Decades before 'Lost' there was this failed pilot which saw a plane crash on a remote island where the survivors had to form a new society. Lloyd Bridges, Billy Dee Williams and Anne Francis star. This aired in 1970. There is dated sexist talk and would be ominious foreshadowing.
There is racism and sexual violence and only one gun. The gun is thrown away at the end as the survivors plan a new civilization. Fateful decisions are made. All they have are the clothes on their backs and a few supplies and the plane wreckage has been washed out to sea and nobody is looking for them.
There is exposition and Captain Bannerman (Bridges) takes charge despite his company wanting to have fired him before the crash. A sleaze lurks bothering people. A boy needs his appendix out. Luckily there is a med student on board. The crash doesn't even occur until after the 36 minute mark. Why don't they brace for the crash? Passengers are told to remove their dentures and put their heads down. Was that considered bracing in 1969?
Bannerman does a water landing, which is impressively done for 1969. Shudder inducing things happen on the island. 3 crew and 21 passengers apparently died in the crash. Won't they all die from lack of shelter and injuries from the crash and diseases they have no medication to treat??? They have 2 portable radios. What'll happen when they run out of batteries? A marine knows survival skills.
There are only 2 POC in this film: a flight attendant and the marine. There is a waterfall that they use for water. Why don't they build a signal fire or make an SOS in the sand instead of whining about the sheer cliffs? People wander around on the mysterious island. Diseases! Animals! No worries! Who was on the island before them? A never explained mystery. What are they brushing their hair with? Why aren't the men growing beards?
Idiots try to go off in a raft. There's a fist fight or 2. A woman cooks. There is a bad child actor. A poor turtle is manhandled. The marine builds traps which come in handy as the sleaze goes cray-cray. Bannerman hunts for tern eggs and goes on about his oh so tragic backstory. Things get really ugly when entitled, miserable, bro ass pricks form a mob. How can someone survive a gunshot wound on a South Pacific island with no medicine?
This could have been an interesting tv show. Tribes form. A young woman is called BJ, oh come on. How BJ survive being tossed off a cliff on a South Pacific island with no medicine?!?!
A baby is born. The inherently worthless sleaze gets his and Bannerman declares that they'll make it. This wasn't as good as I hoped, but it was okay.
Best Lines:
“Daredevils of the sky.”
“Heavy bombardement crew.”
“You be honest first.”
"I've been trying to finish this book for 2 years!"
"Just an airborne bus driver and not a very good one at that."
"What was your mother's price?"
"The night she was killed, she was leaving me."
"I don't blame her for that. Not anymore."
"How stupid can you people be?"
"On whose word?!?"
