Seven Were Saved (1947)

Shortly after WW2, a military transport plane carrying an assortment of passengers crashes into the South China Sea forcing the survivors to await their rescue into a life-raft.

Director:

William H. Pine

Writers:

Maxwell Shane (screenplay), Maxwell Shane (original story)

Stars:

Richard Denning, Catherine Craig, Russell Hayden

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Denning	...	Capt. Allen Danton
Catherine Craig	...	Lt. Susan Briscoe
Russell Hayden	...	Capt. Jim Willis
Ann Doran	...	Mrs. Rollin Hartley
Byron Barr	...	Lt. Martin Pinkert
Richard Loo	...	Col. Yamura
Don Castle	...	Lt. Pete Sturdevant
George Tyne	...	Sgt. Blair
Keith Richards	...	Smith / Philip Thompson
John Eldredge	...	Rollin Hartley

Storyline

A nurse is taking an amnesia victim, who was imprisoned by the Japanese during WW II, to the United States in a plane piloted by Richard Denning. The passengers include a Japanese colonel on his way to Manila to face war-crime charges, and a couple who were married on the day they were liberated from a Japanese prison camp. During the flight, the colonel breaks away from his guards, causes the plane to go out of control, and it crashes into the sea. The survivors get into a rubber boat and go through a minor-league version of "Lifeboat, with no Alfred Hitchcock sightings, until Air-Sea Rescue pilot Jim Willis rides to the rescue.

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Plot Keywords:

deception | consolidated pby 5 catalina | rescue | lifeboat | amnesia | 

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Taglines:

The Flew with FATE...Gambled with DEATH...Lived to LOVE (original poster)

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) copies of the film.

User Reviews

Adrift at Sea

This movie takes place a year after World War II and features a United States air-sea rescue pilot by the name of "Captain Jim Willis" (Russell Hayden) who is stationed on an island in the South China Sea and flies a PBY in search of survivors who might be shipwrecked in that area. His fiancé, "Lieutenant Susan Briscoe" (Catherine Craig) is a nurse who also works in that area and is eager for the both of them to return to the United States where they can get married and start a family. Unfortunately, a quarrel breaks out between them when Jim decides to extend his tour of duty and as a result Susan decides to leave not long afterward in order to escort a sick patient to Manila and from there to the United States. Another key passenger just happens to be a Japanese prisoner by the name of "Colonel Yamura" (Richard Loo) who is about to be tried for war crimes. As luck would have it, Colonel Yamura manages to temporarily skyjack the plane which then results in it crashing into the ocean. Eight passengers manage to survive in a life raft but with limited rations the question soon becomes whether any of them will be able to survive the rough seas of the shark-infested waters long enough to be rescued. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this turned out to be an okay film which suffered from a lack of suspense and a rather predictable ending. Part of the problem for that was the title which clearly disclosed how many passengers would eventually be saved. Additionally, it also had a grade-B quality to it from start-to-finish. In any case, while this movie clearly wasn't great by any means, it still managed to keep my attention for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

S.O.S. Rescue

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pine-Thomas Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1