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Island in the Sky (1953 film)
Encyclopedia
Island in The Sky is a 1953 American aviation
adventure
/drama film
written by Ernest K. Gann
based on his 1944 novel of the same name
, directed by William A. Wellman
, and starring and co-produced by John Wayne
. It was released by Warner Bros.
Due to its realism depicting the events surrounding an actual aircraft crash, it is considered one of the "classic" aviation films.
-era Douglas
C-47 Skytrain
(the military version of the DC-3) who try to survive after a forced emergency landing in the uncharted wildlands near the Quebec
-Labrador
border. The pilot, Dooley (John Wayne
), is a former airline pilot, who, like many others, was pressed into duty hauling war supplies across the northern route to England. Icy conditions force the aircraft to land, and with the difficulties of navigating far from settled country, they can provide only an approximate position to rescuers.
After finding a frozen lake for a landing field, while waiting for rescue, Dooley must keep his men alive in the extreme winter cold with temperatures plummeting to -40 degrees F. Back at Air Transport Headquarters, Col. Fuller (Walter Abel
) gathers fellow airmen (played by Lloyd Nolan
, James Arness
, Andy Devine
and Paul Fix
) who are determined to find the downed crew before hunger and the winter do them in. Wellman provides internal narrative for the stoic characters. There is tension and a fear-filled meeting among the search pilots when no one is quite sure about what to do, since a wrong decision could doom the missing crew.
The script was based on a true story about a flight on 3 February 1943, although, unlike the story of the film, the co-pilot did not die. In his autobiography Fate Is the Hunter
– on which the movie of the same name is very loosely based – Gann related the true story and his role as one of the search pilots while serving with Air Transport Command
at Presque Isle Airfield, Maine
.
The rights to the story were originally bought in January 1950 by Robert Stillman Productions, and Gann planned to write the screenplay with Seton I. Miller
. Frank Rosenberg was scheduled to produce the film, which would star Richard Widmark
. When Stillman dropped the film, the rights were picked up in December 1952 by Wayne-Fellows Productions, the partnership of John Wayne and Robert Fellows, as their third of seven eventual productions – including another Gann story The High and the Mighty
a year later, which Wayne also co-starred in. The two movies shared many of the same production staff and crew members, including director William Wellman.
Wellman had been a pilot with the Lafayette Flying Corps
during World War I
, where he earned the nickname "Wild Bill", and with the United States Army Air Service
after the war. He was a veteran aviation movie director whose Wings
won the first-ever Academy Award (1927–28). Wellman did the voiceover narration that begins the film, and his two sons, Tim and Mike, who were eleven and five at the time, played the parts of Andy Devine's sons. It is notable that the women in the film, Ann Doran
, Dawn Bender
and Phyllis Winger, appear only in brief flashbacks or, in Doran's case, in a telephone conversation. The lack of a romantic interest was noted by critics who considered the film a more authentic and gritty drama compared to the usual Hollywood war movie. Wellman, who generally was not well liked by actors and actresses (a feeling that he reciprocated), was known to prefer to work with men, and many of his films are set in all-male (or nearly all-male) worlds.
The role played by John Wayne in Island in the Sky goes against type, since he does not display the machismo
for which he was often criticized. Instead, his portrayal of the downed aircraft's captain had been noted as believable and realistic. A strong ensemble cast of mainly studio B-actors actually contained a number of future stars, including Fess Parker, James Arness, Darryl Hickman and Mike Connors
, who all went on to television fame. The film involves many realistic details, such as an ice pick kept handily embedded in a barracks wall so pilots can break the ice sheet on their morning wash water. The black-and-white cinematography by Archie Stout
(dramatic scenes) and William H. Clothier
(flying scenes) have been praised by critics.
Production began in late January 1953 and was completed on 2 March. Filming took place partly at Donner Lake
, near Truckee, California
in the Sierra Mountain
range. The California Forestry Service
cut down trees in that area to make aircraft runways in the four ft deep snow. Some background shooting also took place in San Francisco. Besides writing the screenplay, Gann, who was a commercial pilot for Transocean Airlines, served as the film's technical director and also piloted a C-47 for the second unit.
The hand-cranked emergency radio transmitter used by crew members to try to contact the rescuers they assume are looking for them was an actual piece of equipment, a BC-778/SCR-578/AN-CRT3 emergency transmitter affectionately called "Gibson Girl
" after the 1890s drawings of Charles Dana Gibson
. The narrow-waisted shape of the device allowed the user to hold it between the legs while cranking it – a necessity because it required 80 rpm to produce enough power to be usable, and was hard to crank.
are unique as they are two of the first all-star disaster films, which paved the way for Airport and its sequels 20 plus years later, as well as the Airplane!
parodies. Both films are also two of the early John Wayne co-productions that starred Wayne. This production practice would not become widespread until the 1980s and 1990s, when stars from Robert Redford
to Sandra Bullock
took control of productions. Both films were aviation dramas and shared many of the same crew members and production staff.
