Hey, I'm Alive

A pretty much forgotten made for TV film about a college educated girl and a graduate from the school of hard knocks Canadian who are stranded in the Yukon when their small plane goes down. Sally Struthers and Ed Asner made for a strange pairing to say the least. The picture had some annoying religious overtones and never touched enough on how they actually survived.

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.

Sometimes interesting events are lost over time. I had no idea this plane crash story really happened until I came across this movie. It's pretty amazing that there's any story tell when a small plane crashes in the huge, unpopulated expanse of the Yukon (way up near Alaska). One would expect, esp. in 1963, that you just disappear and are never heard of again.

Well, the two very different individuals on this crash had an experience that we learn about in this movie. The people (strangers to each other) couldn't be more different: a brash, Jewish New York lady in her 20s and a quiet, highly devout Mormon / Mexican-American man in his 40s.

Their clash is immediate: the man pushes his religious beliefs on the lady ... and she is rebellious yet vulnerable. You wonder if and when this might go from bad to worst... What's great is that you get to see Sally Struthers and Ed Asner kind of in their prime and putting out great performances.

One thing to be prepared for is the playup on religion / god. It's kind of done in a 1970's mystical style which, by today's standards, might seem a little like there was a religious agenda.

While the movie mainly focuses on the interaction between the two wildly diverse characters over an amazing 49 day period ... it's only 75 minutes long and is worth the watch just to learn about this amazing story.

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.

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.