Review: Flight From Ashiya

A film about three men from the American Air Rescue Service, as two Air Rescue Service teams stationed at Ashiya Air Base in Japan head out to rescue a group of Japanese civilians who were shipwrecked during a typhoon. Richard Widmark is an embittered, Japanese-hating Air Rescue Service Lt. Colonel, with Yul Brynner a Master Sergeant of Japanese-American ethnicity, and George Chakiris is the nervy Air Rescue Service co-pilot. In flashbacks we learn that Widmark was a WWII POW who spent time as a prisoner of the Japanese, and had a doomed romance with journalist Shirley Knight. Paramedic had his own romantic experiences during WWII as an Army guy in North Africa who falls for a French-speaking Algerian Muslim (played by French actress Daniele Gaubert).

 

An Air Rescue Service film starring Yul Brynner, Richard Widmark, George Chakiris and Shirley Knight seems like it should’ve made for a damn fine adventure/disaster film. Instead, this cheap-looking 1964 Japanese-American co-production from director Michael Anderson (“Chase a Crooked Shadow”, “Operation Crossbow”, “The Quiller Memorandum” – all fine films) is a flashback-heavy soap opera melodrama. As a result it wastes the talents of Knight and Chakiris, and misuses Brynner and Widmark.

 

Widmark is certainly well-cast as a hate-filled, grizzled veteran but he’s less comfortable when having to share soap opera romance scenes with Shirley Knight. Their flashback scenes run on for far too long for something with meagre rewards for the viewer. Both actors have done far better elsewhere. Brynner gives a typically solid performance under trying circumstances. He is saddled with an even worse romantic subplot than Widmark’s, with a not especially persuasive Daniele Gaubert that’s too goofy for words. It’s actually quite insipid material they’re handed and there’s little they can do about it. Although he’s a lesser actor than the trio of Widmark, Brynner, and Knight, Chakiris is actually really good as the nervy younger member of the troupe. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t seem terribly interested in him, as he doesn’t really get much romancing nor a lot of screen time at all for that matter. The film might’ve been a fair bit better if some of the (too much) screen time devoted to Widmark-Knight were delegated to Chakiris instead. At around 100 minutes long, far too many of those are devoted to Widmark and Knight’s flashbacks. When the film focuses on the action stuff, it’s actually pretty thrilling if rather artificial-looking at times. That’s not nearly often enough, I’m afraid. The film’s best asset is the terrific music score by Frank Cordell (“Khartoum”, “Cromwell”).

 

A mostly dull soap opera treatment of a potentially interesting and exciting subject, this is tolerable at best. The Air Rescue service, the cast, and the audience all deserved better than this rather second-rate offering. There are moments, but not enough to make it worthwhile. The soapy screenplay is by Waldo Salt (“Midnight Cowboy”, “Coming Home”, “Serpico”) and Elliott Arnold (“Broken Arrow”, “Kings of the Sun”), from the latter’s novel.

 

Rating: C+