[ Plane Engine Rumbling ]
Mr. Moran. Are we going to be on time in benghazi?
I don't see why not, Gabriele.
I'll ask Captain Towns to make a special point of it.
[ Thinking ] 1 3 50. Radio out of service.
Voltage regulators inoperative.
Holding course for benghazi.
- Thanks, Mike. I'll let you have 'em back. - [ Sarcastic Chuckle ]
- How's it going up there? - Lousy.
Never yet taken off in one of Arabco's old tubs without something being wrong.
This time we've got faulty regulators and a duff radio.
Yeah, well, don't let that hold you up, mate.
I've got two months' leave coming, and it's not the company's time we're flyin' on.
Radios are not good anyway. I got a radio.
Record players are nice though. Reliable.
- Heh! - Thank you, Doctor.
- Cigarette? - No, thank you.
It's good of you oil people to give the army a lift.
Not at all.
That's not much good, is it, Sergeant? Stow it away with the cargo, hmm?
[ Squeaking ]
Oh, I meant to tell you. The number four control pulley...
- on the starboard side seems a bit noisy. - Oh?
Perhaps binding a bit. I don't know. I couldn't see it properly.
I don't feel it up here.
I better have a look.
Hand me the flashlight.
Ah, you ready for another flying lesson?
I haven't recovered from the last one yet.
Oh, now, I got her all trimmed up for ya.
Just hold her straight.
Straight and level, two-zero degrees. Here, I'll take that.
All right, straight. Now, don't overcontrol it. Don't sway it.
Thank you very much.
Oh, I say, don't leave me holding this thing forever, will you?
[ Wolf Whistle ]
- Hi, Skipper. - How are you?
Hey, Mr. bill. Here. Try this. It's real good for you.
One drink, the girl comes out of the picture and bites you.
Hey, Skipper. You want some ouzo? Make you fly real good.
No, thanks, son. I'm driving. [ Chuckles ]
I reckon I deserve this. Listening to that wog music is giving me a headache.
That pulley's all right. Squeakin' a little, that's all.
- How are you getting along with your work? - Magnificently.
but I-- I think someone up there knows that I'm flying this thing.
That's quite a respectable sandstorm he's sending our way.
Yep. I've seen it.
So much for your weather report.
Let's have a look at that chart.
- If this thing closes in on us-- - Yeah, and this old bird'll need a new coat of paint.
- What alternate did you nominate? - El Assa.
Three stinking mud huts and a poisoned well.
That's not a place. That's a disease.
Oh, now, Lew. Don't worry.
We're not about to start turning to alternates just yet.
We're bigger than a little local sandstorm.
Old Auntie at traffic management's gonna have kittens.
A pilot is supposed to use his own judgment. Don't you think?
Gee, if it weren't for that--
I don't know, Lew.
I suppose pilots are just as good now as they ever were...
but they sure don't live the way we did.
I-I can tell you that there were times...
when you took real pride in just getting there.
Flying used to be fun. It really did, Lew. It used to be fun.
- Well, think perhaps we should, uh-- - Head for the alternate?
You better take a look out the window. We're being followed.
There goes our alternate.
That stuff up ahead looks like it's rising.
We'd better find out just how high it does go.
I must say, without a radio...
I would've expected them to turn for their alternate airport by now.
- Wouldn't you? - I don't know you, do I, boy?
Are-Are you from the oil fields?
My brother is there-- Dorfmann.
I went to visit him on my holiday.
- You went to visit your brother in Jebel? - Yes.
He's chief analytical geophysicist for the Arabco Oil Company.
That pilot--
I would have thought he was a little elderly...
to be flying without a copilot.
Wouldn't you?
That sand's a bastard, you know that?
A real bastard.
Hey, Standish.! Not while the train's in the station, eh?
[ Chuckling ]
It's not gonna let up, Frank.
[ Sputtering, Knocking ]
There she goes.
Are we gonna put her down?
That right engine didn't make it.
The other'n probably won't either.
We're just gonna have to put her down before this one quits too.
Can you get any lift out of her at all?
Well, maybe enough to hop over a few sand dunes.
I'm gonna have to make it in the first try, if that's what you mean.
We're going in with our wheels down?
I'd give anything not to, but we'll never get up again if I don't.
