Rescue from Gilligan's Island (1978)

The castaways must try to readjust to life in civilization after they are rescued from the island.

Director:

Leslie H. Martinson

Writers:

Sherwood Schwartz (creator), Sherwood Schwartz

Stars:

Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bob Denver	...	Gilligan
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Skipper Jonas Grumby
Jim Backus	...	Thurston Howell III
Natalie Schafer	...	Lovey Wentworth Howell
Judith Baldwin	...	Ginger Grant
Russell Johnson	...	Professor Roy Hinkley, Jr.
Dawn Wells	...	Mary Ann Summers
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Dimitri
Art LaFleur	...	Ivan
Norman Bartold	...	Producer
Barbara Mallory	...	Cindy Smith
June Whitley Taylor	...	Miss Ainsworth
Martin Rudy	...	Dean
Mary Gregory	...	Mrs. Devonshire
Glenn Robards	...	Mr. Devonshire

Storyline

When a decaying Russian satellite crashes on the island, the Professor uses a key component for a barometer. With that device, he learns that a massive wave is going to swamp the island. In desperation, the castaways lash their huts together into one structure in order to have any chance to ride the disaster out. The wave strikes the island and the hut is swept out to sea. Once there, Gilligan accidents starts a fire trying to cook a meal and nearly burns the floating hut down. Occupied with stopping the fire, the gang fails to notice that the smoke caught the attention of a naval helicopter who summoned a ship to rescue the castaways. In triumph, they return to Hawaii, only to learn that things have changed over the years and they will have trouble fitting in. To further complicate matters, two Russian spies are after that the key component that Gilligan now wears as necklace.

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Plot Keywords:

island | hut | castaway | rescue | helicopter | 

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Taglines:

Original cast - new movie!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 October 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rescate de la isla de Guilligan

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Redwood Productions, Sherwood Schwartz Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening sequence of this movie is the same one used to open the episodes of the original series. However, the concluding sequence showing the castaways sitting together on the beach was shot at the time the movie was made, because another actress was playing Ginger Grant. The movie itself was shot with a different camera than the old opening sequence, and the result is actually quite jarring, especially in the opening sequence where new head shots replace the old ones due to the replacement actress being in the movie.

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Goofs

All of the products that the Professor tried to invent after being rescued were available on the market before the castaways were first marooned, so he should have known about them. Frisbee was introduced 1950, electric toothbrush in 1960, pantyhose and skateboards in 1959. In fact, Gilligan mentioned wanting a skateboard in an episode of the original show.

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Quotes

Gilligan: [after telling the Skipper that "Star Wars" is a dirty movie] "Skipper, don't you know? R2D2 is a four-letter word!"

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Connections

Referenced in Surviving Gilligan's Island: The Incredibly True Story of the Longest Three Hour Tour in History (2001)

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Soundtracks

Ballad of Gilligan's Isle
Music by George Wyle
Lyrics by Sherwood Schwartz

User Reviews

Classic Gilligan

By the late '70s, I'd spent many an afternoon watching Gilligan's Island in syndication after school. Each episode was the TV equivalent of a Hostess Twinkie - light, fluffy, undeniably artificial, sweet and sappy enough to make you sick. But come the next day, you wanted another one anyway. Rescue from Gilligan's Island looks like nothing so much as an extended episode from the original series. Depending on how much you liked or hated the series, that can be good or bad. All the old staples were back, from the fast-motion slapstick to the groaners masquerading as punchlines. As soon as I saw the network promo where the Skipper said, "After 15 years, we're finally rescued," I was looking forward to watching this on TV. I missed the original lagoon set, though. The new lagoon looked a lot smaller and darker, not at all inviting. Perhaps the worst part of the movie was seeing everyone back in "civilization" after years of seeing them only on the "island." The message of the movie is true: there's no place like home, which in this case was the island.

Most of the cast was back, looking none the worse for wear. Alan Hale, Jr. could have stepped fresh from the series, as could Dawn Wells, Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer. Russell Johnson looked his age, and Bob Denver added the most years. Judith Baldwin was nowhere near as alluring as Tina Louise. Choosing between Mary Ann and this Ginger would be no contest. At least her leaden delivery and wooden expressions made me appreciate how underrated Tina really was.

The DVD transfer is easily the worst I've ever seen. Where did they get the source material, off a videocassette recorded from a local broadcast? There were numerous flaws in the tape, including a fuzzy, washed out picture, bad dropouts, tracking problems and many jumpy edits where a second or two seemed to be missing. In fact, roughly three minutes of running time are missing here, clocking in at only 92 minutes. Lots of hiss on the audio track. Even the printing on the DVD was bad. It was ragged and looked like somebody used an old inkjet printer to sloppily print the label. The company involved in the DVD mastering got prominent on-screen credit. If it were me, I wouldn't brag about it. I'd call it amateurish, but I've seen amateur-produced DVDs that were much better. But what can you expect for a $5 DVD? At least secondhand copies can be had for less.