Combined with a tension-filled score, and great writing, this movie proves that you don’t need a frenzied cavalcade of orange fireballs and deafening noises to catch viewers’ attention.

Aerial photography in shivery weather provides some thrills but not enough to make up for Wayne's dreary monologues addressed to himself, the faulty use of stereophonic sound, and the waste of some good actors like Lloyd Nolan and Bob [Steele].

Weakened in spots by touches of cloying sentimentality, this is still an interesting outdoor yarn...

Though not as good as The High and The Mighty, this similarly themed action-adventure of an aircraft crash, survival, and rescue is decently exceuted by the same team, helmer William Wellman and star John Wayne, who also produced through his company.