No. I suppose not.
- What's happening? What is it? - The lights are shorting out.
It's gonna start a fire.
[ Loud backfiring ]
[ Engine Dies ]
The bracket.!
It's breaking apart.!
Uuh!
- Waah! - [ Screaming ]
Aah!
Lew?
Come on, come on! Get a flashlight!
Let me out of here! Come on! Run, run!
[ Towns ] It's gonna blow.! Get away from the plane.!
Dio.! Padre dio.!
[ Shuddering ]
Maria. Maria.
Harris! Keep those guys together! She won't burn now.
Get 'em back there under the wing before we lose somebody.
Lew! See if you can get the emergency lighting system working.
There are three trapped in the back! Three trapped in the back!
Doctor Renaud!
Doctor Renaud.!
Doctor Renaud! Come here!
Come on.!
- Careful. - All together.
[ Moran ] Here it comes.
Ohh!
The leg is entirely crushed.
See if you can find my bag.
- What about the other two back here? - They've had it.
They've what?
[ Moran ] Frank.
Skipper!
What are we gonna do now?
Do you want to say something?
Like what? Sorry?
There. Make it secure, will you?
Captain, don't you think it's time we started getting things organized all around?
Yes, I think you're right.
Well, I'll get Sergeant Watson to make up some containers for flares...
- but we'll need some of your fuel. - Leave that to Moran.
Maybe you'd better check on our water supply and figure up some kind of rationing.
- Mm-hmm. - [ Hammering ]
How much longer do you estimate, uh, we'll have to be here?
I mean, uh...
I take it there will be an air search before long.
Um... yes. Well, uh...
we're not due in benghazi till, uh, well, now.
He's a right little organizer, your captain, isn't he?
Yeah, they're all the same-- toffee-nosed bunch of gits.
Heh heh heh! You shouldn't have joined, should you?
I never did.
I was what they called a boy soldier. Me dad joined me.
Did he?
Attender in the public baths, he was.
November 21 , 1 934.
Me mum made a sponge cake for me birthday tea.
Next morning the old man walked me down our streets right into the barracks.
""You'll be all right,'' he said. ""You'll like it. I know you will.''
Heh!
1 934.
- You didn't have to join for bleedin' life, did ya? - I don't know.
One thing leads to another, doesn't it?
Hey, Fritz!
Give us a loan of your book when you're finished, will ya?
I don't think you'll find it interesting.
Oh, incidentally...
my name is Dorfmann...
Heinrich Dorfmann.
Go on. Is it really?
Yes.
Hey, Sergeant, his name's Dorfmann, Heinrich Dorfmann.
Hey.
- What's the matter, Doc? - No. Nothing, Mr. Cobb. Nothing.
- How are you feeling today? - All right. I--
What do you care? Anyway, why ask me?
You got it all written down in that little black book, haven't ya? Haven't ya?
No, no. I have nothing written down, Mr. Cobb. Nothing.
Yeah? Then why don't you show it to me? Huh? Huh?
Anytime you wish. Right now, though, I have to look at Gabriele.
What a crummy quack.
They're all alike, huh? Huh? Huh!
[ Thinking ] 1 600 hours, March 1 7.
What-- What about my wife, Doctor?
No. Don't think about it now. She'll be all right.
You'll be fine.
Do you have any kind of liquor on board?
Well, there's still some morphine left. Wouldn't that be better?
Umm... I would like to save it...
for when the pain gets worse.
Doctor.
[ Thinking ] Cause of crash--
pilot error.
All right if we issue the water ration now, Mr. Towns?
- Sure. Go ahead. Did you work something out? - I think so.
Ah, could I have your attention, please?
We have something important to say concerning our water supply.
Now, there's just under a full measure for each of us here.
Dr. Renaud informs me that we shall require...
as an absolute minimum, one pint of water per person per day.
- Is that right, Doctor? - Yes. That's right.
Now, on the basis of the 1 5 gallons in the emergency tank...
that gives us roughly 1 0 to 1 1 days.
That is, of course, if we just sit here...
and don't exert ourselves in any way.
Hey, Lightning, do you hear that?
You're not to wear yourself out, eh?
As we are... somewhat off our original course...
and unless we are certain of being picked up...
