SOS Pacific

A small seaplane encounters trouble when it hits bad weather when it flies off from a small island in the pacific. The cockpit catches fire with faulty electrics, the radio does not work properly, the navigator dies because of the fumes emitted from the wrong type of fire extinguisher.

Running low on fuel the plane lands near a small deserted island. The passengers swim ashore only to realise they are in imminent danger as the island is a testing site for a nuclear bomb.

SOS Pacific is a British B disaster film with a motley flying crew of owner-pilot Jack Bennett (John Gregson) who unravels because he has cut corners. The disgruntled navigator Willy (Cec Linder) who hates his job. Pretty flight attendant Teresa (Pier Angeli.)

The six passengers include an old policeman who gets air sick, Petersen (Clifford Evans) carrying a prisoner Mark (Eddie Constantine) a tough sailor who is charged with smuggling. Whitey (Richard Attenborough) a small time snivelling crook who has snitched against Mark. Dr Strauss, a German scientist on his way to a teaching job, snooty Miss Shaw and Maria, a good time party girl.

It is all rather formulaic, we just know Petersen will be the only one to man up under pressure and the pretty ladies will fall for him. Whitey will buckle under pressure and become villainous. Not sure why the policeman put him and Mark on the same plane.

A plane full of people encounters trouble in flight and is forced down in the Pacific. Thankfully they are near an island or not, since the island is due to have an atom bomb test go off in a very short time and they have no way of letting anyone know that they are there.

It may sound corny and contrived but this film just works from start to finish. Once the film is underway you just are happy to have a film this involving to drag you along for the 90 minutes that this film takes to get to the conclusion.Why this film isn't better known is mystery since it has everything that a mystery should in spades and then some.

The cast is great, including Richard Attenborough who plays one of the screens great slime balls.Eddie Constantine makes great hero and makes you wonder why he never became a bigger star here in the United States.

Search this film out, you will enjoy it.

SOS PACIFIC is a relatively low budget adventure film that takes place in the Pacific but was actually filmed in the Canary Islands. After a rather lengthy and complex set up, the viewer is introduced to a disparate group of characters whose light aircraft ditches in the sea leaving them in a battle for survival against the odds.

This is a film that's enlivened by a decent cast and an anything-goes plot which keeps twisting and turning all over the place. At first it feels like your usual crime thriller with smugglers, cops, and traitors thrown into the mix, and then it becomes your typical disaster film with survivors of a plane crash coming together. The final plot I won't spoil, but I wasn't expecting it and it's handled very well with a maximum of tension.

The film's protagonist is none other than the likable Eddie Constantine (The Long Good Friday), immensely charismatic throughout. Richard Attenborough has a really delicious part as a small-time crook and low life and he runs away with the mannerisms of his character. Pier Angeli and Eva Bartok supply the glamour, John Gregson is the pilot, and Hammer actor Clifford Evans the detective. None of them put a foot wrong. Director Guy Green had an interesting run of films ranging from the Hammer thriller THE SNORKEL to the Attenborough classic THE ANGRY SILENCE, and this is certainly a feather in his cap. The copy I saw on the Talking Pictures TV channel was badly colourised, and I think the black and white version would have been more effective.

This is a very under-rated film which sets off at a good pace, and gathers momentum as the story progresses. As suspense thrillers go, it's hard to beat, and is helped in no small way by terrific playing from a top class ensemble cast. Special mention must go to Richard Attenborough as the oily, sly grass. Attenborough simply oozes slime in the role, and demonstrates yet again what a very fine actor he is. Pier Angeli, Eddie Constantine and John Gregson are all uniformly excellent as well. It's a film that never seems to receive regular airings, which is a pity as it is well worth seeing and is highly recommended. The location scenes are good, and the direction and cinematography are first rate too. The film really is a long lost gem!

Eddie Constantine, American expatriate actor who was a star in French cinema is the hero of SOS Pacific. He's a prisoner in the custody of Clifford Evans when the plane they are on goes down in the Pacific.

The survivors make it to an island but the island is the site of an atomic test. And none of these people would even know how to stop a test if they could. Which is the main weakness of the plot.

Stlll this is an exciting adventure saga and it boasts a really good performance by Richard Attenborough as the sniveling rat coward who puts them all in danger. He also ratted out Constantine on a smuggling rap so Constantine has a personal score to settle.

The whole cast is excellent, but pay close attention to Attenborough. One of the sleaziest most cowardly performances you'll ever see.