''Rescue from Gilligan's Island'' is a 1978

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

that continues the adventures of the shipwrecked castaways from the 1964–67 sitcom ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...

'', starring

Bob Denver Robert Osbourne Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005) was an American comedic actor who portrayed beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 series '' The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' and Gilligan on the 1964–1967 television serie ...

and

Alan Hale Jr. Alan Hale Jr. (born Alan Hale MacKahan; March 8, 1921 – January 2, 1990) was an American actor and restaurateur. He was the son of actor Alan Hale Sr. His television career spanned four decades, but he was best known for his secondary lead ro ...

, and featuring all the original cast with the exception of

Tina Louise Tina Louise (née Blacker; born February 11, 1934) is an American actress widely known for her career on stage, film and television, including her role as movie star Ginger Grant in the popular television situation comedy ''Gilligan's Island'' ...

, who was replaced in the role of Ginger Grant by

Judith Baldwin Judith Lee Baldwin (born March 26, 1946) is an American film and television actress. A life member of the Actors Studio, Baldwin amassed 46 screen credits between 1969 and her leading role in 2005's ''Every Secret Thing''. In 1978, she replaced ...

. The film first aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

as a two-part special on October 14 and October 21, 1978. The film has the characters finally being rescued after 15 years on the island. The film was directed by Leslie H. Martinson.

Plot

Fifteen years after the original shipwreck of the S. S. ''Minnow'', the seven castaways are still stranded on the island. Meanwhile, in a

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-type country, military scientists destroy an orbiting satellite that has a disc containing top-secret information to prevent the satellite from crashing to Earth. The metal disc survives and lands on the island. The Professor realizes the disc has a unique alloy that can be used to make a new

barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...

. Using the barometer, the Professor deduces that a huge storm is coming and the

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

it produces could destroy the island. To survive the deadly wave and potentially effect a rescue, the castaways build a raft by tying their huts together. The next morning, the castaways awaken and realize they were swept off the island on the makeshift raft. When Gilligan accidentally sets the raft on fire, the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

spots the smoke and rescues them. Once back in modern society, the castaways are initially confused by how different everything is. After much media hype, the group reunites at Christmas aboard the S.S. ''Minnow II''. Foreign spies have discovered that Gilligan has their lost disc and set out to recover it. Meanwhile, Skipper and Gilligan learn that the insurance company refuses to issue a settlement payment for the first ''Minnow'' unless all their former passengers sign a statement testifying that the Skipper was not responsible for the shipwreck. They first visit Ginger, who has been cast in a movie, though she is dismayed by how much film industry standards have changed. She agrees to sign the statement. Gilligan and the Skipper then reconnect with the Professor who has found that his castaway celebrity is overshadowing his research work at the university. The Professor also signs the insurance statement while the foreign spies continually attempt to secure the disk from Gilligan. The Skipper and Gilligan next go to see the Howells. They sign the insurance statement after ejecting snobbish friends from their house when they overhear them making disparaging remarks about Gilligan and Skipper. The spies, hidden among the guests, are also ejected. The two then go to see Mary Ann, who is about to marry her old fiancé, Herbert. She no longer loves him but feels obligated to go through with the wedding. To spare Mary Ann from an unhappy union, Skipper and Gilligan deliberately disrupt the ceremony where the foreign spies are among the guests. Mary Ann is relieved to learn that Herbert actually loves someone else and she signs the insurance statement. The insurance company finally pays for the first ''Minnow'' and the former castaways gather for a reunion cruise aboard the ''Minnow II''. The spies make one last attempt to obtain the disc, but are thwarted by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, who secure the disc from Gilligan. During the cruise, the ''Minnow II'' is caught in a storm. Gilligan unknowingly rendered the

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...

useless by removing its magnet when cleaning it, causing the Skipper to sail in the wrong direction. The group lands on a beach and realize they are on their old island after finding a piece of wood from the original ''Minnow''.