I think we ought to make due with the absolute minimum.
- Is that understood? - Hear, hear.
- Hear, hear. Yeah.
- All right, Mr. Towns? - Sounds reasonable.
If we have enough water for all that time...
couldn't we set aside just a little bit for washing?
- Washing? - What a dumb thing.!
[ All Laughing ]
Hey, Captain.!
What are we supposed to do for grub? I reckon we ought to eat the monkey, don't you?
As far as food is concerned...
we seem to be singularly fortunate.
There happens to be an almost unlimited supply of pressed dates on board.
- Pressed dates? - All they're good for is regularity.
- Yes, I quite agree. - They're sent back from Jebel because nobody'd eat them.
Yes. I think that's about all.
That's about all? That's enough, isn't it?
Thank you.
Excuse me, Mr. Towns, but shouldn't some kind of rescue plane have seen us by now?
Now, don't worry. Someone'll be along even before you have time to think about lunch.
You see, our accounts people will be waiting for my report on theJebel operation...
before they can get started on the annual figures.
How big a hole will a busted-up Skytruck...
make in your annual figures, Mr. Standish?
Well, there'll be insurance...
but insurance companies move in mysterious ways--
like God, of course, but not half as generous.
- It's bound to be a setback. - I imagine it will be.
Anyway, you don't have to worry. They'll be here.
Oh. Thank you.
It'll work very well.
Mm-mm.
[ Standish ] The captain says our chances are good.
- A bit optimistic, aren't you? - I don't think so.
Well, being 1 30 miles off course isn't exactly gonna help.
It's not gonna stop 'em either.
There's an empty island [ Indistinct ]
There's an empty island
Music while you work, eh? Heh heh!
[ Piano ]
- It's mine! I bought it! - Did it ever occur to you...
we could use this thing to find out what's happening?
- Why, I had it here. Nobody-- - He did say something about it, Frank.
It's my fault. I-- I should've--
Hey, hey, hey
[ Man Singing In Arabic ]
It's mine.
[ Woman Singing In Arabic ]
[ Static ]
What's the matter with this thing?
Hey.! Look at Heinrich, will you?
Hey! Shut that damn thing off!.
What are you trying to prove?
I'm trying to remain reasonably clean.
You think this is some kind of a picnic?
[ Changing Stations ]
[ Man Speaking Arabic ]
That's just a local station...
relaying a political broadcast.
I don't think you'll find any station we want until nightfall.
[ Turns Off]
Doctor, what was that chap talking about anyway?
Water conservation and a fabulous plan for irrigation.
A fat lot of use that is. [ Chuckles ]
What this country needs... is a few more pubs.
Fold it up! Get this stuff furled!
Tie it on so it won't blow away!
Get that line! Give a hand!
Pull tight! This damn wind's too much.
Hold it, hold it! Don't let it get away!
Close it up! Come on!
Close it up! Okay, now. Get aboard!
Push! Push!
- Get in there! Lock it up! - Here it comes.
[ Towns ] Inside! Come on!
Let's get the door closed.
How are you feeling?
better have some more of this.
Come on. Up you come.
[ Coughing ]
I think you like this better than I do.
That's all right. As a matter of fact, I've given it up.
How is he doing?
Oh, he's fine. We'll have him back with his wife in no time.
- Maybe too late. - No. You can't tell.
Perhaps she'll be better by the time you get there.
No.
She would never send a cable.
My wife is a very modest person.
She'd send a cable only if it were something bad.
Now, don't you worry.
We'll get you out of here.
He's right, Gabriele.
[ Arabic ]
The sandstorm'll make it more difficult, won't it?
What? Finding us? Nah, it'll simplify things. No end, old chap.
They'll just bloody well give up. Oh, you're not frightened, are ya?
You don't want to be despondent, old man, you know?
Wait till the water runs out. Then you can really start laughing.
- Date? - Hmm-mm.
They wouldn't really just... give up looking, would they?
Never.
Don't you worry, me old duck. They'll find us, all right.
Trouble is, we'll all be dead.
[ Changing Stations ]
No end at all No sad good-byes
No fears, no tears
No love that dies
It's senza fine
Let it always be
Senza fine Never ending
The sunlit days
The moonlit nights
The sea, the sand
The starry heights
Are yours and mine
Forever
[ Singing In Italian ]
You give that to the boy for a little while.
