Hey, I'm Alive

It has been years since I have seen this film. Just recently, I thought about it again. After reading the Associated Press recently reported article during the 23 Nov 2003 time period, a similar event where a 40-year-old woman (Ms. Mischelle Hileman) from WALLOWA, Ore survived under extremely cold conditions. She was a diabetic who had no food, nor did she have adequate clothing or shelter for 6 or 7 days, and could not walk due to some type of injury. The nightly temps. were below freezing, near 4 degrees F. and the day temperatures were not much higher. According to the searchers, and the local Sheriff this person could only have been saved due to the hand of Providence. To me it is very refreshing to learn about the ordeals of others, how they contribute their well being and survial due to divine help.

I for one would like to see this show, Hey, I'm Alive again, and wouldn't mind owning a copy of the film.

Hey, I'm Alive (1975)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Made for TV movie is based on a true story. The film tells the story of a religious freak (Ed Asner) and a free loving girl (Sally Struthers) who crash their plane in the Yukon wilderness and have to survive for 49 days. This film makes the fatal mistake of having a downright horrid screenplay that gives us two very annoying characters and makes us stay with them for 75-minutes. The first thirty-minutes is nothing more than Asner preachers and going on religious spells while Struthers acts stupid and says one dumb comment after another. Struthers voice over narration is among the worst I've ever heard and what she says is just downright silly. The screenplay usually just centers on them talking and it never really gets the wilderness involved, which is a shame as some of the visuals are quite good. The film starts to pick up during the second half when the two start talking about normal things but by then it's way too late because the movie is almost over. Asner is decent in his role but Struthers is pretty bad from start to finish as it seems she thinks she's playing Gloria from All in the Family.

As Ralph's granddaughter, I know the movie has details that correctly depict their survival experience. The sardine cans were recovered from the crash site a few years ago. The gash in the trees and plane wreckage allowed family members to find the site and start the reconstruction project on the plane. Ralph was known as a man of few words; Asner's flaw is not properly portraying the strength in Ralph's proactive and resourceful role in keeping the two alive. It is based upon Helen's book about her survival experience in the Yukon Territory of Alaska. Unfortunately, the movie contains actors who are a bit annoying, but reflective of the actions performed by the Helen and Ralph. The cinematography was not very interesting, but it shows what happened that winter. I feel that the movie should be remade to give the experience more credibility to the movie watcher. People who have seen this movie in theater know that it is much more interesting to be able to see the vast winter scene on a large color screen. I am surprised that other people have seen this film.

This supposedly true story of two people stranded in the Yukon for almost 50 days without food after the first week was an ok tv drama. The acting was decent in parts, but very phony in others. There was also a strong religious overtone. The characters didn't really seem all that intelligent and it didn't really show how they survived that long which does seem impossible. The ending was especially strange. Overall pretty watchable, but that's about it.

I was a sensitive little kid when these trashy TV movies came out. They were manipulative towards a far more naive society. I even remember every other week on Marcus Welby the plot was some happy beautiful girl preparing for her wedding then BOOM! She finds a dreaded mole and it is all over.

A lot of people died from moles on 1970s TV.

Anyway, back to this film. Lou Grant and Gloria Stivic stranded together might be interesting but not these two characters. They are unbearably annoying.

With Struthers crying out in hunger on this film, one can only remember the SNL skits spoofing her weight gain in her feed the children commercials.

This film is not to be taken seriously. Which is a good thing.