Expected more

A different way of telling a story

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

SOS Pacific is directed by Guy Green and adapted to screenplay by Robert Westerby from a story by Gilbert Travers Thomas and Bryan Forbes inputs additional dialogue and scenes. It stars Richard Attenborough, Pier Angeli, Eddie Constantine, John Gregson, Eva Bartok, Gunnar Möller, Clifford Evans, Jean Anderson, Harold Kasket and Cec Linder. Music is by Georges Auric and cinematography by Wilkie Cooper.When a flying boat encounters mid-air troubles it has to emergency land near an island in the Pacific. Apparently uninhabited, the island, as the survivors are soon to find out, has something shocking in store for all.A little British cracker, SOS Pacific might be out dated now with its big reveal of theme, but it's a perfect example of how to make a tight thriller on a modest budget. It's very much a film of two halves. The first half plays out as a disaster movie, here we are introduced to the folk who will ultimately make up the survivors on the island. It's a roll call of stock formula characters; a tough copper and his cheeky but hero-in-waiting prisoner, a good time girl, the weasel loose cannon who is also an informer, a prim and proper lady, a German physicist, the stoic and beautiful stewardess and the pilot with a drink problem! Familiar characters to a degree, but well blended and fleshed out by the astute Guy Green (A Patch of Blue) who deftly piles tension on top of tension with each passage of story.After the back stories involve us we then get the mid-air dramatics and the surprise that's awaiting us all on the island. Once there the characters shift in tone, they have to for various reasons, and then we are treated to heroics, suspicions, sacrifices, fights, hysteria and a thrilling "ticking clock" type finale. Wilkie Cooper's (I See A Dark Stranger/Green For Danger) black and white photography accentuates the sweaty atmospheric mood, and Auric (The Innocents) scores it in 2 x 2 thriller/drama fashion. Cast performances are uniformly good, with the stand outs being Constantine who makes for a good Bondian type alpha male, Attenborough a telling slime-ball and the gorgeous Angeli as the pivotal lady of the piece.Some of the dialogue is twee and the model work is not high grade stuff, while unlikely coincidences are evident throughout, but this is definitely worth seeking out by anyone interested in tight and taut British thrillers. 7.5/10

I have seen this movie when it premiered in Germany (in 1959 or 1960) at the age of 11 or 12. Despite my young age, I had already become an action movie addict and I remember to this day having been totally fascinated by Attenborough and Constantine's acting. (Must have been too young to notice Ms Angeli). Contrary to another reviewer I believe that Eddie Constantine's "Mark" character in this movie is definitely on the same acting level as his more famous "Lemmy Caution". SOS Pacific had an impact on me which had not diminished even when I saw that film many years later on TV. Let us hope, somebody will finally decide to release this excellent piece of action nostalgia on DVD.

I saw this when I was about seven years old from the back of our car at a drive in movie. I thought it was a very exciting movie at the time but that was the only time I saw it, and would like to find a copy of it. I have not been able to find it in DVD or VHS yet, if anyone knows where it is available, please let me know. This movie has an Alfred Hitchcock feel to it, the suspense slowly builds to a climactic ending. I am surprised that it is not more well known as I have found few references to it on the internet. Most of the actors are not familiar to me except for Richard Attenborough whom I also enjoyed in "The Great Escape".

SOS Pacific is one those good movies that is rather hold to get hold of and have to rely it coming on the telly as it isn't available on video or DVD anywhere. I taped this in about 2001 when BBC2 screened it one afternoon and I'm pleased I kept it.A boat-plane with a motley collection of passengers on board is forced to crash land into the sea near a remote island after going through a thunderstorm, an on-board fire and then running out of fuel. The passengers include two crooks, a copper, a posh lady and a nuclear physicist. They reach the island by dingy and once on it, start to explore. They discover derelict ships and lead bunkers and then learn that this island is an atomic bomb test site and only have around 5 hours before it goes off. Luckily, a way is come up to stop the bomb from exploding and one of the crooks heads for a smaller island where there is a transmitter which will set the bomb off when a remote control plane passes. The crook needs to divert the radio wave to stop it... He also falls in love with the stewardess, even though she is with the pilot who gets eaten by sharks.SOS Pacific was made during the Atomic Age and gives you an idea on what could happen if in this situation yourself, a rather frightening one I would imagine.Now to the excellent cast which includes Dickie Attenborough (Brighton Rock, Jurassic Park), John Gregson (The Titfield Thunderbolt, Genevieve), Pier Angeli, Eva Bartok and Eddie Constantine.If SOS Pacific ever comes on telly again, tape it as it is certainly worth watching and hard to get hold of. A treat.Rating: 4 stars out of 5.