To the boy.
Oh.
Thank you.
Thanks. Thank you.
[ Continues ]
[ Thinking ] I told our friend Standish we wouldn't even have time to think about lunch.
That was three days ago.
This is our fifth day.
Most them still believe it's only a matter of time before we're picked up.
I wish I could be sure of that.
- [ Scraping ] - This heat is intolerable!
You should come here in the summer.
That's lovely.
Hey, Sarge. Look at this.
Hey, Abdul.! They went that way.
Abdul!
Your mates, they went flashing through here on a herd of camels about an hour ago.
[ Laughing ]
[ Distant Plane Engine Rumbling ]
[ Chittering ]
[ Rumbling Continues, Intensifies ]
Can they see us?
- There it is! - Where?
Yeah! I see it! Up there!
Hey.! Down here.!
- Down here! - Hey!
[ Overlapping Shouts ]
- Come on! - [ Shouts Continue ]
- Hey.! Here we are, guys.! Right down here.! - Hmm.
Hey! Hey!
Hey.!
- Come on! - Come back, guys!
Pretty high. Probably about 30,000.
- More like 3 5. - Hmm.
Couldn't be the airlines down in this area.
I don't think they could see us even if they were looking for us.
No, I suppose not.
[ Shouting Stops ]
- You're wasting your time. They didn't see us. - bloody pilot.
All them flares do is make a lousy stink! Might as well quit usin' 'em.
Then there'd be nothing. Nobody could find us.
That's right, Standish. Nobody will.
[ Harris ] It's time we tried to march out of here.
- Oh? - You heard the others.
You know what they're thinking. It's five days. We've had two sandstorms.
We're not sure if they're even looking for us anymore.
- They're looking. - Nevertheless. If we're a hundred miles off course--
Which way were you thinking of marching, Captain?
What is our nearest water point? You said you could show me in your charts.
Well, yes. I can do that.
Tell me though-- How many were you thinking of taking with you?
Apart from Sergeant Watson, I don't know yet.
Well, perhaps now's the time to find out.
Yes. Perhaps it is.
He can't walk out of here.
No. Of course he can't. but, well, I suppose he's entitled to try.
- but he's not entitled to kill himself. - Oh, don't worry, Frank.
I don't think he's anything like aware of the problems involved.
I'll get the maps.
Gentlemen, I've made a decision, and I'd like you all to hear about it.
Uh, I intend marching out of here.
The plan is to, uh, travel at night when it's cool...
and then rest as best we can during the day.
We leave at sundown this evening. Sergeant Watson, will you come here, please?
I'll take Sergeant Watson and anybody else who wants to come with me.
If there's any volunteers, give me your names...
and we'll start making the necessary preparations.
- Uh-- - Captain Harris.
You, uh, wanted to know our position.
If you'd like to come over here, I'll show you.
Now, gentlemen, we're in the middle of this circle...
which runs through the three nearest water points.
That's Marada in the north...
Tazerbo in the east, and Namous in the south.
Uh, Marada is, uh, 1 06--
say, uh, London to birmingham.
Except that Marada's not a city. It's just a flea-bitten water hole...
with some borax quarries, an oil well...
and a few lousy palm trees.
Well, that's our objective, then: Marada.
Say, uh, Captain...
You've done much marching in desert terrain?
- On exercises, that sort of thing, yes. - How far?
Ten or 1 5 miles, full equipment, of course.
- And plenty of water, I suppose. - Sufficient.
Look, I don't know what your practical navigation's like.
Mine's not bad.
but I wouldn't march 1 0 paces from here.
In the daytime, it's hitting 1 20 in the shade.
And out there, there-- there is no shade.
If you could take as much as four pints a day with you...
you'd still be sweating 1 0.
We intend marching by night.
Fine. Well... precisely in what direction?
There are compasses, you know.
That's fine. That's just fine.
Someday I'll have you tell me just what your compass was reading...
as you passed theJebel Haroudj Mountains.
They're mostly magnetic rock, and that sort of makes nonsense out of the compass.
I can navigate by the stars.
But if you marched 1 06 miles by the stars...
and your calculations were just one percent out...
you could pass the Eiffel Tower in daylight and never even see it.
