Aventure dans le Grand Nord

John Wayne made a number of movies with an aviation theme in the 1950's including another-The High and The Mighty -based like this effort on an Ernest K Gann novel.Add his turn as aviation pioneer Spig Weed in The Wings of Eagles and you have the basis for an interesting mini-festival .

Gann co-scripted this movie and it was directed by another aviation buff in William "Wild Bill" Wellman . Wayne plays a civilian pilot whose ATC plane crashes in a remote part of Labrador .The movie cross cuts between the downed plane with Wayne striving to keep up the morale of his crew in bone freezing ,stamina sapping conditions as they cope ,or try to ,with scanty rations ,communication equipment failure and internal dissension, and the rescue attempt .The "rescue" scenes ,in turn, alternate between ground search co-ordination and scenes on board rescue aircraft as the search the vast and unchartered terrain in inhospitable conditions for some sign of the downed plane The movie is in black and white and benefits from two very sharp cameramen .William Clothier handles the airial scenes while Archie Stout endows the ground scenes with a chilly poeticism that greatly aids the movie . Wayne is fine in a role where he eschews the macho posing of so many of his movies and the cast of dependable supporting actors -including Fess Parker ,James Arness,Andy Devine and Lloyd Nolan -all give sterling performances the voice overs are a tad tiresome and sententious but are only a minor defect in a worthwhile movie that owes its title to the notion that pilots are a breed apart from their earthbound compatriots

and the movie would question John Donne's assertion that "no man is an island" clearly endorsing the view that pilots are in some way detached from other men

This well worth watching and deserves to be much better known than it is

I'll admit I wasn't expecting much here - I'd seen the tail-end of the movie a while back, and it didn't look too hot, but I'm a wannabe John Wayne completest, so I took it upon myself to watch this 1953 effort as an outward and visible sign of my devotion.

It's a stunning film, for those who appreciate such things. The Duke plays against type to a degree here. He's a WWII-era transport pilot in this one whose plane goes off-course and crashes in an uncharted region of Labrador in -70F (-56C) temperatures. He's not exactly a hopeless neurotic - this is John Wayne, after all - but you can see his confidence falter as it becomes increasingly likely that he and his men aren't going to make it out alive. This is paralleled by the story of the search pilots, whose confidence also wanes as they poke around the confusing landscape trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack. Great performances on that side of the story, too, most notably by Andy Devine of all people - the veteran John Wayne fan keeps waiting for the comic relief from this fine character actor, and its absence adds to the overall tension. The juxtaposition of the two stories underscores the importance of friendship, devotion, courage, cooperation, and creativity. For the history-minded among you, it is also piques one's interest in radio and aviation technology of the WWII period - in ways the Duke's "fighter jock" movies like "The Flying Tigers" and "Flying Leathernecks" really do not. This is a remarkable film, well written in Hemmingwayesque sparse, masculine prose and effectively photographed in stark black and white. Highly recommended, especially for the odd duck who still believes that John Wayne couldn't act. 8/10

All I can say is the Wayne family estate is really making the Duke's fans salivate over seeing this film and The High and the Mighty. Island in the Sky came first and a lot of the same people have credits on this and The High and the Mighty. William Wellman directed both, both from novels by Ernest K. Gann, and William Clothier photographed the aerial sequences in both.

The only criticism I have of Island in the Sky is that I wish it had been done in color. Those bleak vistas of the tundra where Wayne and his crew are stranded would have really been outstanding in color.

John Wayne and his crew have to make a forced landing in the bleak tundra of very northern Quebec and they have to hope to be rescued before to long. It's either freezing or starvation, not a pleasant choice. The Duke is a civilian pilot contracted to the army to fly supplies.

When word of the fact he's down gets out his fellow civilian pilot contractors drop whatever they're doing to search for Wayne. The rest of the film is the story of that search and as the action shifts back and forth from the search to the men on the ground, the suspense never lets up. Wayne gives one of his outstanding performances as the pilot in charge who has to hold his crew together until rescue comes. Some closeup shots reveal his torment, but the men must never see it. This is a different John Wayne, battling the elements instead of bad guys.

He gets great support from a great cast of players. I'd like to single out Lloyd Nolan and Sean McClory in particular. Lloyd Nolan is one of the other pilots searching and he has a terrific scene on the telephone with the wife of one of Wayne's crew, trying to comfort her and give her hope and hopefully psyche himself up. It's beautifully played.

Sean McClory is one of Wayne's crew on the ground and I won't tell you his scene, but it is unforgettable and haunting.

Of course the credit here also goes to director William Wellman. Wellman before he became a director was a real adventuring character in his youth which included a stint in the Lafayette Escadrille. He developed a life long love of aviation and a lot of his films have an aviation background and theme.

One other thing that's probably reason enough to get this film if it comes out. Andy Devine is another of the pilots searching for Wayne. A call is placed to his home and his wife in turn relays it to Andy who is at a public pool with his two kids. He takes the call and then says we have to leave, but one more race to the other side of the pool. He tosses the kids in and then does a great belly flop dive in the pool himself.

Andy was a big fat man. God only knows where they got a bathing suit to fit him. But he's quite a sight doing that dive and in a bathing suit.

If it is ever shown on TV catch it if at all possible.

I have been trying to purchase the movie for 20 year's or more w/ no luck, I even went to San Juan Island ( where E.K. Gann Lived ), Unfortunately it was right after his death & I would not bother his wife. It's the only movie w\ John Wayne that I ever loved. I haven't seen it in at least 20 or 25 years. I say it was Wayne's Greatest roll, & I would pay almost anything to see it before I die. The only thing that would have made it better, if it had been made in color. The scenery was so beautiful, I don't know where it was filmed, but it sure looked like Northern Labrador or Quebec. I don't get to travel anymore but I send to chamber of commerce & get brochure's. Some book's about similar area's, that one might enjoy, would be book's buy "Farley Mowat", People of The Deer, or "Never Cry Wolf". If you Liked the movie "Island In The Sky" You will LOVE the Book.

This is one of my husband's favorite films, but he won't write reviews so it's up to me. Wayne and his crew crash in a bitterly cold mountainous region, and spend the rest of the film trying to contact someone to rescue them. Their radio is out, and all they have is a hand-cranked signal device that must be continuously operated if they have a chance of being found. They slowly lose crewmen as the hours go by to injuries and the cold. Will they be rescued?

We've got an old copy of "Island in the Sky" on tape or I would never have been able to write this review since it was made before I was born. This film is one of the Wayne estate's hostage's; it's mired in legal battles and who knows when it will ever be out. The same used to be true of "McClintock", but that eventually came out, so there is hope.