SYNOPSICS
Sole Survivor (1970) is a English movie. Paul Stanley has directed this movie. Vince Edwards,Richard Basehart,William Shatner,Lou Antonio are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1970. Sole Survivor (1970) is considered one of the best Drama,Fantasy movie in India and around the world.
When a bomber believed to have crashed in the ocean 17 years ago is found in the Libyan desert, a Colonel and Major accompany the only surviving member of the crew, who is now a General to figure out what happened. The General claims that he and the other members of the crew jumped over the ocean when in reality he bailed out leaving the others to fend for themselves. And while the Colonel just wants the whole thing closed, the Major insists on finding the truth. And watching them are the ghosts of the crew.
Sole Survivor (1970) Reviews
Involving mystery with a Twilight Zone slant
This made for TV movie seems to have fallen into obscurity, which is a shame; the creativity and entertainment value of it is top notch. It's the story of a lost airplane after a crash landing out in the desert in World War II. When I first saw this, it looked like a vintage war movie, filmed in traditional black-and-white, almost with a Twilight Zone type aura to it. The crew is discussing their situation, but as the story unfolds you realize this is much more than just a WW2 war story, or a survival drama. The fate of these men is only the first of several twists this phenomenal story surprises you with. The wreckage of the airplane is discovered years later, and a team of investigators journey to the scene, to uncover the mystery of what caused it to crash land, and to learn the fate of the crew. Richard Basehart is an air force general, who had been on the plane on its fateful flight, and had been the only survivor. He too goes to the crash site in order to assist in the investigation. Drama, intrigue, mystery, para-normal communication; this movie delivers all these elements in exemplary fashion as it sorts out the truth for you bit by bit in an interesting story filled with unexpected twists. I hope this movie is released on DVD or video, if it hasn't been already. This is fine story-telling, an amazing and involving movie which holds your interest to its emotional outcome.
Odd, haunting TV movie
Sole Survivor is one of the weirder entries in the WWII genre and difficult to classify. Written by Guerdon Trueblood as a TV movie, it tells the tale of a B-24 stranded in the Libyan desert. Comparisons are sometimes made between this and Flight of the Phoenix and shouldn't be, as Sole Survivor really has no thematic equal. Richard Basehart and Vince Edwards are fine in their roles, although Shatner had by this time been typecast as Captain Kirk and can't seem to shake that in his role as Gronke. Fans of Pat Wayne will enjoy a somewhat better performance than his usual, and Lou Antonio was in the middle of a career that spanned multiple decades. For some reason this one is difficult to find, which is a shame as it is absolutely unique and an experience that tends to stay with you long after the closing credits roll.
7 years on from my first review ...
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?
One of the best Movies of the Week.
I have been searching for well over 30 years for a copy of this Made for Television Movie. I loved the script when I first read it, and although I had a very small part (the British Co-Pilot who discovers the grounded remains of the plane), it was a memorable shoot. Like most of you who are fans of the film and have sought high and low for a copy, I still keep looking. I do remember it was made for CBS Films, a subsidiary of the Big Eye. I am sure it is in some vault somewhere. If I ever run into William Shatner I will ask him if he has a copy. Or Patrick Wayne. There are just a few of the actors still kicking around and in those days getting a copy of our work was hard. Taping machines were rare.
The ghosts of a bomber crew deliberate their fate.
Made for TV, and based on the true story of the wreck of an American bomber found in the Libyan desert in 1960, where the crew's bodies were never found, Sole Survivor is a wartime ghost tale. The ghosts of a bomber crew hang around their crashed plane, awaiting the day that their bones will be recovered and given a decent burial. The sole survivor, navigator Russell Hamner (Richard Basehart), has in the intervening 25 years become a general. He joins an investigation team that has come across the wreckage, while the ghosts, headed by Major Devlin (Vince Edwards), plot to expose Hamner as a coward who deserted his post and left his crew-mates to die. A gripping movie in the "Twilight Zone" vein.