Expert: 7devonapes - 4/9/2007

Question
I loved a movie that I saw on TV in the 1970's. It was about a crew of airforce men whose plane went down in a desert. They and the viewer didn't realize the men were all ghosts until someone arrives and finds the plane. Do you remember it?

Answer
Hi Rosanne,

The movie you are looking for is a TV movie called "Sole Survivor" made in 1970, starring William Shatner and Richard Basehart. A plot summary from imdb.com is as follows:

"This story is loosely based on the discovery of the B-24 "Liberator" bomber the "Lady Be Good" that was found in the Libyan desert after the crew got lost on their 1st bombing mission to Italy. The plane was found in the desert & the crews remains in the desert far from the wreckage because they'd gotten lost because they'd picked up a strong tail wind that put them over the desert & not on the ocean as they thought they were, so they took the sea survival gear not the desert gear when they bailed out, just as in the movie. Even the fuselage was broken in two behind the wing just as the real plane's was. In the movie one of the crew found the plane & took shelter under the raised tail section, it fell on him & splatted him so Vince Edwards goes back to find his remains which were not with the rest of the crew in the desert. The Twilight Zone TV series did a similar story staring Robert "Bob" Cummings" who was transported back to the wreck of his B-25 in the present time (he sees a B-47 fly overhead & knows what it is) after he'd read in the newspaper that it was discovered in the desert. It was thought he had a dream until sand poured out of his shoes in the hospital when the nurse knocked them over trying to pick them up."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065007/

There are currently both DVD and VHS copies of this movie on eBay at various prices. It is also available on either DVD or VHS from www.learmedia.ca/ (Learmedia Rare and Classic Videos).

Best of luck,
Ryan