Island in the Sky

I have been trying to purchase the movie for 20 year's or more w/ no luck, I even went to San Juan Island ( where E.K. Gann Lived ), Unfortunately it was right after his death & I would not bother his wife. It's the only movie w\ John Wayne that I ever loved. I haven't seen it in at least 20 or 25 years. I say it was Wayne's Greatest roll, & I would pay almost anything to see it before I die. The only thing that would have made it better, if it had been made in color. The scenery was so beautiful, I don't know where it was filmed, but it sure looked like Northern Labrador or Quebec. I don't get to travel anymore but I send to chamber of commerce & get brochure's. Some book's about similar area's, that one might enjoy, would be book's buy "Farley Mowat", People of The Deer, or "Never Cry Wolf". If you Liked the movie "Island In The Sky" You will LOVE the Book.

Free at last. AMC Channel is showing Island in the Sky & The High and the Mighty the weekend of July 16 & 17. Get your recording equipment ready. I have been waiting almost fifty years to see this movie again. I think it was the first time I ever saw John Wayne in a movie. I was about 13. As the hero he was bigger than life to me at the time. He never gave up even if the situation looked hopeless. As I grew older and thought of the movie at times I was even more impressed with his actions. I hope now that the Wayne family has released it to TV they will also release it with a new set of DVDs. I have checked this web site often to see if there were any new info on the release or showing of this movie.

This is based on a true story and I had the priviledge to fly with the co-pilot of that trip of Feb 3, 1943. His comment was that he didn't like the movie because they showed the co-pilot dieing in the movie. On Feb. 3, 1993,50th annaversary of the downing of the B-24 liberator/cargo version, I flew directly over Lac O'connor flying a trip from Frankfurt, Germany to Chicago, Ill. The Lat. and Long. is roughly N54:20 and W74:30. The movie didn't tell the whole story;although, very well done. There was a Northeast Airlines DC-3 down also. When they first found O'Connor and his crew, the NE Airline pilot thought he could just land and pick them up. When he touched down, he was buried in snow. They spent exactly 2 mos on the lake. They were flown out on April 3, 1943. If you can find a book by James Mangan called westward....... something or other, has a very factual run down. Try the C.R. Smith museum in Ft. Worth, TX.

Despite the movie being confined to the frozen north of Canada and the narrowness of the plot (rescuing a downed plane), this movie was able to keep my interest and avoided the "claustraphobic-feel". That's because the movie, though very simple, is written and directed so well. It manages to throw in little moments of drama into the story whenever there is a chance for a lull and in the process pulls the viewer into the story. Plus, on top of that, the acting and supporting cast is excellent. PLUS, for you lovers of oddness out there, look closely at the adult Alfalfa Switzer (yes, from OUR GANG shorts) in an adult role (shortly before he got himself killed).

This proved to be an unjustly neglected gem, especially in view of the overrated THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY (1954) – which I watched in conjunction with it – from the same team. As with John Wayne's other Batjac productions, the film hasn't been seen in decades but, hopefully, it will be rediscovered now via Paramount's SE DVD.

It features one of Wayne's more interesting roles, and his performance is accordingly impressive. Director Wellman and Wayne (in his capacity as executive producer) managed to make a low-key and unusually realistic film, which celebrates camaraderie, amid the studio system – with very little concession to typical Hollywood trappings (unlike its glamorized and inflated follow-up!). Ernest K. Gann, who spent his life in aviation and who followed this with THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY, for the first time adapted his own novel to the screen and this gave the script a definite ring of authenticity: consequently, we find here any number of wonderful human (and often humorous) vignettes – but especially poignant are Sean McClory's death scene and the finale where the downed airmen are, at long last, spotted by their comrades who form the search party. Besides, the black-and-white cinematography (by Archie Stout and William H. Clothier, both of whom shot many a John Wayne picture) is remarkable and, done with little or no special effects, was – by all accounts – seminal in its field. The cast, too, is peppered with familiar faces (either established – and reliable – character actors or upcoming stars) but, more importantly, solid performers all around.

Wellman, a flying aficionado as well, made 11 films on the subject and numbers this one among his favorites (I tend to agree with him, given that I was slightly let down by some of his more renowned work like BEAU GESTE [1939], BATTLEGROUND [1949] and THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY itself!). The director's long career in films, tackling all kinds of subjects, was undoubtedly an interesting one: though he never quite achieved the reputation of, say, John Ford or Howard Hawks, he was of the same breed (and, indeed, this particular film has the feel of these two giants' work – both of whom, obviously, also proved crucial to John Wayne's career – and especially Hawks' CEILING ZERO [1935] and ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS [1939], with which ISLAND IN THE SKY shares some of its plot line).