What was Susan Dey's first role outside of
The Partridge Family? It was a small but key part in the 1972 film
Skyjacked, an entry in the vast 'airplane disaster' movie category. Susan Dey portrayed Elly Brewster, a young passenger on an ill-fated flight who just happens to be the one who discovers a message scrawled on the bathroom mirror left by a hijacker. She's not in the film all that much but her featured performance is nonetheless memorable. She has a scene acting opposite the movie's star Charlton Heston and she has her own little sub-plot concerning her and young man. Susan Dey would not appear in another feature film until
First Love in 1977.
Here are some promotional stills:
Here is a newspaper article concerning Susan Dey being cast in
Skyjacked (as you can see, the film was originally titled "Airborne," and I've also seen it referred to as "Skyjack" before it was released):
 |
| Newburgh Evening News (January 22, 1972) |
Here are some images of Susan Dey in
Skyjacked:
