Island in the Sky (1953)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Ernest K. Gann (novel)
Ernest K. Gann (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 September 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Plot:

A transport plane crash-lands in the frozen wastes of Labrador, and the plane's pilot, Dooley, must...

Plot Keywords:

Husband Wife Relationship | Radio | Navigation | Morse Code | Navigator

Cast

John Wayne	...	Capt. Dooley
Lloyd Nolan	...	Captain Stutz
Walter Abel	...	Col. Fuller
James Arness	...	Mac McMullen, pilot
Andy Devine	...	Willie Moon, pilot
Allyn Joslyn	...	J.H. Handy, pilot
Jimmy Lydon	...	Murray, Dooley's navigator (as James Lydon)
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Ralph Hunt, Moon's co-pilot
Hal Baylor	...	Stankowski, Dooley's engineer
Sean McClory	...	Frank Lovatt, Dooley's co-pilot
Wally Cassell	...	D'Annunzia, Dooley's radioman
Gordon Jones	...	Walrus
Frank Fenton	...	Capt. Turner
Robert Keys	...	Maj. Ditson
Sumner Getchell	...	Lt. Cord

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (WarnerPhonic/RCA)

Certification:

Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #16547) | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Donner Lake, Truckee, California, USA

Company:

Wayne-Fellows Productions

Trivia:

The little yellow radio shown in the movie was a actual radio. Its design is based on a WWII German emergency transmitter. It is a BC-778/SCR-578/AN-CRT3 emergency transmitter (it could not receive) affectionately called 'Gibson Girl', a name taken from the narrow-waisted female drawings of 1890s fashion artist Charles Gibson. Its shape allowed the operator to hold it between the legs while cranking it the necessary 80 RPM to produce enough electricity to operate. It could be set to automatically send an SOS signal or switched to send Morse Code signals. Early models transmitted only on 500kHz, later models also could transmit on 8280kHz (later modified to 8364kHz). It was notorious for being tough to crank.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lovatt died, he had curled up into a fetal position. He would have frozen in that position. When the crew buried him, he was straightened out.

Quotes:

Capt. Dooley: [to navigator Murray] You're a lousy guy to sleep with.

Movie Connections:

Version of Fate Is the Hunter (1964)

Found a DVD at the Atlantic City Classic Auto show & Auction

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.