Sole Survivor (1970)
In 1960, the ruins of an American bomber were found in the Libyan desert, but the remains of the crew were never located. In Guerdon Trueblood's teleplay, the ghosts of a bomber crew hang around their derelict plane, awaiting the day that their bones will be recovered and given a decent burial. The sole survivor, navigator Russell Hamner, 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, plot to expose Hamner as a coward who deserted his post and left his crew mates to die.
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So much average
brilliant actors, brilliant editing
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
After bugging my brother in law forever, he finally found a copy of this curious movie from 46yrs ago. It remains interesting today because no expense was spared with the cast - the fine performances keep this eerie tale alive. It's about a B-25 Mitchell Bomber being found in the Libyan Desert 17 years after the war. Even though the story looks like it may run out of steam - it keeps drawing you in, right up to the haunting resolution. It's always impressive when major real-life items are found years after their mysterious disappearance. In this case it's the finding of a WW11 plane (The Lady Be Good) that's finally found where it came down in the Libyan Desert so long ago. This actual discovery (in 1958) must have made a considerable impression on writer Guerdon Trueblood (grandson of General Billy Mitchell) as he seems to have based his 'Sole Survior' story on the locating of that ill-fated aircraft - lost, after its first (and only) combat mission - resulting in the tragic loss of all lives on board. The aircraft featured in 'Sole Survivor', while a different model, is also found about the same time after it went missing. Trueblood then tells the story of a military investigation into what could possibly have gone so terribly wrong, so long ago. The newly re-mastered DVD release is good looking indeed. Who knows, we just might find another of those unforgettably haunting classics of the small screen "A Cold Nights Death" from around the same time - remastered for us all to enjoy once more....now, might that also be possible?
I just saw an HD copy on You Tube, but it's wide screen. The aspect ratio must be at least 185. It seems to be 16 by 9 compatible. I don't have the link, but it's easily found as long as it lasts. I may try to change the aspect ration on my download, since their heads are a little squashed, but it is odd that someone would do that to a film. It's definitely top quality images.
I saw this movie when it first aired on television in 1970. I was in elementary school, and got caught by the teacher doodling a picture of the aircraft during class. I was so enamored with this movie, that I could not think of anything else. I bored the crap out of my friends by retelling the story for the next several weeks. Surprisingly, none of them saw the movie.Though it is not a quality video stream, you can view this movie in it's entirety at GOOGLE Videos. Sorry, this IMDb review site will not let me paste the full link here.To see the full length movie, go to GOOGLE.com and do a search for SOLE SURVIVOR. In the margin to the left, click on VIDEOS. Look for the video that is 96 minutes long.There are other videos on the site that are just "snippets." Look for the 96 minute one and click on it to watch.Enjoy!
Its strange to read some of the comments above, we all seem to have the same story about this movie, the fact that we all saw it so long ago, for me over 20 years, and searched for the title and finally finding the movie, and enjoying it all over again...its strange how a film can touch so many people in the same way. I have seen thousands of movies in the past but have never had a film touch me and make me search so long to see it again. I actually sat with my children to watch the movie, and they seem to enjoy it, but who knows they be the next travellers on the quest.... I'm just glad that I have finally come to the end of the journey, and was able to purchase a copy of this film from Ebay...thank god for Ebay and the Internet, Or who knows how long the journey would have lasted....