Cast

as Gilligan * Alan Hale, Jr. as Jonas "The Skipper" Grumby *

Jim Backus James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom ''Gilligan's Island,'' the father of James Dean's character in '' Rebel Without a Cause, ...

as Thurston Howell III *

Natalie Schafer Natalie Schafer (November 5, 1900 – April 10, 1991) was an American actress, best known today for her role as Lovey Howell on the sitcom '' Gilligan's Island'' (1964–1967). Early life and career Natalie Schafer was born on November 5, ...

as Mrs. "Lovey" Howell III *

as Ginger Grant *

Russell Johnson Russell David Johnson (November 10, 1924 – January 16, 2014) was an American actor. He played Professor Roy Hinkley in '' Gilligan's Island'' and Marshal Gib Scott in '' Black Saddle''. Early life Johnson was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, ...

as Professor Roy Hinkley *

Dawn Wells Dawn Elberta Wells (October 18, 1938 – December 30, 2020) was an American actress. She is best known for her role as Mary Ann Summers in the sitcom ''Gilligan's Island''. Early life Wells was born to Evelyn (née Steinbrenner) and Joe Wesle ...

as Mary Ann Summers *

Vincent Schiavelli Vincent Andrew Schiavelli (; November 11, 1948 – December 26, 2005) was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television. Described as an "instantly recognizable sad-faced actor", he was diagnosed with Marfan sy ...

as Dimitri *

Art LaFleur Art LaFleur (September 9, 1943 – November 17, 2021) was an American character actor and acting coach. Life and career LaFleur was born in Gary, Indiana. He played football in 1962 as a redshirt at the University of Kentucky under Coach Charli ...

as Ivan * Norman Bartold as Producer * Barbara Mallory as Cindy Smith * June Whitley Taylor as Miss Ainsworth * Martin Rudy as Dean * Mary Gregory as Mrs. Devonshire * Glenn Robards as Mr. Devonshire * Diane Chesney as Mrs. Fellows * Victor Rogers as Mr. Fellows * Michael Flanagan as Director * Martin Ashe as Butler * John Wheeler as Studio Guard * Alex Rodine as 1st Officer * Don Marshall as FBI Man #1 * Mel Prestige as Governor's Aide * Lewis Arquette as Judge * Judd Lawrence as Technician * Michael Macready as FBI Man #2 * Richard Rorke as Helicopter Pilot * Marcus K. Mukai as Hawaiian Man * Snag Werris as Camera Man * Micki Waugh as Pom Pom Girl * Alisa Powell as Pom Pom Girl * Portia Stevens as Pom Pom Girl * Candace Bowen as Pom Pom Girl * Mario Machado as Reporter (uncredited)

Production

declined to appear in the movie, claiming that she was not going to reprise the role that she felt had devastated her career. Reportedly she asked for a prohibitively large sum of money.

, a substantially younger actress who resembled Louise, was cast in her place. The following year, Baldwin would go on to play Ginger again in '' The Castaways on Gilligan's Island''.

Cassandra Peterson Cassandra Gay Peterson (born September 17, 1951) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV in her stage pers ...

also auditioned for the part of Ginger, shortly before KHJ-TV offered her the horror-host position as 'Elvira, Mistress of the Dark'.

Release

''Rescue from Gilligan's Island'' aired in two parts on

on October 14 and 21, 1978. The first part garnered a 30.2 rating and a 52 share. This was just below the ratings of the top two TV series that season, ''

Laverne & Shirley ''Laverne & Shirley'' is an American television sitcom that ran for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Wi ...

'' and ''

Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American television sitcom that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. Developed by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross and Bernie West, it is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the ...

''. The made-for-TV-movie was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on January 1, 2002, August 1, 2012, June 23, 2015, and July 9, 2015. A Blu-ray edition was released by VarietyFilms.net on October 26, 2022 containing what was then the best available copy derived from upscaled videotapes. An Ultra-HD Blu-ray set with bonus material was released by the same label on July 2, 2024 after a 16mm syndication print was located & scanned in 4K.

References

External links

* {{Leslie H. Martinson 1978 comedy films 1978 television films 1978 films American adventure comedy films 1970s adventure comedy films Films directed by Leslie H. Martinson Films scored by Gerald Fried Gilligan's Island films Television series reunion films Films based on television series Television films based on television series NBC original films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films English-language adventure comedy films Films about tsunamis