FARRAH FAWCETT SERVES AIRLINE MYSTERY 'MURDER ON FLIGHT 502'

Farrah Fawcett in Murder on Flight 502 Rating: ****

Different than most airline disaster flicks in that a gun's drawn literally minutes before the New York to England 747 makes a landing...

But MURDER ON FLIGHT 502 is really a whodunnit, and for a mystery it's pretty great; for a thriller it's surprisingly taut; as a TV movie it's creatively shot by FROGS director George McCowan and, like the AIRPORT franchise, there's a B-list of ensemble actors ranging from Laraine Day to Dane Clark to Fernando Lamas, Danny Bonaduce, Hugh O'Brien, Theodore Bikel, Walter Pigeon, and Sonny Bono, a has-been rocker romancing the girl-next-door...

While the plane itself provides an intriguing set including a plush First Class section up to the cockpit where pilot Robert Stack stands between a doctor saving the life of one of several culprits, investigates the plane and passengers along with cop Hugh O'Brien as his co-pilot does the work. Meanwhile Farrah Fawcett... alone on the DVD cover as if this AIRLINE were her very own vehicle (three years before CHARLIE'S ANGELS, sharing producer Aaron Spelling)... is the perfect eye-candy stewardess, and able to actually act a few times since there's an ongoing tension. Even providing George Maharis some nice edgy scenes back at the tower, where most plane-in-peril thrillers remain on cruise control. 

George Maharis in Murder on Flight 502

Sonny Bono in Murder on Flight 502

Hugh O'Brien and Robert Stack in Murder on Flight 502

Hugh O'Brien and Farrah Fawcett in Murder on Flight 502

Fernando Lamas and Polly Bergen in Murder on Flight 502

Hugh O'Brien and Farrah Fawcett in Murder on Flight 502

Glorie Haufman in Murder on Flight 502

Dane Clark and Laraine Day in Murder on Flight 502

Sonny Bono and Robert Stack's daughter Elizabeth in Murder on Flight 502

Scene-ruling Philip Sterling as Sonny Bono's agent in Murder on Flight 502

Theodore Bikel and Danny Bonaduce in Murder on Flight 502

Two square-jawed tough guys Hugh O'Brien & Robert Stack in Murder on Flight 502