Jet Storm (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Sep 11, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Cy EndfieldRelease Date(s)
1959 (July 30, 2025)Studio(s)
Britannia Films/Pendennis Productions (Imprint Films/Via Vision Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: B-
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B
Review
[Editor’s Note: This is a Region-Free Australian Blu-ray import.]
The 1970s was the decade of the disaster movie. An assortment of monumental catastrophes—a flood, deadly African bees, an earthquake, a raging skyscraper fire, an avalanche, a meteor headed for earth—fueled the films that filled box office coffers. Airport (1970) led the trend with its tale of a bomber on board but years earlier, the modest British film Jet Storm relied on the very same plot device.
Ernest Tilly (Richard Attenborough) and his wife, Carol (Mai Zetterling), board a plane for a transatlantic flight from London to New York. For Tilly, the trip is an opportunity for vengeance.
The flight crew includes the pilot, Capt. Bardow (Stanley Baker); the co-pilot, Gil Gilbert (Neil McCallum); and the stewardess, Pamela Leyton (Virginia Maskell). The passengers include once-popular Canadian TV star Otis Randolf (Bernard Braden) and wife Edwina (Barbara Kelly), rising singing star Billy Forrester (Marty Wilde), entertainer Pinky Meadows (Harry Secombe), United Nations consultant Dr. Jacob Bergstein (David Kossoff), retired army Col. John Coe (Cec Linder), kindly senior citizen Emma Morgan (Dame Sybil Thorndike), and rude Mrs. Satterly (Hermione Baddeley). But it’s only passenger James Brock (George Rose) who interests Tilly.
Pinky and Emma overhear Tilly saying, “You’re going to die, Mr. Brock,” and inform the Captain. It eventually comes out that Tilly has planted a bomb timed to detonate shortly before they reach the New York coastline and kill everyone on board. The Captain orders a thorough search of the plane and focus shifts to the reactions of the passengers when word gets out about the bomb. Some passengers understand that it’s in everyone’s interest to remain calm as the search goes on, some fume, some come close to panicking, and some become violent. The reason for Tilly’s unhinged obsession with killing Brock in particular and people in general is eventually revealed.
Director Cy Endfield assembled a stellar cast of British actors for Jet Storm and allowed each to shine in relatively small roles. The script likely was inspired by the enormously popular The High and the Mighty, a hugely successful American film starring John Wayne made five years earlier. This earlier film also was set on a plane threatened with disaster and featured an all-star cast. Jet Storm uses that plot device to allow characters to reveal their backstories through dialogue rather than flashbacks, giving the film a stagey feel. Flashbacks would have provided some visual variety.
All of the actors are exceptional and enhance the credibility of their characters. However, Endfield dilutes the suspense factor with the dialogue-heavy script. Most of the passengers seem oddly well-behaved in a situation that certainly calls for more intensity. Attenborough’s Tilly stares coldly and barely moves, and many of the others hold to the “keep calm and carry on” tradition despite knowing they might be blown to smithereens. Even Brock, the object of Tilly’s ire, mostly keeps his temper in check. Dame Sybil Throndike, known for serious roles in the British theater, has fun with lighter material, and Harry Secombe, in his screen debut, is jovial with a constantly winning smile. Baker inspires confidence as the captain dealing with a potentially lethal situation and with two groups that have formed among the passengers—those who want to beat Tilly until he tells where the bomb is hidden, and those who prefer less violent methods. Young Jeremy Judge has an important scene as the only child on board, sent to persuade Tilly to reveal where the bomb is.
For a thriller, Jet Storm is rather tame and lacks adequate tension. It’s overly talky and could easily have been a stage play. Except for a few scenes in the airport, the film was shot at Shepperton Studios in England and has a claustrophobic feel. While this may work for the plot, it makes for visual tedium. The film wasn’t shown in the United States until 1962, three years after its British release.
