Ski Lift to Death (TV Movie 1978) Poster

(1978 TV Movie)

User Reviews

Review this title
6 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
5/10
It's not up to me the decision has already been made
kapelusznik181 March 2014
***SPOILERS*** Fantastic ski acrobatics, done by stunt men not the stars in the film, makes the movie more then worth watching with it's story in deep freeze as far as logic and believably is concerned. There's Mafia front and businessman Ben Forbes, Howard Duff, who's to spill his guts out before a Federal Grand Jury about his and his son John, Graham McPherson, mob connections. This has the mob send hit-man Clevenger, played by former Canadian skiing champion Pieere Jalbert, to knock him & Jr off before they can open their mouths before the grand jury. We also have skiing womens champ Lee Larson, Debroah Ruffin, roughing it up with her boyfriend also ski champ, in the mens division, Dick Elson, Charles Frank, who's in competition with her agent Marve Gilman, Clu Gulager, that my lead to fireworks on the cold and snowy ski slopes of Silver City.

We also have hot shot skier Mike Sloan, Don "Don-Jon" Johnson, who ends up being the hero of the movie by saving himself and a number of people on a damaged and hanging on a cable ski-lift ending up breaking his shoulder and preventing him from the ski competition that he's surly to win. The best is saved for last with Clevenger kidnapping the wounded, he was also injured in the ski-lift accident, Ben Forbes who was set up by his confused and guilt ridden girlfriend, even though she didn't know it, Vicki Gordon, Gail Strictland . After murdering Forbes Clevenger planned to hide his body in the snow that will be frozen stiff until the spring thaw sets in.

It was Dick who saved the day and Forbes' life with his amazing skiing abilities that just about blew everyone watching the movie away. Even though it wasn't him or the actor who played him Charles Frank doing the skiing. There's also former "Ironside" regular Don Galloway playing a judge, Ron Corley, at the ski competition as well as cute and sexy Lisa Reeves as bar girl Wendy. It's Wendy who does a hot & sexy T-shirt dance that raises the temperature in the snow covered town well above freezing!
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
The most beautiful girls ever seen in a tv film !
idubessy15 March 1999
The story is very basic, OK ! But there are plenty of beautiful young actresses who are worth seeing !!! This is what made me watch the film till its end ! Their beauty is comparable to the ones of series of the same time (as "Love boat" and "Duke of Hazzard", etc.). For your eyes only !
5 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
4/10
From the age of TV-movies
Matthew_Capitano1 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
'Ski Lift to Boredom' is more like it. I saw this TV-movie when it first aired in 1978 and now, after thinking of it occasionally (and 34 years later) I've seen it again and it hasn't particularly improved - in other words, I enjoyed it more the first time I saw it.

Then-model and non-actress Deborah Riff Raffin was featured in this, but she all but disappears after the first 40 minutes, leaving the viewer to the mild acting talents of Suzy Q. Chaffee, Howard Old Duff and Don Little Johnson. Not really worth your time unless there's nothing on TV to watch, it's raining outside, and you absolutely cannot think of anything else to do... then... maybe.

Also billed as 'Snowblind' and 'Danger in Winterland'.
1 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
3/10
Padded-out dud
Leofwine_draca31 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this cheapie TV movie thriller under the title SNOWBLIND. Amazon Prime are showing a cheap and nasty version of it in which the actors are all blurred except when in extreme close-up. The story mixes together skiing footage with a small-time family drama/perilous situation involving hit men and heroes mixing it up. I found the whole thing a real dud if I'm honest, and that's from someone who considers themselves a fan of '70s-era television movie fare. Interesting actors like Clu Gulager are stuck in support while Don Johnson is pure wood as the hero. The main characters are lifeless and the story is heavily padded with a thirty-minute dancing sequence in a bar. It's only at the climax that the peril really hits and even then it's very diluted. For a proper ski lift thriller check out the excellent FROZEN.
0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
This movie is HARRRRRRIBLE.
chm200612 November 2009
This one's a stinker. And trust me, I love stinky movies. The junkier the better, usually, but this film holds the distinction in my opinion as super DUPER atrocious. Almost as bad as A Vacation In Hell, but not quite. There's a shred of something interesting here, but for all the wrong reasons, of course. It has well known TV performers of the day. This is good only if you enjoy shows like The Love Boat, the charms of which, I can certainly appreciate. The action takes place at Banff, but they call the town Silver City. Deborah Raffin plays the lead character modeled after Suzy Chaffee. A fictional freestyle skier, she's come to this fictional town for a fictional competition. Howard Duff and Don Johnson and Clu Gulager are in it. She is romanced by a handsome male colleague skiier, with a few quick and creepy facial mastication-style makeout scenes.

There's some fun footage of people flipping moguls and doing high jumps at the snow skiing competition, featuring the real Suzy Chaffee acting as Deborah Raffin's body double in a beautiful and well executed ski routine--just one of several unrelated yet formulaic plot machinations.

A gunman is hired to kill Howard Duff's character. There's tons of male chauvinism. There's a ski lodge T-shirt/boobie contest with extensive footage of women gyrating and men going hubba hubba. Tacky behavior like you'd see at a strip club. Veronica Hamel's character is shown sleeping with a married man, "who was only lying." Once the disaster finally happened in the last hour, there was really no point for the movie to continue, but it did. And that's when I realized it was gratuitous and manipulative from start to finish. And I'm not saying that like it is a bad thing, but ooh, this movie is a stinker! The other, very telling factor here is this DVD came from Netflix, yet it is a copy of something taped on a vcr from a TV broadcast. The quality is very poor and it is glaring. The opening credits are missing and there are very obvious artifacts like vcr stripes and color bars and jumps and volume issues. Was this the only surviving master copy, perhaps something Suzy Chafee may have taped on her own vcr?
0 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
A really enjoyable vintage 70's made-for-TV disaster feature
Woodyanders14 February 2007
Warning: Spoilers
A motley assortment of folks find themselves in considerable jeopardy when the ski lift gondola they are in jumps the track and leaves them hanging way up in the chilly winter air. Director William Wiard, working from a colorful and eventful script by J.G. Hawks and Laurence Health, maintains a steady pace throughout and develops a reasonable amount of tension. The solid acting from a bang-up cast qualifies as a major plus: Deborah Raffin as a sweet budding ski champion, Charles Frank as Raffin's loving boyfriend, Don Johnson as a cocky cowboy ace hot dog skier, Clu Gulager as a nice guy manager, Howard Duff as a mob informant, Gail Strickland as Duff's concerned mistress, Veronica Hamel as a perky newscaster, and Lisa ("The Pom Pom Girls") Reeves as a foxy underage bar maid. The ski lift accident sequence and subsequent rescue operation are genuinely exciting and harrowing. The copious ski footage and gorgeous snow-covered mountainous landscapes are both truly breathtaking. A rowdy disco dance t-shirt contest rates as another definite highlight. Roland "Ozzie" Smith's pretty, picturesque cinematography really hits the spot. Only Barry De Vorzon's often sappy'n'syrupy score misses the mark. That minor criticism aside, this vintage 70's made-for-TV disaster item sizes up as a whole lot of fun.
2 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed