Skymaster Down (2022)

(On TV, February 2022) Now here’s an interesting hook for a documentary: In January 1950, an American military transport plane with 44 passengers went down over the Yukon, triggering a massive search for survivors and then the wreckage. Even 70 years later, no trace of the 1950 Douglas C-54D disappearance has ever been found—even if dozens of other smaller plane crash sites have since been located in the area. Skymaster Down deliberately aims to popularize this near-forgotten incident in three ways—by presenting an overview of the 1950 events with historical documentation, by giving voice to the surviving relatives of the missing, still haunted by the lack of closure, and by following the efforts of those people still trying, seventy years later, to find the wreckage. It’s difficult to dislike the result—it’s a fascinating story, and the lingering mystery takes us in the wilds of the Canadian North, in a very special environment of forests, mountains and lakes that could hide much. Some of the most evocative footage in the film approaches known identified wrecks to show us what a downed plane looks like from up close—whether in the forest, or scattered on a mountainside. Following the efforts of the modern wreck-hunters is also fascinating—but the film is equivocal that even modern technology is no match for the limited resources and difficult weather conditions of the area. But even as good as it is, there’s a sense that writer0director Andrew Gregg’s Skymaster Down doesn’t quite reach the greatness it could aspire to. Reading about the historical events confirms the film’s version of events but also suggests ways in which the film could have been better presented. (The hunt for the wreckage throughout 1950 ended up uncovering other wrecks… and causing a few more.)  The low-key presentation of the film is too restrained at times, and a bigger budget with better use of drone cameras may have allowed for better, more sweeping shots. Still, it’s an unusual topic… and it may be destined to remain as such: As of this writing (February 2022), the film isn’t listed on IMDB nor Wikipedia. I should probably do something about that. [2023: I wrote to the producers, and the film now has an IMDB page—but I don’t claim causation between the two]