Along with Wayne, six actors appeared in both films: Regis Toomey
, Paul Fix, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Ann Doran, George Chandler
and Michael Wellman (the director's son). Ernest K. Gann, the author of the books on which both films were based, also wrote the two screenplays.
Both Island in The Sky and The High and the Mighty were out of circulation for about 20 years because of legal issues. They were restored, returned to television in July 2005 and released as special edition DVD
s that August.
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
adventure
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
/drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written by Ernest K. Gann
Ernest K. Gann
Ernest Kellogg Gann was an American aviator, author, filmmaker, sailor, fisherman and conservationist.-Early life:...
based on his 1944 novel of the same name
Island in the Sky
Island in the Sky or may refer to:*Island in the Sky , 1953 film starring John Wayne*Island in the Sky *Island in the Sky, the Ernest K...
, directed by William A. Wellman
William A. Wellman
William Augustus Wellman was an American film director. Although Wellman began his film career as an actor, he worked on over 80 films, as director, producer and consultant but most often as a director, notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often focusing on aviation...
, and starring and co-produced by John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
. It was released by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Due to its realism depicting the events surrounding an actual aircraft crash, it is considered one of the "classic" aviation films.
Plot
The film follows a pilot and crew of a World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
-era Douglas
Douglas Aircraft Company
The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer, based in Long Beach, California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas...
C-47 Skytrain
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
(the military version of the DC-3) who try to survive after a forced emergency landing in the uncharted wildlands near the Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
-Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
border. The pilot, Dooley (John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
), is a former airline pilot, who, like many others, was pressed into duty hauling war supplies across the northern route to England. Icy conditions force the aircraft to land, and with the difficulties of navigating far from settled country, they can provide only an approximate position to rescuers.
After finding a frozen lake for a landing field, while waiting for rescue, Dooley must keep his men alive in the extreme winter cold with temperatures plummeting to -40 degrees F. Back at Air Transport Headquarters, Col. Fuller (Walter Abel
Walter Abel
Walter Abel was an American stage and film character actor. His eyes were brown and his height was five foot ten inches....
) gathers fellow airmen (played by Lloyd Nolan
Lloyd Nolan
Lloyd Benedict Nolan was an American film and television actor.-Biography:Nolan was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Margaret and James Nolan, who was a shoe manufacturer...
, James Arness
James Arness
James King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
, Andy Devine
Andy Devine
Andrew Vabre "Andy" Devine was an American character actor and comic cowboy sidekick known for his distinctive raspy voice.-Early life:...
and Paul Fix
Paul Fix
Paul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981...
) who are determined to find the downed crew before hunger and the winter do them in. Wellman provides internal narrative for the stoic characters. There is tension and a fear-filled meeting among the search pilots when no one is quite sure about what to do, since a wrong decision could doom the missing crew.
Cast
As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):- John WayneJohn WayneMarion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
as Captain Dooley - Lloyd NolanLloyd NolanLloyd Benedict Nolan was an American film and television actor.-Biography:Nolan was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Margaret and James Nolan, who was a shoe manufacturer...
as Captain Stutz - James ArnessJames ArnessJames King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
as Mac McMullan, pilot - Andy DevineAndy DevineAndrew Vabre "Andy" Devine was an American character actor and comic cowboy sidekick known for his distinctive raspy voice.-Early life:...
as Willie Moon, pilot - Harry Carey, Jr.Harry Carey, Jr.Harry Carey, Jr. is an American film actor. He appeared in over 90 films. He is mostly remembered for appearing in Western films — notably those by his friend John Ford — and in television programs.-Early life:...
as Ralph Hunt, Moon's co-pilot - Walter AbelWalter AbelWalter Abel was an American stage and film character actor. His eyes were brown and his height was five foot ten inches....
as Colonel Fuller - Paul FixPaul FixPaul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981...
as Wally Miller - Louis Jean Heydt as Fitch, pilot
- Fess ParkerFess ParkerFess Elisha Parker, Jr. was an American film and television actor best known for his portrayals of Davy Crockett in the Walt Disney 1955-56 TV mini-series and as TV's Daniel Boone from 1964-70...
as Fitch's co-pilot (uncredited) - Carl SwitzerCarl SwitzerCarl Dean "Alfalfa" Switzer was an American child actor, professional dog breeder and hunting guide, most notable for appearing in the Our Gang short subjects series as Alfalfa, one of the series' most popular and best-remembered characters.-Early life and family:Switzer was born in Paris,...
as Stutz's co-pilot - Darryl HickmanDarryl HickmanDarryl Gerard Hickman is an American film and television actor, former television executive, and child star of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
as Swanson, McMullen's radioman - Mike ConnorsMike ConnorsMike Connors is an American actor best known for playing detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series, Mannix. Before that, he had played a crime-fighting investigator, wielding a .38 handgun hidden in his back, in another CBS series, Tightrope.-Early life:Connors was born Krekor Ohanian in...
