A former fighter pilot now working as a radio station traffic reporter witnesses a bank robbery. He chases down the bank robbers and a hostage in his helicopter.A former fighter pilot now working as a radio station traffic reporter witnesses a bank robbery. He chases down the bank robbers and a hostage in his helicopter.A former fighter pilot now working as a radio station traffic reporter witnesses a bank robbery. He chases down the bank robbers and a hostage in his helicopter.
James W. Gavin
- Police Pilot
- (as Gavin James)
Wayne D. Wilkinson
- Alouette Crew Member
- (as Wayne Wilkinson)
Larry Peacy
- Alouette Crew Member
- (as Larry Peacey)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Hughes 500C that "Walker" flew throughout the film is one of the few turbine-engine helicopters (worldwide) which is flown single-pilot from the left seat. Since people tend to scan visually from left to right... the same way they read a book... it was more effective to have Walker in a left-facing helicopter like the 500C, as opposed to say, a Bell JetRanger, or a Fairchild FH-1100 which are flown from the right seat. Director William A. Graham shot all of the close-ups from the left side of the ship, usually looking slightly upward, with a tight depth-of-field. This threw everything behind Walker's shoulders out of focus. However, this was a dual-control ship! Note particularly the take-off after Walker fueled-up from the tanker truck. If you look closely (despite the fuzzy focus) you can readily see that the right-seat position looks unusually lumpy. That's because the film pilot who was doing the actual flying, was crouched in there, under a black shroud.
- GoofsThe Hughes/MD 500 (369) helicopter has a jet turbine engine that uses Jet-A fuel. Filling up with auto gas from the tanker truck would not work well. The engine would be damaged and would not get very far.
- Quotes
Jim McAndrew: Hey Walker, remember how we used to make simultaneous approaches on intersecting runways?
- ConnectionsReferenced in Three's Company: Two Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1981)
Featured review
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.
- tandkmoran
- Mar 26, 2006
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Duell der Helikopter
- Filming locations
- Wendover Airport - 345 S. Airport Apron, Wendover, Utah, USA(helicopter chase)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $400,000 (estimated)
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