Now, look where Marada is. Just look. There's absolutely n-n-n--
- Nothing. - nothing.
Nothing, nothing.
If you miss this glorious little bunch of trees...
there's nothing between you and the coast.
Well, that's 500 miles.
Well, nobody's suggesting that it was easy, Mr. Moran.
Tell me this, Captain-- Uh, are you right-handed?
Yes, as a matter of fact. Why?
Well, that means your right leg is more developed than the other one and takes a longer step.
So if you have an unreliable compass,you'd go around in a left-handed circle like that.
- And there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing. - You're right, Mr. Towns.
but you're talking about right-handed civilians.
You must know that in an officer's training corps...
we military men are taught to march with absolute precision.
I can send Sergeant Watson on, here, ahead.
As it happens, he's left-handed.
Now, if you'll excuse me.
Come along, Sergeant.
There's nothing you can do, Frank. He--
- He goes by the book, and you can't rewrite it for him. - No.
Gentlemen.
- I've been examining this airplane. - You have?
Yes. We have everything here that we need to build a new one and fly it out.
Now, if you would like to have a look at my calculations--
- I don't know whether you can read my handwriting-- - Are you trying to be funny?
- What did you say? - I said, ""Are you trying to be funny?''
That is precisely the reaction I would have expected from a man of your obvious limitations.
What's happening to everybody?
Here, here. You can have this.
And here you are, Ratbags. I won't be needing this anymore. Heh heh!
I won't be needing this either.
Hey.
You don't have a coat, do ya? Here, take mine. I won't be needing it anymore.
- Oh, I don't think I should. - Why? What's wrong with it? That's a good coat.
Cost me 50 bucks in Marseilles. Why, it'd cost you more than a hundred in the States.
- Well, if you really want me to-- - Oh, sure! [ Giggles ]
I gave the radio to the boy.
I won't be needing it anymore. I'm going with Captain Harris.
Hey, I got somethin' for you fellas too.
I got a lot of work shirts I picked up cheap in Genoa.
They're good work shirts. I only washed 'em once or twice.
Harris. Don't you know better than to tell Cobb he could go with you?
How far do you think-- The man's crazy. He wouldn't last a day out there.
Cobb? I haven't even spoken to him.
Well, he seems to think he's going with you.
Does he? Well, I'll have to disillusion him, won't I?
No. Wait a minute. Just let it alone for a while.
Incidentally, I appreciate your concern about me going...
but I want you to know I'm doing it off my own bat.
May be a bit of a gamble, but it can only increase your chances of being picked up.
Come along, Sergeant.
- What's happened, Sergeant? - Must've twisted it, sir.
All right. Let's get him over here.
Ow! Uuh!
Just tripped in the doorway, sir.
Must've caught it on something.
Oh, it seems there is nothing broken.
Perhaps you just sprained it.
Sorry we have no ice.
Ah, looks as if you're for the sick parade, Sergeant.
Just my luck, eh, sir? I suppose, sir, I'd only be a burden to you.
Well, can't be helped now.
Perhaps if, uh, if I could rest it tonight, uh, I'll be all right tomorrow.
but we haven't time. Don't you worry about it, Sergeant.
Yes, sir.
What do you mean, don't worry? You don't think you're going out there on your own?
Oh, no. No, he's not.
He's not gonna go alone. I'm goin' with him. Huh! Isn't that right, Captain?
I'm afraid not, old chap.
but I just told you. I just told you I was going.
You're in no condition to come with me.
Sorry, but it's better that you stay here.
Well, I told you I was going!
Hold him! Take it easy, Cobb.
- Come on! - I told you! I told you!
- Let me go! - Easy.
- The man's a bull. - Easy, Cobb, easy. Easy.!
- We don't wanna hurt ya. - [ Cobb Wailing ]
[ Sobbing ]
Eh, we'll all end up like him, I'm thinking.
Leave him now, Captain. I'll talk to him later.
[ Whining ]
Here.
Thank you.
- That an oil journal you're reading? - No.
You're not in this line?
Line?
Well, yes. I mean drilling. Oil.
No, I'm a designer.
Oh, really? What? Furniture? That sort of thing?
No, Mr. Moran. Airplanes.
