This was obviously supposed to be a pilot about a pilot.
Okay, let me rephrase that.
It is a story about a plane wreck on an isolated island. This is before the days of cell phones and laptops.
The people have to learn to get along.
That was a lot easier for the greater generations. It probably wouldn't fly today, since "assertiveness training" went over the roof, and no one can cooperate with anyone any more.
So, this could be dated in that respect, sadly. That only means that today's society is "dated", actually. A film like this will return to form when we get a more mature society.
Lloyd Bridges heads a cast that get to play the sort of three dimensional characters that the later decades refused to show.
As the pilot, he takes charges, but there is a power struggle that eventually sees the confrontation come from another confrontation between two of the younger men, one who is clearly in the right, and one who is clearly a thug.
The way it is handled is very adult. There isn't a large amount of action, but it still holds your interest.
This is probably what "Lost" the series should have been, instead of their version of "The Tempest" or "Fantastic Planet", whatever "Lost" based itself on.
In other worlds, if you have a story about a crash on a deserted island, it really comes across better when that's the story, as it is here, instead of looking like you're scrounging around with other writers at a table, trying to outdo each other in a Round Robin story telling festival.
That's why this film works. It's a story about an exciting adventure.
