The Last Flight of Noah's Ark (1980)

When a plane carrying various animals makes a forced landing on a desert island, the only chance to escape is to convert the plane into a boat.

Director:

Charles Jarrott

Writers:

Ernest K. Gann (story), Steven W. Carabatsos (screenplay)

Stars:

Elliott Gould, Geneviève Bujold, Ricky Schroder

4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Elliott Gould	...	Noah Dugan
Geneviève Bujold	...	Bernadette Lafleur (as Genevieve Bujold)
Ricky Schroder	...	Bobby
Vincent Gardenia	...	Stoney
Tammy Lauren	...	Julie
John Fujioka	...	Cleveland
Yuki Shimoda	...	Hiro
John P. Ryan	...	Coslough
Dana Elcar	...	Benchley
Ruth Manning	...	Charlotte Braithwaite
Arthur Adams	...	Leipzig Manager
Austin Willis	...	Slabotsky
Peter Renaday	...	Irate Pilot (as Pete Renaday)
Bob Whiting	...	Chaplain

Storyline

When Noah Dugan agrees to fly missionary Bernadette Lafleur and her cargo of animals to a remote island, its only because he is on the run from a couple of bookies. What neither of them know is that two of Miss Lafleur's young students have stowed away with the animals & Miss Lafleur's transistor radio has interfered with the plane's instruments and they're all now miles off course. After a forced landing on a remote island, Dugan, Bernadette, Bobby and Julie discover that they are not alone. Together with two Japanese soldiers who have been stranded on the island since WWII, they must turn the plane into a seaworthy boat if they are ever to make it home. When Bobby and Julie insist that they cannot leave the animals behind, the converted plane truly becomes a second Noah's Ark

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Plot Keywords:

crash landing | animal | island | boat | stranded | 

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Taglines:

On a wing and a prayer... they built a legend.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the first of two consecutive films directed by Charles Jarrott for the Disney film studios. The second was Condorman (1981).

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Quotes

Bernadette Lafleur: I was reading the Bible and I got an idea about sending a message.
Noah Dugan: Oh, is there a chapter on radio repair?
Bernadette Lafleur: Genesis 8:8. And Noah sent forth a dove from him to see if the waters were abated off the face of the ground.
Noah Dugan: Only one thing, Bernie. We don't have a dove.

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Connections

Featured in Vintage Video: The Last Flight of Noah's Ark (1980) (2020)

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Soundtracks

Half of Me
Lyrics by Hal David
Music by Maurice Jarre
Performed by Alexandra Brown

User Reviews

Disney At the Trough

Despite real talent in this movie -- Charles Jarrott directing Genevieve Bujold and Elliot Gould from a story originally written by Ernest Gann, this one is a real misfire.

Gould is the pilot of a B-29 Superfortress converted to island-hopping cargo. He's got a load of assorted animals, missionary Bujold, and a couple of kids, including the always-annoying Ricky Schroeder. They crash land on a Pacific island where they encounter two Japanese soldiers who don't know the war is over. Eventually everyone makes friends and they convert the plane to a boat to try to get back to civilization.

The problems with the movie seem to stem from its script and Disney's uncertainty of what this movie was supposed to be. It borrows from several other movies, including FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX, SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON and FATHER GOOSE to sheer adventure on the high seas and vague Biblical references, with no consistency of tone, and no real character engagement. Each actor seems to be playing a one-note character, only to switch gears as the plot dictates.

I blame Ron Miller, in his last credit as producer, at the trough of Disney's post-Walt era. After this, it was back to the office and only "Executive Producer" credits as Disney's CEO, where he tackled the company's problems by eventually replacing himself with abler movie people.

Details

Official Sites:

Disney's Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

25 June 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last Flight of Noah's Ark

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$11,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (RCA Photophone Sound Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1