Differences between Sole Survivor and Lady Be Good

No offense intended, but the original post is kind of pointless, IMHO. "Sole Survivor" makes no claims of being "about" the Lady Be Good; it's a different story altogether, with the concept being loosely based on what happened with the Lady Be Good. "Loosely" being the key word. All the differences listed between movie and reality are irrelevent - this isn't a documentary about the real WWII bomber. It's a movie, a work of fiction, an entertainment. And, a movie not even trying (or claiming to try) to tell the story of the Lady Be Good.

Maybe someday, someone will make a movie based on the Lady Be Good. It would be kind of a downer, as no one makes it out alive. With "Sole Survivor"'s supernatural angle, at least they had the luxury of a somewhat upbeat ending, with the boys from the Home Run finally going home (most of the boys, anyway). I'm sure there are documentaries or History Channel specials about Lady Be Good. Meanwhile, I'll enjoy "Sole Survivor" on its own merits.

When the wreck of the Lady Be Good was found, the navigator's work was still in the plane. It turned out he had quit "navigating" the plane on it's trip back to Libya. He counted on being able to get the plane back home based upon the radio homing beacon at the base. It was nighttime, so no one on the plane could see anything to help them know their position.

Because he had quit plotting the planes position, he allowed the pilots to fly the plane to the base and then over it. The beacon continued to show the plane was on course, even though it was headed directly away from the base and into the desert.

So because the navigator didn't do his job, the plane flew deep into the desert and the crew eventually died. In real life, however, the navigator paid with his life for his mistake.



"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak