Sole Survivor

Five airmen remain with their bomber plane in the middle of the Libyan desert hoping to be rescued. They have crash-landed but something is odd about this scenario. Any time that they start to trek in a certain direction, they always end up at the crash site. It also seems that they have been at the location for 17 years with nothing else to do but play baseball. The day comes when their plane is spotted and Major Vince Edwards (Devlin) and Colonel William Shatner (Josef) are sent to identify the wreckage and produce a report. They take with them General Richard Basehart (Hamner), who was the sixth crew member who parachuted out and survived 17 years ago. When they arrive, they don't see any of the airmen and they start to put their report together. The airmen are definitely there, though! Edwards persists in unravelling the truth.

The inspiration for the setting of the story is the real-life incident involving the bomber plane 'Lady Be Good' which disappeared in 1943 and was spotted in the Libyan desert in 1958. Many details are retained for the film, eg, the intact wreckage and an urn of tea found at the crash site still being drinkable. As for the film, the story is excellently told as we follow two sides – the airmen who seem to be wandering in limbo and the investigators who are trying to piece together what happened. Can the truth be discovered and will the airmen's lives finally be redirected to wherever they need to go?

The acting is good – William Shatner has a few Captain Kirk moments but that is what you want to see - and the ending is memorably done. It's a film that stays with you and keeps you watching for the duration. It also gets you thinking as to what might happen after death. And just who is the sole survivor?

I agree completely with the others here who can't forget this film. Made for TV in 1969, never released on video, probably last seen by some 30 years ago, and almost never mentioned in any movie guide -- you'd think it would long ago have been consigned to the rubbish heap of TV history. But it won't be, because it was simply such a powerful story, excellently portrayed and well acted. Indeed, with the current boom in everything pertaining to WWII, the timing is perfect for whoever owns the film to release it on video, or to a cable network who will give it some air time. I remember very clearly seeing it when it came on in 1969...and I'm pretty sure I saw it again a year or so later. This sounds strange, I know, but I'll bet a month doesn't go by that I don't think about the movie for at least a moment -- it was that good. And if you ever read about the B-24 "Lady Be Good" or see the LBG exhibit at the US Air Force Museum, you'll definitely think about this film a long time.

To the studio who owns this film: BRING THIS ONE OUT OF THE VAULT!!

A B-24 is found deep in the Libyan desert which was reported missing in action - except for the navigator who had bailed out over water. The story is told by the Air Force investigators, the navigator who was brought along to help identify his old aircraft, and the ghosts of the crew who have been at the plane since it went down due to lack of fuel. It is a story of panic, courage, survival and the conscious thoughts of the navigator. Does not end as how you expect it.

Inspired by the discovery of an almost intact B-24 in Libya in 1954 by an oil exploration team who discovered both it and the remains of the crew with the plane.

Keith's summary on this page sums up the movie well (just to correct you on one point Keith - the skeletons of the crew of the real wartime bomber 'Lady Be Good' WERE in fact found in Libya in 1959, along with diaries kept by two of them as they tried to find civilisation). This movie is shown all too infrequently, but its impact on the viewer is startling. It must be 20 years since I last saw it, but certain scenes have stayed with me vividly ever since. A must see. Anyone reading this who has a copy, please get in touch with me.

Not a new review as such, but just a retrospective comment.

This movie's impact simply does not diminish with time. I just watched it again a few days ago, and I still find it as haunting and gripping as ever.

It is with great disappointment therefore, that I note that many years have passed and Warner continues to ignore the significant demand for an official DVD release. As complete, and watch-able, as the "DIY" release is (thank you Nick) it is nonetheless only an off-air copy, and suffers the inevitable loss of quality as a result.

A movie of this stature demands a complete reworking for DVD release, including digital remastering and interviews, etc. I see many lesser and more obscure titles being shovelled out of the archives and onto the shelves every month, so what exactly is the problem with providing a proper release of this great movie?

Like the characters in the film, Sole Survivor seems to be stuck in a void; forgotten by those who left it there to die.

Will somebody *please* excavate its bones and set its soul free?