After his plane is downed in the South Pacific, a Navy flier recounts his life to a co-pilot while awaiting rescue.
Cinematography
Lush Technicolor fantasy island sequences vs. stark present-day studio sets.
Acting
Van Johnson's wounded everyman charm carrying impossible earnestness.
Director
Jack Conway
Van Johnson
Alec Brooke
June Allyson
Nancy Frazer
Thomas Mitchell
Capt. Thad Vail
Marilyn Maxwell
Diana Case
Cameron Mitchell
Lt. Joe Moore
Claude Jarman Jr.
Alec (Age 14)
Henry Hull
Dr. William G. Brooke
Geraldine Wall
Mrs. Brooke
Barbara Brown
Della Parkson
Paul Harvey
John Case
Charles Evans
Colonel Taylor
Ruth Brady
Young Woman Aide (uncredited)
Stanley Andrews
Farmer (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'island' sets were repurposed from 1937's 'Lost Horizon,' giving this B-picture A-picture production value on a budget.
Released right as WWII ended, this was one of Hollywood's first attempts to process wartime trauma through romantic fantasy rather than gritty realism — audiences weren't ready, and it flopped.
US
