Arctic Flight

Arctic Flight is a 1952 American drama film directed by Lew Landers and starring Wayne Morris, Alan Hale Jr. and Lola Albright. It was produced and distributed by Monogram Pictures. Arctic Flight depicts bush pilot flying in the Arctic on the edge of the International Date Line, involving Soviet intrigue.

Plot
In a small plane, bush pilot Mike Wien (Wayne Morris) flies his friend Dave Karluck (Thomas Richards Sr.) over a reindeer herd Dave owns in Alaska. From the plane, Dave shoots a wolf that was preying on the deer.

Returning to his base at Kotzebue, Mike expects his next customer to be a John Wetherby, who wants to hunt polar bears. Opening a door without knocking, he walks in on Martha Raymond (Lola Albright), in her underwear. She is expecting Mike to fly her to Little Diomede Island, where she is expected to start work as a schoolteacher and nurse in the local Eskimo village. But only two miles from Little Diomede across frozen Bering Strait (and across the International Date Line) is the Soviet-owned Big Diomede Island, and Mike tries to refuse the trip, as the trigger-happy Soviet border guards may shoot at them. But no other pilot is available, and Martha has paid for a ticket, so Mike's government contract requires him to take her. So he flies her most of the way, then borrows a dog sled to transport her to her destination. A romance between the two is kindled.

When Martha arrives, she is welcomed by local Catholic priest Father François (Kenneth MacDonald) and local resident Miksook (Anthony Garson). They tell her that the teacher she is replacing wandered too close to Big Diomede and was shot and killed.

Next, Mike does meet Wetherby (Alan Hale Jr.), first flying him from Nome to Kotzebue. Bad weather delays the polar bear hunt and Wetherby expresses an interest in visiting Little Diomede. Wetherby wonders if Saranna (Carol Thurston), an Eskimo girl in Kotzebue, is Mike's fiancee. Mike says he would not mind marrying an Eskimo but happens not to love Saranna.

After some days, Saranna tells Mike that Dave has been mauled in a bear attack. Mike and Wetherby find the polar bear and Wetherby kills the animal and proceeds to take its skin as a trophy. About to leave, Wetherby's wallet drops out and Mike sees a Soviet identity card inside. Wetherby injures Mike with his skinning knife, ostensibly accidentally, and himself flies Mike to Little Diomede where Martha can treat the wound.

Mike confides in Martha that his client did not stab him by accident, and is not who he is claiming. Martha is afraid that Mike is delirious, but finds Wetherby's identification card herself, leading to a confrontation. Mike comes to her rescue, but is knocked out. However, in his haste to head out over the ice to the Soviet base on Big Diomede, Wetherby not only leaves behind his photos of U.S. defense installations, but also his identification card. When he reaches Big Diomede without it, he is shot and killed by the sentries. Martha and Mike realize that Wetherby was a spy and their efforts have stopped his plan to deliver military secrets to an enemy power.

Cast

 * Wayne Morris as Mike Wein
 * Alan Hale Jr. as John W. Wetherby
 * Lola Albright as Martha Raymond
 * Carol Thurston as Saranna Koonuk
 * Phil Tead as "Squid" Tucker
 * Thomas Richards Sr. as Dave Karluck (credited as Tom Richards)
 * Anthony Garson as Miksook
 * Kenneth MacDonald as Father François
 * Paul Bryar as "Happy" Hogan
 * Dale Van Sickel as Joe Dorgan

Production
Principal photography for Arctic Flight took place from late February to early April 1952 at Little Diomede Island in Alaska and at KTTV Studios in Los Angeles. Writer Ewing Scott directed most of the Alaskan footage, but was replaced by Lew Landers after a flare-up of an old leg injury. A Cessna 170B (N1470D) appeared as the bush plane the lead character flew.

Reception
Arctic Flight was primarily a B film. Aviation Film Historian Stephen Pendo characterized the Monogram films as unpretentious but with Lew Landers directing, the experienced specialist in low-cost filmmaking, there was always a good product turned out. Noted Hollywood cinematographer Richard H. Kline considered Landers "... the most prolific of all directors", adept in many genres.