Word About Biehn

A comet is about to strike Phoenix and is detected by scientists, who alert the powers that be. But, as is typical of these plotlines, officials are more concerned with politics than with the welfare of their constituents, and they attempt to cover up the crisis. It falls to a TV station owner to overcome all odds to inform the public of the situation and its urgency. But will her warning come in time to protect the populace?

A made for TV flick, Fire In The Sky suffers from weak writing that demands an inordinate willingness from the viewer to suspend disbelief. For example, first to be told of the coming comet, the President of the United States sees it not as a matter of national concern but as a local problem. So he passes the buck to Arizona to take care if it on its own. In his turn and with a minimum of effort, Arizona's governor along with his slimy advisor manages to hide the goings-on from the public. Flabbergasted by such foolhardy behavior, our scientists just don't know what to do about it. They want to go to the media, but the governor has the local paper under his thumb and is threatening the owner of KTAR-TV. I guess we're to assume there's only one TV station in the entire Phoenix area and no radio stations at all for them to contact. Thank goodness for our crusading TV station owner, without whom all would surely be lost!

Against this backdrop, we find the standard stable of citizens caught up in calamity. There's the female TV station owner and her husband, the newspaper publisher; the crack reporter who has no qualms about sleeping with her boss to get a scoop; and the dad who's taken his son and several boys out camping in the desert, cut off from the rest of the world.

However, most important to us, there is young Tom Reardon (Michael), aspiring rodeo rider. Tom is in love with Paula, the daughter of rich, snobbish parents, who consider him totally unsuitable as a prospective son-in-law. With the comet looming nearer, Paula must choose between her love for Tom and her parents' plans for her.

As an unpretentious young man of modest means and simple dreams, who loves his crusty grandmother and the girl he hopes to marry, Michael is very effective. Even in this early film, he demonstrates his ability to infuse a character with genuine personality and emotion. Illustrating this are two scenes that I especially like: First, when Tom is insulted by Paula's father after asking for her hand in marriage; and second, when he tells Paula that he can't desert his grandmother. In both cases Michael makes us feel what Tom is feeling and wins our instant sympathy and liking.