THE SKYDIVERS (1963) *

The Skydivers would’ve been just another forgettable, dull relationship drama if it wasn’t directed by Coleman (The Beast of Yucca Flats) Francis.  It’s full of his weird little fetishes and ticks and often feels like a really bad art film desperately failing at being arty.  I’m not saying it’s good.  In fact, it’s pretty terrible.  What I am saying is that it’s probably his most coherent work, which I realize isn’t saying much.

Tony Cardoza and his wife (Kevin Casey) own their own recreational skydiving business.  He’s secretly been seeing a cheap floozy (Marcia Knight) behind her back and when he finally breaks it off with her, she vows to get even.  She eventually gets her new boyfriend (Titus Moede) to put acid in one of their parachutes in hopes of killing them.

Hitchcock had the “Ticking Bomb” theory of creating suspense.  He said suspense is created by showing a ticking bomb under a table and then cutting to two people talking at the table unaware the bomb is about to go off.  Coleman Francis’ version of this theory is the “Acid Parachute”.  I guess I don’t have to tell you who is more successful at creating suspense.

However, Francis does give us a LOT of scenes of two people sitting at a table and talking.  They don’t have to deal with a ticking bomb though.  Instead, they mostly drink coffee.  In fact, the long, odd scenes of people drinking coffee are the most endearing thing about the movie.

The skydiving sequences are OK for its time.  The scenes of the skydivers’ cheeks flapping in the wind provide a lot of unintended chuckles.  When the movie is on the ground though, it’s pretty dreadful. 

AKA:  Fiend from Half Moon Bay.  AKA:  Panic at Half Moon Bay.