Why ''Thrillers'' Thrive

Take a case in point, which a great many picturegoer readers are likely to have seen the scene in Hell's angels, in which the British pilot decides to crash his plane into the envelope of the Zeppelin to destroy it, even though this means inevitable death to himself. We see him face grim, tense, even horror stricken as his plane swoops down. Then we are transferred to the pilot's seat, and it is we who are hurtling to death at ninety miles an hour; and at the moment of impact and blackout a palpable shuddering runs through the audience. This is good cinema. In this there is no harm, because in our subconscious minds we are aware that we are safe, sitting in a comfortable armchair, watching a screen.