Jet Storm was shot by director of photography Jack Hildyard on 35mm black & white film with spherical lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Clarity and contrast on the Blu-ray are excellent. Details, such as the herringbone pattern in Ernest Tilly’s jacket, liquor bottles in the plane’s lounge, designs on the women’s dresses, insignia on the flight crew’s uniforms, signage in the plane’s cabin, luggage in the hold, and instruments in the cockpit are well delineated. The exterior shots of the plane flying are a composite of a miniature and rear projection. The film’s major special effect, when the cabin loses pressure, offers some exciting moments.
The soundtrack is English 2.0 mono LPCM. English SDH subtitles are an available option. Dialogue is clear and distinct, essential for a film that depends on considerable dialogue. In exterior shots of the plane flying, the sounds of whooshing air and jet engine noise were added. Marty Wilde sings the dreary title song under the title and end credits.
Bonus materials on the Region-Free Blu-ray release from Imprint Films include the following:
- Audio Commentary by Kim Newman and Jo Botting
- Film Historian Sheldon Hall on Jet Storm (22:50)
- Theatrical Trailer (1:54)
Audio Commentary – On track recorded in 2025, film critic Kim Newman and Jo Botting from the BFI National Archive engage in a chatty exchange about the production of Jet Storm, director Cy Endfield, and later films that deal with aerial disasters. The original title was Jetstream. The title was changed at the last minute and the lyrics of the song under the credits use the original title. Brief career overviews are provided for cast members. Original reviews weren’t kind to Richard Attenborough because his part was similar to his earlier roles. Jet Storm is the forerunner of aerial disaster movies that might be called “soap opera in the sky” pictures. At the time of its release, air travel was thought of as glamorous. Movies acquainted audiences with the basics of air travel. The film is based on the true story of Jack Graham who, in 1955, put a bomb in his mother’s luggage so he could collect her life insurance. Jet Storm explores the psychology of passengers when they become aware of the bomb. The film was cut by nine minutes to tighten the narrative and avoid “dramatic bloat.” Director Cy Endfield also made Sands of the Kalahari and Universal Soldier, both of which deal with danger. Endfield and Stanley Baker shared a fruitful director/actor relationship, bringing out the best in each other. They made six films together. Oscar-nominated Mai Zetterling was popular in films at the time but never pursued her career in America. Endfield was blacklisted during the HUAC investigations and went to England to work there for years before returning to the States. The commentators point out several filming choices made by Endfield to enhance dramatic scenes.
Film Historian Sheldon Hall on Jet Storm – Sheldon Hall provides a through overview of director Cy Endfield’s career and the making of Jet Storm in this 2025 commentary. C. Raker “Cy” Endfield got into show business after leaving Yale and worked in Catskills’ resorts. He was a lifelong fan of magic and ran a magic shop in Hollywood. He directed a short film for MGM called Inflation for the Office of War Information, served in the army for two years during World War II, and worked in poverty row studios such as Monogram. He directed two films noir, Sound of Fury and Underworld. When he was blacklisted, he had to hide behind various fronts, under different names, to get work. He also found work in advertising and directed two West End productions, including the successful Come Blow Your Horn. Mysterious Island (1961) was the first film to bear his name as “Cy” Endfield. According to Sheldon Hall, Endfield was a “spiky individual to deal with.” He wasn’t warm on the set. Jet Storm represents a middle ground in Endfield’s career. He would later direct bigger pictures with bigger stars. Several films, before and after Jet Storm, that deal with aerial catastrophes are discussed. Jet Storm did modest business and turned a profit.
Jet Storm is a mild thriller notable for its fine cast. Because of its confined location, there are few opportunities for action, and the film suffers from a talky script. The plot is familiar and the outcome easy to predict, but there are interesting twists along the way to sustain attention. Watching the film might interest viewers in checking out some other aerial disaster movies of the past, such as Zero Hour! (the inspiration for Airplane!), The Crowded Sky, and The Flight of the Phoenix.
- Dennis Seuling