Island in the Sky

This is a love-it or hate-it kind of film.  For many it provides and interesting story of survival against the odds, while others find it slow and "talky".  Since I am mentioning it here you can guess from which camp of opinion I spring.  I find the story to be intriguing while the characters, especially the rescue pilots, to be compelling.  Give this movie a viewing and drop me line.  To which camp do you belong?

Director William Wellman won an Oscar for writing 'A Star is Born' and was nominated for directing 3 films.  He puts his talents to good use here.  The story is simple.  An army cargo plane with civilian pilots crashes in snowbound Canada during World War Two.  The crew of the downed plane, led by Captain Dooley (John Wayne) attempt to survive the very cold conditions without much in the way of supplies.  His comrades in the pilot corp battle the odds to find them.  Because of bad weather Wayne was unable to broadcast his location before crashing the airplane. 

Island in the Sky follows the time-honored storyline of a race against time.  The downed air crew have little supplies and the weather is very bad.  Can the rescue search teams find the crash survivors before the elements finish them off?  Director Wellman tells the story in a very direct fashion.  There are no extraneous story lines or scenes and no subplots to distract us from the drama.  I appreciate that.  Too often film makers feel the need to have an action plot line and a romantic plot line with some comedy, and perhaps a song, to capture all the "demographics".  That is part of the reason for some people find this film average.  No romance, no musical numbers, no comedy interludes.  Just the dramatic story of search and rescue.

This film is not a typical one for star John Wayne.  There are no horses nor any fistfights or shootouts.  He made very few films that relied only upon story.  He chose well with Island in the Sky.  This film also features a deep cast.  Many of the "John Wayne Players" appears, but it is Lloyd Nolan, as one of the rescue pilots, who captures the most attention.  His interplay on the phone with one of the crashed crew member's family shows his acting chops.  However, the biggest star of this film is the Canadian countryside.  Beautiful mountains, harsh blizzards and amazing scenery are an integral part of the movie.  Of course, since it was filmed in the Sierras of California I guess I should say that the California countryside is the star of this film.

Today cable television is littered with survival shows.  'Survivorman', 'Man vs. Wild', & 'Dual Survival' all do well in the ratings.  Here is a chance to see a dramatic interpretation of search and rescue with John Wayne in the lead.

Filmed in 1953, directed by William A. Wellman, written by Ernest K. Gann from his novel of the same name, starring John Wayne, Lloyd Nolan, Walter Abel, James Carey, Jr. and Sean McClory.  Look for quick appearances by Fess Parker, Mike Connors and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer.  For a look at director William Wellman's best film, 'The Ox-Bow Incident", you can read my article here.  Also, this movie was made by John Wayne's production company.

The Ox-Bow Incident

This film is powerful. If you have not seen it, rent it or netflix it or buy it. But don't read this blog entry until after you have seen the movie.


The Ox-Bow Incident is one of the greatest commentaries on social justice I have seen. The story is strong, the acting top-notch and the film making perfect. It is crisp with no secondary stories, no Hollywood endings nor any romance "for the ladies". Just a moving script that should make every viewer question their own actions and morals. There is a saying "all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing". Edmund Burke was never shown to be so accurate as here. Viewing this movie always leaves me with questions. Questions of my own actions, questions of society's morals and questions about our collective future. Do "good men" do enough to assuage evil? Usually, eventually, yes. But, sometimes, I doubt it.

Director William Wellman had to shop The Ox-Bow Incident to every studio in Hollywood. He had been turned down by everyone except Fox. A few years earlier he had a fist fight with Mr. Zanuck, the then head of Fox. Wellman had sworn to never speak with Zanuck again. But his interest in telling this poignant story forced him to overcome that reluctance, swallow his pride and go pitch the film to Fox. Zanuck, like all the other studio execs, felt that this would be a big money loser. It was made in 1943 in the midst of World War Two. No one wanted to make a movie in which innocent people were hanged. So Zanuck required Wellman, a very profitable director, to make two other films for Fox to get the money necessary for this film. Wellman instantly agreed. And my personal thanks, as well as those of countless movie lovers, go out to both of them.


Henry Fonda and Harry Morgan play two roving cattleman who wander into town. After they arrive news is received that a very popular local rancher has been murdered. The townspeople quickly form a vigilante posse to "go after the murderers and string them up!". A local businessman attempts to talk them out of the lynching, but the group can not be stopped. They chase after the people they believe are responsible for the rustling and murder. The mob soon catches up with 3 men. Dana Andrews gives one of the performances of his career as the leader of these men. The mob is certain that these are the criminals and that they should be hanged. Immediately. A few men, lead by Harry Davenport as the shopkeeper, attempt to stop them. But to no avail. The three are eventually hanged.

Again, if you haven't seen the film, don't read further. With their blood lust satisfied, the lynch mob rides for home. They are met by the sheriff who want to know what has happened. The posse explains their "bringing to justice" the three hanged men. The sheriff explains that the local rancher was not murdered and that the men who attacked him are in jail. The people who the mob just killed weren't criminals, but innocents. As they had said all along. The posse is left to question their own actions with the threat of imminent arrest, prison or death sentences awaiting. The leader of the 3 innocent men had written a letter to his wife before his death. The reading of this letter, by Henry Fonda, is one of the more touching moments in cinema. It takes an everyman actor, like Fonda, to represent all of us on screen. Fonda's character did not want to hang the men, but he felt there was nothing he could do. He stood by. Could he have done more to save innocent lives? That question is left to the viewer. Rightfully so.

Filmed in 1943, directed by William A. Wellman, written by Lamar Trotti based upon the novel by William Van Tilburg Clark, starring Henry Fonda, Harry Morgan, Jane Darwell, Harry Davenport, Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn and Mary Beth Hughes.

One final note. The studios were right. This film was an immense failure at the box office. No one wanted to see it. But it was a critical success and lives on now almost 70 years later. At a screening Orson Welles told Harry Morgan that the audience had no idea what they had just witnessed. It was too powerful to be taken-in quickly.