Thoughts on The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story

 

via Giphy/Courtesy NBC/Sony

*Flight purser Derickson (Lindsay Wagner) takes an interest in the gun of hijacker Castro (Eli Danker). He agrees to let her hold it. While doing so, she clearly contemplates shooting him. He's aware of this. A few tense seconds pass before he smiles and retrieves the gun.*
"You would not be a good solider. You save life better than you take life. ... When our Lebanese brothers are released by Israel, we'll let you go."

The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story committed a great sin: it made me want to see The Delta Force. Based on the first 48 hours of the 16-day hostage situation that began with the 1985 hijacking of a TWA plane, Flight is grounded. I don't doubt Derickson's heroics and Wagner is always worth a watch, but limiting the ordeal to Uli's involvement doesn't do justice to the situation. Norman Morrill, who, wrote the screenplay, may have wanted to find a fresh angle on a recent event, but my sympathy only extends so far. When the last hostages are released, it barely matters. We already saw the TV star go free. We're also robbed of a feeling of justice for Castro, accomplice Saiid (Joseph Nasser) and the tortured and murdered Robert Stethem (Steven Eckholdt). Not only that, but we get a tacky ending of Uli having PTSD, complete with catapult nightmare. Yet, the postscript said that she went back to being a flight attendant one month later.

I'm not that interested in looking up what liberties Morrill took as Mohammed Ali Hammadi became Castro. In Flight, Castro seeks revenge on America and/or its military for its involvement in the Lebanese Civil War. Castro's family were killed as part of the collateral damage, causing him to take out his rage on Stethem. At the same time, Castro and Saiid are presented as barely capable of rational thought. They have no problem with dying. So far, so "aren't you mad at the foreigners?", but Flight just manages to avoid being a jingoistic jam. Maybe I read too much into what was going on, but there seemed to be a suggestion of not enough people initially caring about the flight's plight. Look at how many times Uli and her crew had to beg for fuel or a safe runway to land on. I dunno, it almost felt like someone felt that mass death was the ideal solution.

And on that awkward note, we have to acknowledge the horror of Castro demanding that German emigrant Uli identify possible Jewish people on the plane. She's well aware of the baggage with that one. Eventually the hijackers just continue indiscriminately terrorizing the crew and passengers. Castro does get a moment where he spoon feeds a pregnant woman. A big problem I have with Flight is that it had too many dull characters. Uli and Castro are the only ones who feel like they could exist outside of the plane. That's the fault of both Morrill and director Paul Wendkos. I knew I'd need to see at least one network movie with a woman in peril as part of my scope of what 1988 TV had to offer actresses. I just wish I saw a better one.

"Ladies and gentlemen, uh, the plane is being hijacked. Um, the captain has agreed to cooperate with the hijackers and take them wherever they wish to go. So please, for the sake of everyone’s safety, uh, just do exactly as you are told.”

Thoughts:

-- "Mama?" "What, honey?" "Are the people on your plane going home too?" "I hope so. Oh, I hope so."

-- Awards Watch: The movie and Wendkos' direction were both nominated for Emmys, losing to Inherit the Wind and Lamont Johnson for Lincoln, respectively.

-- Hey, It's ...!: Uli's flight crew includes co-pilot Ray Wise and flight attendants Leslie Easterbrook and Laurie Walters.

-- Musical Moment: In one of the oddest -- and presumably true -- situations, Uli keeps Castro calm by singing to him. Her repertoire includes "Bakke bakke Kuchen" (the crew's WTF? expressions make the scene) and "Heimatlos," which she performs in German and English.

-- "You know, that boy they shot? I keep thinking about his mother. These people, they don't care about that, do they? Nobody wonders about the mothers. *upset* Nobody cares."

-- Next: The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd. On deck: Cagney & Lacey.