I'm an aircraft designer.
Are you?
Then you really meant what you said about, uh, getting this thing out of here.
Do you think I was joking, perhaps?
No, Mr. Dorfmann.
That I didn't think.
You always have to spoil things for me, don't you?
Why did you have to tell the captain I couldn't go along for, huh?
- I didn't tell the captain anything. - Yeah.
You're the one that had me fired in Jebel, though, wasn't it?
Hm. Chief rigger in charge of seven guys.
You think I couldn't handle a crummy job like that?
All I had to do was hold on to this lousyjob for another six months.
I could have gone back to the States as a chief.
but no! Oh, no. You had to spoil it for me.
Well, you still could go back.
Yeah? To what?
They ain't gonna let no headcase run a drilling operation.
Nobody's describing you as a headcase, Mr. Cobb.
That's what I came to tell you.
Now, you really must try to understand...
that fatigue mentale--
I mean, mental exhaustion--
can happen to anyone.
but it doesn't last.
I don't understand all those fancy words.
I don't think those guys who do the hiring do either.
Well, possibly not, but... it will pass.
It will pass, I assure you.
I tell you now, mate.
We're better off right here than traipsing off on that bloody desert.
You think you can look after Chucho for a few days?
I'm gonna go along with Captain Harris.
Well, yeah, but, uh--
What's the matter here? I thought you were savin'him for some snotty-nosed Mexican kid.
Sure. but don't be jealous, Ratbags.
Maybe one day I find a present for you too.
[ Mockingly ] Jealous, huh, huh. Can't you learn to speak English?
Hey. Why would you want to go walkin' off into that?
- [ Chuckles ] Didn't you see enough of that in Jebel? - Who knows, Mike?
Maybe after a few days' walking...
we'll be better off than you are.
- [ Squealing ] - It's all right, Chucho. It's all right, Chucho.
I will be back.
- Easy, easy, easy. - I will be back. It's all right, Chucho.
- Easy. - Adios, Chucho. Portate bien.
Mm,you must be bloody daft, mate.
Anyway, maybe Capitan Harris can teaching me...
to speak-ee real good English...
like you, my little Ratbags. [ Chuckling ]
Yeesh.
Stupid sod!
[ Groaning ] Thank you, mate.
- Good. You all set? - Yes, sir.
Welcome aboard. [ Chuckles ]
Well, I'm not as confident that we won't make it as you seem to be...
but I would be grateful if you'd send up some smoke at midday for the next three days.
- It might help us to keep our bearings. - Three days?
Yes. We won't need it after that.
Ah.
Well, Captain, we all wish you every--
- Well,you know how all of us feel, so-- - Yes. Well, come along.
It'll be getting dark soon. We might get lost.
Hey, babozo! Slow down!
Remember, you got flat feet.
Adios, little Ratbags.
He's gone! He's gone!
He's gone.
Cobb's gone.
I don't understand. Can they see him from up there or can't they?
Of course not. They're just lookin' at the view.
Haven't you been up there? It's lovely.
There's a great big lake on the other side. They got speedboats, everything. Hmm?
Frankie, he's got six hours'start on you.
How far could he get without water? He didn't even stop to take a canteen.
And it's my fault. I should've watched him.
Even if you find him, what can you do?
What can we do?
You'll be just as badly off as Harris would be.
I'm gonna bring him back, Lew.
[ Grunting ]
You will see we have all we need--
welding torches, steel cable, all the tools we will need.
For example-- This here, it all looks quite adequate.
- Why were they being returned? - Well, you know what engineers are like.
They just love shiny new tools, especially if someone else is paying for them.
[ Faint Grunting ]
Uuhh.
The prototype I have in mind would have to fly at the first attempt.
To achieve that, Mr. Moran, requires a pilot of quite outstanding capabilities.
Granted, this may not be the best possible advertisement...
but Frank Towns is probably one of the few really great pilots...
left in this push-button world of yours.
- Oh, really? - [ Angrily ] Yes, "Oh, really'"!
He was flying by the seat of his pants in planes that were nothing more...
than bits and pieces before you even went to school!
That is precisely what is wrong.
He has remembered everything and learned nothing.