(as Touch Connors) as Gainer - William Wellman as voiceover narration (uncredited)
Production
Fate Is the Hunter
Fate Is the Hunter , ISBN 0-671-63603-0, was a 1961 bestseller by aviation author Ernest K. Gann. Autobiographical, though reading at times like an adventure novel, it describes his years working as a pilot at American Airlines starting in DC-2s and DC-3s when civilian air transport was in its...
– on which the movie of the same name is very loosely based – Gann related the true story and his role as one of the search pilots while serving with Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
at Presque Isle Airfield, Maine
Presque Isle Air Force Base
Presque Isle Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base, located in the city of Presque Isle, Maine.-History:Presque Isle Air Force Base was originally built in 1930 by the Civilian Conservation Corps as Presque Isle Airport, a commercial airport located west of the "business center."...
.
The rights to the story were originally bought in January 1950 by Robert Stillman Productions, and Gann planned to write the screenplay with Seton I. Miller
Seton I. Miller
Seton Ingersoll Miller was a Hollywood screenwriter and producer. During his career, he worked with many notable American film directors, such as Howard Hawks and Michael Curtiz....
. Frank Rosenberg was scheduled to produce the film, which would star Richard Widmark
Richard Widmark
Richard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
. When Stillman dropped the film, the rights were picked up in December 1952 by Wayne-Fellows Productions, the partnership of John Wayne and Robert Fellows, as their third of seven eventual productions – including another Gann story The High and the Mighty
The High and the Mighty (film)
The High and the Mighty is a 1954 American "disaster" film directed by William A. Wellman and written by Ernest K. Gann who also wrote the novel on which his screenplay was based. The film's cast was headlined by John Wayne, who was also the project's co-producer...
a year later, which Wayne also co-starred in. The two movies shared many of the same production staff and crew members, including director William Wellman.
Wellman had been a pilot with the Lafayette Flying Corps
Lafayette Flying Corps
The Lafayette Flying Corps is a name used to describe the American volunteer pilots who flew for the French during World War I. It includes the pilots who flew with the bona fide Lafayette Escadrille squadron. The estimations of number of pilots range from 180 to over 300. The generally accepted...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, where he earned the nickname "Wild Bill", and with the United States Army Air Service
United States Army Air Service
The Air Service, United States Army was a forerunner of the United States Air Force during and after World War I. It was established as an independent but temporary wartime branch of the War Department by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson: on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation...
after the war. He was a veteran aviation movie director whose Wings
Wings (film)
Wings is a silent film about World War I fighter pilots, produced by Lucien Hubbard, directed by William A. Wellman and released by Paramount Pictures. Wings was the first film, and the only silent film, to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Wings stars Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, and...
won the first-ever Academy Award (1927–28). Wellman did the voiceover narration that begins the film, and his two sons, Tim and Mike, who were eleven and five at the time, played the parts of Andy Devine's sons. It is notable that the women in the film, Ann Doran
Ann Doran
Ann Lee Doran was an American character actress.-Early life and career:Born in Amarillo, Texas, Doran began acting at the age of four. She appeared in hundreds of silent films under assumed names to keep her father's family from finding out about her work...
, Dawn Bender
Dawn Bender
Dawn Bender is an American film, stage, and radio actress, most famous for the role of Margaret on the radio drama One Man's Family and Betty Morgan in Teenagers from Outer Space.-Early life and career:...
and Phyllis Winger, appear only in brief flashbacks or, in Doran's case, in a telephone conversation. The lack of a romantic interest was noted by critics who considered the film a more authentic and gritty drama compared to the usual Hollywood war movie. Wellman, who generally was not well liked by actors and actresses (a feeling that he reciprocated), was known to prefer to work with men, and many of his films are set in all-male (or nearly all-male) worlds.
The role played by John Wayne in Island in the Sky goes against type, since he does not display the machismo
Machismo
Machismo, or machoism, is a word of Spanish and Portuguese origin that describes prominently exhibited or excessive masculinity. As an attitude, machismo ranges from a personal sense of virility to a more extreme male chauvinism...
for which he was often criticized. Instead, his portrayal of the downed aircraft's captain had been noted as believable and realistic. A strong ensemble cast of mainly studio B-actors actually contained a number of future stars, including Fess Parker, James Arness, Darryl Hickman and Mike Connors
Mike Connors
Mike Connors is an American actor best known for playing detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series, Mannix. Before that, he had played a crime-fighting investigator, wielding a .38 handgun hidden in his back, in another CBS series, Tightrope.-Early life:Connors was born Krekor Ohanian in...
