Island in the Sky (1953 film)
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- This article is about the 1953 John Wayne film. For the 1938 film, see Island in the Sky (1938 film). For the 1960 Donald Duck cartoon, see Island in the Sky (cartoon).
| Island in the Sky | |
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| Directed by | William A. Wellman |
| Produced by | Robert Fellows John Wayne |
| Written by | Ernest K. Gann |
| Starring | John Wayne Lloyd Nolan James Arness Andy Devine Harry Carey Jr. |
| Music by | Emil Newman |
| Cinematography | Archie Stout |
| Editing by | Ralph Dawson |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | September 5, 1953 |
| Running time | 109 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Island in The Sky is a 1953 film released through Warner Brothers. The film starred and was co-produced by John Wayne, directed by William A. Wellman and written by Ernest K. Gann who also wrote the novel on which the film was based.
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[edit] Plot
The film follows a pilot and crew of a World War II-era C-47 Skytrain (the military version of the DC-3) who try to survive after a forced emergency landing on a frozen lake in the uncharted wildlands of Labrador, Canada. The pilot, Dooley, is a former airline pilot who like many others was pressed into duty hauling war supplies across the northern route to England. Weather, combined with the difficulties of navigating the far north, have forced the plane to land in an unknown location. After finding a lake for a landing field Dooley must keep his men alive in deadly conditions while waiting for rescue. Fellow airmen (Lloyd Nolan, James Arness, Andy Devine, Paul Fix) are determined to find them before hunger and the arctic winter do them in. Wellman provides internal narrative for the stoic characters. There is tension and a fear-filled meeting among the search pilots when no one is quite sure about what to do, since a wrong decision could doom the missing crew.
[edit] Legacy
The script was based on a true story about a flight on February 3, 1943 (although the co-pilot did not die). John Wayne co-produced and starred in this film, doing likewise a year later in The High and the Mighty (1954). The two movies shared many of the same production staff and crew members. Wellman was an aviation-movie veteran and director whose Wings won the first-ever Academy Award (1927–28). The role is against type for Wayne since he does not display the machismo for which he was often criticized. His portrayal of the downed plane's captain had been noted as believable and realistic. The film carries many realistic details, such as an ice pick kept handily embedded in a barracks wall so pilots can break the ice sheet on their morning wash water. The black-and-white cinematography by Archie Stout (dramatic scenes) and William H. Clothier (flying scenes) have been praised by critics.
Both movies were out of circulation for about 20 years because of legal issues. They were restored, returned to television in July 2005 and released as special edition DVDs that August.
[edit] Cast
- John Wayne - Captain Dooley
- Lloyd Nolan - Captain Stutz
- James Arness - Mac McMullan, pilot
- Andy Devine - Willie Moon, pilot
- Harry Carey Jr. - Ralph Hunt, Moon's co-pilot
- Walter Able - Colonel Fuller
- Paul Fix - Wally Miller
- Louis Jean Heydt - Fitch, pilot
- Fess Parker - Fitch's co-pilot (uncredited)
- Gary Eldred - the unnamed baby boy (uncredited)
[edit] External links
- [1] DVD version
- Island in the Sky (1953 film) at the Internet Movie Database