However, since he-- since he apparently finds it necessary...
to run off into the desert in pursuit of a lunatic...
who could be of no practical value to this project...
the question is entirely academic.
Don't you think so, Mr. Moran?
I agree. Entirely academic.
- Get away! Get out of here! Get outta here! - [ Squawking ]
Go on!
Get out! Get out!
What is it? What's the matter?
It's three minutes after 1 2:00. Don't you want to start the signals for Captain Harris?
[ Scoffingly ] And your Captain Towns?
[ Squealing ]
[ Squealing Continues ]
Ah, get out of it, stinker.
[ Squealing Continues ]
It's Frank!
Hey, Skipper!
-[ Moran ] Someone get some water. - I'll get it.
Frank.
What happened to Cobb?
You all right?
We're stuck here, Lew. You know that, don't you?
Uh, Frank, I talked to Dorfmann again.
I-- I-- I realize that he--
that he,you know, irritates you...
but I do think he knows more than we give him credit for.
What's he dreamed up now?
Well, maybe he hasn't a leg to stand on. I don't k-know.
but you're the only person who's even remotely qualified to tell him so.
All I'm asking you to do is to-- is to talk to him.
Well,just talk to him. [ Nervous Chuckle ]
All right. I'll talk to him, Lew.
If it makes you happy, I'll talk to him.
There's no component problem.
The port boom is undamaged and so, of course, are all the port-side components.
If we remove the starboard wing and attach it to the port boom...
and perform a similar operation on the tailplane...
you'll see that we'll have the basis of, uh...
an entirely new and aerodynamically sound structure.
- Is that understood? - Oh, absolutely.
We need only to, uh, clear the port engine...
of the sand that choked it in flight.
The Coffman starter is serviceable...
and we should have no difficulty starting up the engine.
And if we don't waste too much fuel on signals to Captain Harris...
who is unlikely to be in any condition to benefit from them...
we shall have enough of that as well.
Most of the hydraulic fluid has leaked away...
but I have worked out direct rod and cable controls...
so that is no problem.
All right, now, what are you going to use for an undercarriage?
Our last landing rendered the undercarriage unserviceable.
However, there's enough H-section in the cargo monorail and hull longerons...
to make up a skid cradle for takeoff.
Skid cradle?
Well, uh, skis, Mr. Moran. Skis.
In order to take off, we shall have to move the final structure...
to the valley beyond that far dune.
The surface there should be adequate.
Now, as to whether it will fly...
as far as the general design factors are concerned...
there are no special problems.
The center of gravity will allow us to distribute the payload--
that means ourselves--
- on both wings. - Now, wait a minute.
Are you suggesting we string people along the top of that wing...
like sacks of potatoes?
They'll be behind fairings, of course.
Never mind about the fairings. We got an injured man.
The doctor says he can't even be moved.
Now, y-you're suggesting we tack him on to this thing...
and bounce him around like a wrangler in a rodeo?
That is not what I had in mind, Mr. Towns.
With the material and personnel available...
this project would require at least 1 2 days.
How long did you say Mr. Scarnati might be expected to live?
- Six days? - [ Sighs ]
Perhaps less.
See? The problem does not even arise. Mr. Scarnati will remain here.
Why, you really are a miserable--
Even with the men on them, the wing loading is going to be half that of the Skytruck...
because we shall leave the hull, starboard boom, undercarriage...
chanson and so on on the ground.
- Now, any more questions? - Yeah. I have a few.
Now let's see if I've got this straight.
You're just gonna unzip that starboard wing...
lift it up all the way over from the other side and tack it on to this port boom.
- Is that correct? - Well, yes.
The tapers will be, of course, the wrong way, but--
Forget about the tapers. You know what that wing weighs?
I estimated it as something just over a ton.
[ Towns ] Sounds just about right. There are eight of us.
Do you think you can lift 250 pounds, Mr. Dorfmann?
We use wedges and levers, Mr. Towns.
There is also a winch, and we can construct an A-frame.
We'll have levers and wedges, and we'll throw in a winch.
This bunch is living on pressed dates with a sip of water once in a while.
In a couple of days, nobody's gonna have the strength to do anything.
That is a very good point. The heavy work will need to be done first.
The wing will have to be moved tonight.
- Tonight? - Yes.
