THE ULTIMATE THRILL
US, 1974, 90 minutes, Colour.
Barry Brown, Britt Eklund, Eric Braeden.
Directed by Robert Butler.
The Ultimate Thrill is an average skiing and chase thriller. It has television actors who were popular in the 1970s as well as a star role for Britt Eklund. It is one of those take it or leave it kinds of thrillers.
1. How good a thriller was this? For audience involvement, interest, entertainment? The qualities of suspense and excitement?
2. The significance of the title and its reference? Its relation to skiing, to murder? To the experience after a murder?
3. The picture of skiing? The emphasis on this? The photography for atmosphere? The scenes of the exhilaration of skiing, dangers and risks? Its use for the plot? Especially In the pursuit of the two men by Parlay? Audience response to this excitement?
4. The impression of the Colorado ski resorts and the way of life? The arrival by plane, Moore and his joviality, the expectations of a holiday? The hotels and their service? The ski atmosphere, the holiday atmosphere?
5. The film's initial focus on Parlay? His wife waiting for him, his arrival and the telephone call, his rudeness, his involvement in deals, his return?
6. Audience response to Parlay as he was seen at business? The atmosphere of his offices, his answering the phones in the various languages, his assistants and their reports? His arrogant attitude towards those beneath him? His enjoyment of business? Power? His humiliation of the poor man at the merger? His playing with him and his life? The memory of the past and his lack of profitability? The threat and the risk of the Russian Roulette? The man's breakdown and Parlay's satisfaction? The film's presentation of him playing God, his love of gambling, risks? Audience response to his evil? Seeing him return to his wife in the light of this experience?
7. How well did the film delineate Moore as a casual character? His flirting? His approaches in the shop? His delivering the milk, for his falling in the icy water? His reaction to Parlay's wife? His reaction to Parlay and
the two minutes to leave the house? The desertion of the pursuit and the flight? The sudden ugliness of his death? Audience response to seeing him crash into the helicopter, for his feet being tied to the helicopter and his being dangled from the plane, his fall to the ground? Audience judgement on Parlay because of this?
8. The presentation of Parlay after his murder? His brutality with his wife? The sexual fulfilment? His statement about a new feeling? His enjoyment of this and his determination to pursue this ultimate thrill?
9. The response to the new set-up? His meeting Joe? His admiration for his skiing? Their business talk and Parlay's knowledge? His setting up of Joe? The ironical arranging of the return to the house, the conversation? His leaving and waiting in the motel? The frustration of his return to find that Joe had gone?
10. His relentlessness in determining that Joe should die? Be killed? The dramatics of the chase with the hang-gliding? The fact that Joe thwarted him with his own gun? Russian Roulette and the risk of death?
11. The relationship between Joe and Parlay's wife? What kind of character was she? Her understanding of her husband? Her repulsion of Moore? Her disgust with her husband? The satisfaction of relationship with Joe, for example through the writings, their discussion of fairy stories?
12. The significance of the fairy story at the end and the preparation for the happy ending? How was this a satisfactory conclusion for a ski thriller? How good a film was it? The reasons for its success?
