Lost Flight
Encyclopedia
Lost Flight is a 1969 dramatic
film written and produced for television based on producer Frank Price's unsuccessful 1966 TV pilot, Stranded, but had a brief theatrical release in Australia in 1970 and 1971 in a limited New York showing. The plot resembles that of later disaster genre
films and approximates an adult version of Lord of the Flies
.
In the midst of a power struggle, the captain has to contend with not only helping his crew and passengers survive but also dealing with a number of desperate and irrational passengers. Complicating matters is a 10-year-old boy suffering from acute appendicitis and a pregnant woman. When Bannerman rejects Walkup's idea of setting out in a raft as unsafe, he is brutally beaten. The raft sets out manned by Randolph and two associates, but to no avail. A radio bulletin announces the cancellation of all rescue attempts as Beejay falls from a cliff, attempting to escape Jonesy. Her panic-stricken assailant shoots Barnaby, accusing him of Beejay's murder. Jonesy is exposed when Beejay revives and tries to escapes into the jungle, but is accidentally impaled by Barnaby's animal trap. When a child is born, the survivors unite to create a new society.
Capt. J.S. Solomon from Trans World Airlines (TWA) was the technical advisor on the film. A Boeing 707 N790SA on lease to Standard Airways served as the airliner in the film painted in the fictional Trans-Pacific livery. Location shooting at Honolulu Airport
in Hawaii showed the movie stand-in being fuelled and loaded while surrounded by JAL and United DC-8s and Pan American 707s. Most of the principal photography dealing with the stranded passengers and crew was filmed on Kauai
.
. Despite the limited theatrical release of Lost Flight in Australia in 1970, the 1971 New York release, bundled with then current One More Train to Rob
(1971) triggered a review in The New York Times by Roger Greenspun, who noted that the similarities to other "lost" genre films in that the "concept about a group of people lost on an uncharted island who are forced to carve out their own civilization..." approximates other efforts.His further critical review effused over a "lost" gem, "...it is a reasonably entertaining, well-paced, technically ambitious movie that receives great assistance from its performers—notably Lloyd Bridges (the pilot) for good, Ralph Meeker (the businessman) for evil, and Anne Francis (the mistress) for marriage and the family."
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...
film written and produced for television based on producer Frank Price's unsuccessful 1966 TV pilot, Stranded, but had a brief theatrical release in Australia in 1970 and 1971 in a limited New York showing. The plot resembles that of later disaster genre
Disaster film
A disaster film is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject...
films and approximates an adult version of Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding about a group of British boys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, with disastrous results...
.
Plot
Captain Steve Bannerman (Lloyd Bridges) has been asked to fly one last passenger flight from Hawaii to Australia for Trans-Pacific Airline. During a violent electrical storm, he crashes the jet airliner on an uninhabited South Pacific island. Bannerman takes charge of the survivors and teams with Merle Barnaby (Billy Dee Williams), a black marine returning from combat duty in Vietnam, to try to find a way to survive on the island. Among the surviving passengers and crew, they have the support of Gina Talbot (Anne Francis) and Beejay Caldwell (Jennifer Leak) but oil magnate Glenn Walkup (Ralph Meeker), nightclub entertainer Eddie Randolph (Bobby Van) and Jonesy (Andrew Prine) begin to cause trouble.In the midst of a power struggle, the captain has to contend with not only helping his crew and passengers survive but also dealing with a number of desperate and irrational passengers. Complicating matters is a 10-year-old boy suffering from acute appendicitis and a pregnant woman. When Bannerman rejects Walkup's idea of setting out in a raft as unsafe, he is brutally beaten. The raft sets out manned by Randolph and two associates, but to no avail. A radio bulletin announces the cancellation of all rescue attempts as Beejay falls from a cliff, attempting to escape Jonesy. Her panic-stricken assailant shoots Barnaby, accusing him of Beejay's murder. Jonesy is exposed when Beejay revives and tries to escapes into the jungle, but is accidentally impaled by Barnaby's animal trap. When a child is born, the survivors unite to create a new society.
