar and keeps them in check there. He succeeds in throwing out the bag with the loot so that McAndrew can take it. However, the gangsters notice the action and now shoot at McAndrew, who escapes on foot. The gangsters come out of the hangar and take McAndrew under fire, who is hit in the leg. Before the policeman can be shot, however, Harry rams the gangster's helicopter with his machine and sacrifices himself for his friend because both machines explode. The stunned McAndrew gathers and goes after the pilot who wants to flee with his Cessna.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films describes the work as an "exciting TV action film in an impressive landscape".
background
The film premiered on January 30, 1973 on CBS. In Germany it was shown for the first time on October 12, 1979 on ZDF . It was broadcast under the title Birds of Prey . From 1986 it appeared on video in Germany under the title Duell der Helikopter .
The film was shot in and around Salt Lake City . The venue for the showdown is the abandoned training base of the US Air Force Wendover Army Air Base .
Web links
- Duel of the helicopter in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The helicopter duel in the lexicon of international films
- Duel of the helicopter at rotten tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Duel of the helicopters. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 8, 2019 .