, who all went on to television fame. The film involves many realistic details, such as an ice pick kept handily embedded in a barracks wall so pilots can break the ice sheet on their morning wash water. The black-and-white cinematography by Archie Stout
Archie Stout
Archie Stout, A.S.C. was a second unit photographer whose career spanned from 1921 to 1954. In a career largely confined to B movies, he provided cinematography assistance on such films as the original version of The Ten Commandments and several Hopalong Cassidy and Tarzan films...
(dramatic scenes) and William H. Clothier
William H. Clothier
William H. Clothier, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer.Born in Decatur, Illinois, Clothier entered the film industry painting sets at Warner Bros., and at the end of the silent era began photographing such films as Wings and Ernst Lubitsch's The Patriot...
(flying scenes) have been praised by critics.
Production began in late January 1953 and was completed on 2 March. Filming took place partly at Donner Lake
Donner Lake
Donner Lake is a freshwater lake in northeast California on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and about northwest of the much larger Lake Tahoe. A moraine serves as a natural dam for the lake. The lake is located in the town of Truckee, sandwiched between Interstate 80 to the north and...
, near Truckee, California
Truckee, California
Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. The population was 16,180 at the 2010 census, up from 13,864 at the 2000 census.-Name:...
in the Sierra Mountain
Sierra mountains
Sierra is a Spanish word meaning "saw". The corresponding word in Portuguese and Latin is serra. This name is used for various mountain ranges in Spanish-speaking and other countries ....
range. The California Forestry Service
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is the State of California's agency responsible for fire protection in State Responsibility Areas of California as well as the administration of the state's private and public forests. It is often referred to as The California Department of...
cut down trees in that area to make aircraft runways in the four ft deep snow. Some background shooting also took place in San Francisco. Besides writing the screenplay, Gann, who was a commercial pilot for Transocean Airlines, served as the film's technical director and also piloted a C-47 for the second unit.
The hand-cranked emergency radio transmitter used by crew members to try to contact the rescuers they assume are looking for them was an actual piece of equipment, a BC-778/SCR-578/AN-CRT3 emergency transmitter affectionately called "Gibson Girl
Gibson Girl
The Gibson Girl was the personification of a feminine ideal as portrayed in the satirical pen-and-ink-illustrated stories created by illustrator Charles Dana Gibson during a 20-year period spanning the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the United States.Some people argue that the...
" after the 1890s drawings of Charles Dana Gibson
Charles Dana Gibson
Charles Dana Gibson was an American graphic artist, best known for his creation of the Gibson Girl, an iconic representation of the beautiful and independent American woman at the turn of the 20th century....
. The narrow-waisted shape of the device allowed the user to hold it between the legs while cranking it – a necessity because it required 80 rpm to produce enough power to be usable, and was hard to crank.
Similarities to The High and the Mighty
Island in the Sky and The High and the MightyThe High and the Mighty (film)
The High and the Mighty is a 1954 American "disaster" film directed by William A. Wellman and written by Ernest K. Gann who also wrote the novel on which his screenplay was based. The film's cast was headlined by John Wayne, who was also the project's co-producer...
are unique as they are two of the first all-star disaster films, which paved the way for Airport and its sequels 20 plus years later, as well as the Airplane!
Airplane!
Airplane! is a 1980 American satirical comedy film directed and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and released by Paramount Pictures...
parodies. Both films are also two of the early John Wayne co-productions that starred Wayne. This production practice would not become widespread until the 1980s and 1990s, when stars from Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
to Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
took control of productions. Both films were aviation dramas and shared many of the same crew members and production staff.
Along with Wayne, six actors appeared in both films: Regis Toomey
Regis Toomey
John Regis Toomey was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey and attended Peabody High School...
, Paul Fix, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Ann Doran, George Chandler
George Chandler
George Chandler was an American actor best known for playing the character of "Uncle Petrie" on the television series Lassie...
and Michael Wellman (the director's son). Ernest K. Gann, the author of the books on which both films were based, also wrote the two screenplays.
Release and re-release
Island in the Sky premiered in Los Angeles on 3 September 1953, and went into general release two days later. The premiere apparently featured the use of stereophonic sound, as an intermission had to be inserted because of problems with it.Both Island in The Sky and The High and the Mighty were out of circulation for about 20 years because of legal issues. They were restored, returned to television in July 2005 and released as special edition DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s that August.