Cast
- Lloyd BridgesLloyd BridgesLloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...
as Captain Steve Bannerman - Bobby VanBobby VanBobby Van was a musical actor probably best known for his career on Broadway in the 1950s and 1970s.-Life and career:...
as Eddie Randolph - Anne FrancisAnne FrancisAnne Lloyd Francis was an American actress, best known for her role in the science fiction film classic Forbidden Planet , and as the female private detective in the television series Honey West . She won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy award for her role in Honey West...
as Gina Talbot - Ralph MeekerRalph MeekerRalph Meeker was an American stage and film actor best-known for starring in the 1953 Broadway production of Picnic, and in the 1955 film noir cult classic Kiss Me Deadly.-Career:...
as Glenn Walkup - Andrew PrineAndrew PrineAndrew Lewis Prine is an American film, stage, and television actor.-Early life and career:Prine was born in Jennings, Florida. After graduation from Andrew Jackson High School in Miami, Prine made his acting debut three years later in an episode of CBS U.S. Steel Hour...
as Jonesy - Linden ChilesLinden ChilesLinden Chiles is an American character actor. His television roles include Steve Kirk on Convoy, Paul Hunter on James at 15 and Clyde Darrell on Perry Mason. He has also appeared in a guest starring role in numerous other TV series during the 1960s and 1970s including The Fugitive.-External links:...
as Allen Bedecker - Michael Larrain as Francis Delaney
- Billy Dee WilliamsBilly Dee WilliamsWilliam December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta...
as Merle Barnaby - Michael-James Wixted as Charlie Burnett
- Nobu McCarthyNobu McCarthyNobu McCarthy was a Japanese Canadian actress, stage director, and fashion model.-Early life:McCarthy was born Nobu Atsumi in Ottawa, Ontario, the daughter of Yuki and Masaji Atsumi, a Japanese fashion designer and diplomatic attache stationed in Canada at the time. She was raised in Japan, where...
as Zora Lewin - Jennifer LeakJennifer LeakJennifer Leak is a Canadian film and television actress, best known for her role as Colleen North in the 1968 film Yours, Mine and Ours....
as Bee Jay Caldwell
Production
Producer Frank Price originally came up with the idea of stranded passengers on a deserted island in 1966, naming his proposed TV series Stranded. When that project failed to attract much interest, it was put on hold with a new two-hour pilot movie later hatched in 1969 that resulted in Lost Flight. Although aired in 1969, the pilot did not lead to a series.Capt. J.S. Solomon from Trans World Airlines (TWA) was the technical advisor on the film. A Boeing 707 N790SA on lease to Standard Airways served as the airliner in the film painted in the fictional Trans-Pacific livery. Location shooting at Honolulu Airport
Honolulu International Airport
Honolulu International Airport is the principal aviation gateway of the City & County of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii and is identified as one of the busiest airports in the United States, with traffic now exceeding 21 million passengers a year and rising.It is located in the Honolulu...
in Hawaii showed the movie stand-in being fuelled and loaded while surrounded by JAL and United DC-8s and Pan American 707s. Most of the principal photography dealing with the stranded passengers and crew was filmed on Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
.
Reception
Destined for mainly television broadcast in 1969 on NBC, Lost Flight was re-broadcast in dubbed versions in Brazil, France and West GermanyWest Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. Despite the limited theatrical release of Lost Flight in Australia in 1970, the 1971 New York release, bundled with then current One More Train to Rob
One More Train to Rob
One More Train to Rob is a 1971 film directed by Andrew McLaglen. It stars George Peppard and Diana Muldaur.-Cast:*George Peppard as Harker Fleet*Diana Muldaur as Katy*John Vernon as Timothy Xavier Nolan*France Nuyen as Ah Toy...
(1971) triggered a review in The New York Times by Roger Greenspun, who noted that the similarities to other "lost" genre films in that the "concept about a group of people lost on an uncharted island who are forced to carve out their own civilization..." approximates other efforts.His further critical review effused over a "lost" gem, "...it is a reasonably entertaining, well-paced, technically ambitious movie that receives great assistance from its performers—notably Lloyd Bridges (the pilot) for good, Ralph Meeker (the businessman) for evil, and Anne Francis (the mistress) for marriage and the family."