kidboots Review

The Elevator (1974 TV Movie)

Small Scale Disaster!!

[7/10 · 28 November 2018]

Once-great stars were always assured of employment when TV movies were all the rage - especially the "disaster" type ones. This was a pretty small scale one - about a lift!! Agree with the reviewer who said that for all it's averageness, it still packed a punch!! A lift taking "all walks of life" people down to their long week-end becomes stuck between floors and because the block is still being built, the lift is still being fitted out as well ie it doesn't have an emergency phone, I mean who needs one??

There's the irritating lady from Philadelphia (and Myrna Loy is surprisingly good as an irritating lady!!), a doctor's wife (Theresa Wright), a mother and son and Roddy MacDowall as the always having to be sparkling and "on" P.R. man for the building's real estate - not to mention the claustrophobic!! He is Eddie Holcomb (aggressively played by James Farentino) part of a trio who have just committed a payroll robbery. He, clutching a bag of cash, is separated from his trigger happy pal and is destined to be a part of the lift ride from Hell!! No way does this short on characterization, long on screams movie resemble "Elevator to the Gallows". Instantly Eddie panics, putting the whole lift party on edge but midway through there is time for introspection. Loy's character reveals her bragging about her children and grandchildren is all an act

• in reality she has no one and MacDowall's character admits that his

high spirits are all an act and for once he would like to behave the way he really feels. A nice touch at the end has Loy tentatively asking whether anyone will join her in a meal but as safety and freedom seem sooner rather than later, everyone now adopts their false personas, so Loy has to assume her "proud parent" role as she hails a cab.

The normally luminous Carol Lynley is given nothing to work with here, her role as one of the trio of crooks is a cardboard cut-out!!