I have worked out a simple winding gear for use with the starboard generator...
which will keep the batteries charged and provide adequate lighting.
I see no other immediate problems.
Unless you have more questions, I still have some calculations to make.
I thought it was all cut and dried.
You have a few things you haven't figured out yet, huh?
Well... naturally I discontinued my work...
when you decided to embark on your romantic search for Mr. Cobb.
We do need a pilot on this project...
and, frankly, I considered your chances of survival quite remote.
However, now that you are with us again, I can complete my calculations.
- I see no insoluble problems. - Well, I'll give you one.
Now,you say building this thing of yours will take 1 2 days.
Well, that's just fine.
If we're real lucky, we just have enough water to last another 1 0.
We also have several gallons of antifreeze.
We can distill enough of that to provide for another four or five days.
but certainly I agree, water will be a critical factor.
So maybe we'll all be dead before you finish this thing, or maybe we won't...
but that's what you call a critical factor.
Let me tell you something that makes nonsense out of this whole thing.
- Please do. - I'm not gonna give you the old veteran flyer routine.
I just want you to know that I've been flying for quite some time now...
and it hasn't always been for crummy outfits like this one.
I'm sure you've had a very colorful career, Mr. Towns...
but that's not quite the point.
All right. You know a whole lot more than I do about aerodynamics...
and drag coefficients and stress factors.
Okay. Your theory's fine. but you get this, mister.
That engine's rated at 2,000 horsepower...
and if I was ever fool enough to let it get started...
it'd shake your patched-up pile ofjunk into a thousand pieces...
and cut us up into mincemeat with the propeller.
I told you there would be no difficulty building this airplane.
I also told you it would require an outstanding pilot to fly it.
The only thing outstanding about you, Mr. Towns...
is your stupidity!
- Look, what did you expect? - Easy, easy.
What did you-- You want me to throw a conniption fit with those drawings of his...
say he's some kind of a genius or something?
What good would that do when I know the damn thing could never fly?
Excuse me, Captain, but perhaps--
Perhaps there is one other thing.
The way it is now, some of these men may not last as long as the water.
but they need to believe that there is hope for them.
I don't know, Mr. Towns, but maybe to build a thing like this...
could be a lot of help.
So we prove it can't fly and get killed in the process?
What are you giving us? This is hard work.
These men can't stand hard work.
Watching each other die could be even harder.
[ Sighs ]
I-- I've lost five men, Lew.
Gabriele in there, he's on the way. That'll be six.
Are you-- Are you asking me to kill the rest of them...
trying to get a death trap off the ground?
I don't know.
I don't know, Lew. It wouldn't work.
Itjust can't work.
All right. Maybe it can't.
Maybe it can't, and we'll all be killed.
but if there's just one chance in a thousand that he has got something...
boy, I'd rather take it than just sit around here waiting to die.
[ Clattering ]
You there, Mr. Crow.
We shall need those panels again. You must be more careful.
All right, Heinrich. I'll watch it.
[ Clattering ]
He's a lovely little fella, A little ray of sunshine.
[ Humming ]
A slow, steady turn is quite sufficient.
You'll be relieved in about half an hour.
Don't let that needle drop below 80.
That one there.
- Eighty, huh? - That's right.
Now, we pull on three.
One... two...
three!
[ Grunting ]
Shift, you wee mother!
Ah! Hey, bellamy!
You big horse. Come up here and give me a hand, will you?
Hang on, little Ratbags. I'm comin'.
My hand's droppin' off.
You want me to leave this in place, Frank?
Ask Mr. Dorfmann.
Leave both of the bolts in place until the trestle is ready to take the weight.
As soon as you've finished that--
Mr. Moran.
Once you have finished that, would you please come to the tail end?
I'll mark out the assembly for you.
[ Metal Clanging ]
[ Tapping ]
[ Whispering ] Hey. Hey.
Hey, what are you building? Sand castle, hey?
A-buh-buh, bubbly by, bubbly, bubbly aye.
[ babbling ]
Hashish, huh? bubbly, bubbly.
Bubbly, bubbly. What's it for? Come on. Hey?
I'm constructing a still.
The sand will prevent the tube from fracturing...
when I bend it.
That's very cunning.
Sometimes I wonder how you chaps never won the war.