MissClassicTV Set in 1973 Salt Lake City, this movie is about a WWII fighter pilot working as a radio station traffic reporter who chases down bank robbers in his helicopter. The robbers have a hostage, a 22-year-old bank employee who's about to be married at the end of the week. The robbers make their getaway first in a car then in a helicopter. Later, the tables turn and the robbers are chasing the ex-fighter pilot.Many reviews rave about the stunt flying, chase sequences and the canyons of Utah. There really is a lot of sensational flying and gorgeous scenery. From my point of view, though, this is an incredibly sad story. Harry Walker, the pilot, has never let go of the past. At one point, while being chased by the bad guys, his old friend who was also a fighter pilot but is now a captain on the police force, tells him to go home and let the cops handle it. Walker says, "Don't you get it, Mac? I am home." The great David Janssen plays Harry Walker as a sentimental romantic, a hero longing for the old days.Oh, and David Janssen has a nice voice.

Ralpho David Janssen and Ralph Meeker are perfectly cast in this TV movie as World War II flying buddies who have had disparate levels of success in adjusting to post-war life. Meeker's character, McAndrews, is an apparently well-balanced police captain in Salt Lake City. Janssen's character, Harry Walker, flies a helicopter for a local radio station and has not been able to put the war behind him.Janssen's character witnesses a bank robbery and chases the perpetrators, who are also in a helicopter. The aerial stunt work is top-notch, and the film was made on location in Salt Lake City at a time when you could fake very little with special effects.But the core of the movie is the relationship between Walker and McAndrews. Walker feels alive for the first time in a long time as he chases the bad guys. McAndrews tries to restrain Walker through most of the movie, although it's clear he sympathizes with his old friend. And at the end he's as crazy as Walker.When the movie was originally televised, a beautiful and perfectly appropriate version of the song "I'll Get By" played over the opening credits. I have searched long and hard for a recording of that version of that song without success. It wasn't the cover by Keely Smith, or by Billie Holliday.I wouldn't have looked so hard for a recording if the song was included in the videotape of "Birds of Prey." I suspect that whoever put the movie on video would have had to pay royalties to someone if the song was retained. So this despicable person replaced "I'll Get By" with an instrumental big band song that is probably in the public domain.This thrifty gent likewise axed a song from the body of the movie to which Janssen's character sings along. So the videotape viewer is left to wonder what song Janssen is singing as an instrumental big band number plays.

Thunderbolt This movie was one of my favorites as a kid. I have always been interested in world war 2 aircraft and the Flying Tigers especially. Harry Walker is a ex Flying Tiger pilot flying a modern day helicopter as a traffic reporter. The movie is filled with helicopter flying, all very good. The tv movie you see on tv has the original music, however the version you buy on vhs for some reason does not. I'm not sure why the changed the music, the original worked fine. I really enjoyed the character study of Harry Walker, thinking back of his war days, mixing in with the reality of his situation; chasing the new bad guys who have a hostage. I think most will enjoy this fast moving film.

brandtre David Jansen plays the phenominal role of ex-World War II fighter pilot who is a traffic heliocopter pilot. After seeing robbers flee a crime in a heliocopter he follows, refuels along the road, frees the hostage and enters into a showdown with the robbers.The film has many scenes of sensational flying.