ISLAND IN THE SKY

US, 1953, 109 minutes, Black and white.
John Wayne, Lloyd Nolan, Walter Abel, James Arness, Andy Devine, Allyn Joslyn, Jimmy Lydon, Harry Carey Jr.
Directed by William A. Wellman.

Island in the Sky was written for the screen by novelist Ernest K. Gann who wrote the original novel. Several of Gann’s novels were filmed including, for John Wayne after this film, The High and the Mighty. He also wrote the novel Soldier of Fortune and Fate is the Hunter.

The material for this film is now quite familiar, not so familiar in the 1950s. It is a story about aviation, post-World War Two. It shows the cargo pilots and their dedication, their skills – especially when confronted with difficulties and having to crash-land near the Arctic Circle. The film shows the capacity for survival (although one man wanders off, gets lost and dies) and the various groups searching for them.

John Wayne gives his customary performance as the strong-minded and stubborn captain. Lloyd Nolan leads the search team. A number of familiar character actors round out the cast as pilots.

The film was directed by William A. Wellman, himself a daredevil pilot during World War One – and he made a film of the exploits of his unit, Lafayette Escadrille (1957). Wellman also received an Oscar for writing the first Oscar-winning film in 1928, Wings.

1.The popularity of this kind of aviation film? In the past? Now? American heroism?

2.A John Wayne film, his image, the captain, strong and reliable? A leader?

3.The black and white photography, the Arctic and the snow, the forests, the lake? Aviation headquarters? The aerial sequences? The musical score?

4.The novelist, writing the screenplay? His perspective on aviation and heroism? The title of the film, the pilots in their plane in the island in the sky?

5.The initial flight, Captain Dooley, the other members of the crew, personalities, interrelationships? The difficulties with the ice on the wings, the loss of radio contact, lost, Dooley and the crash-landing? Their surviving? The difficulties of cold, fire, batteries running low, grinding the batteries to send signals? The lack of food? Frank wandering off, getting lost, dying? Their finding him, burying him, the Lord’s Prayer? Dooley and his assertion, the other men and their reactions? The means for signalling where they were, finally being seen, the rescue?

6.The operation to recover them? The introduction to the various pilots, military personnel? The range of personalities, their interactions? Serious, comic, emotional? The search, the radio contact? The lack of fuel? The return, the discussions? The phone calls from wives and family? The suggestion to follow the stars?

7.The final flight, the sighting, dropping the food and blankets? The rescue?

8.A positive image of leadership, heroism, sense of duty?