You only think you've seen every John Wayne movie.

"Island in the Sky" (1953) and "The High and the Mighty" (1954) have been missing for decades, the result of water damage to the film negative and missing reels.

"The High and the Mighty" — a multiple Oscar nominee — is tagged by the cable movie channel AMC as "The Holy Grail of John Wayne films."

After massive restoration work overseen by the Duke's daughter-in-law, Gretchen Wayne, digitally remastered versions of both films will air on AMC. "Island in the Sky" premieres at 7 p.m. Saturday; "The High and the Mighty" airs at 7 p.m. Sunday.

The restored films are part of AMC's weekend tribute to Wayne, which will feature films as well as interviews with contemporary actors about Wayne's impact on their craft. AMC acquired the exclusive television rights to 32 John Wayne films from Paramount Pictures.

According to Gretchen Wayne, "The High and the Mighty" hasn't been seen on TV since 1982. Her husband, Michael Wayne, planned on restoring the films for the DVD market in the 1990s. But there was a slight problem.

"When we went into the film vault (at Batjac Productions, the actor's production company), there was water seeping out the door," Gretchen Wayne said. "They say it never rains in Southern California; it's not true."

There was a leak in the roof. Both "The High and the Mighty," which was shot in color, and the black-and-white "Island in the Sky" were damaged. Michael Wayne died in 2003 before restoring the films, but his wife picked up the task. DVDs of both films will be released Aug. 2.

"I just felt it was something he wanted to do," she said. "It's been a long time coming. It's been a labor of love, in honor of my husband."

Both of these midcareer John Wayne films are aviation-themed, and based on novels by Ernest K. Gann.

In "Island in the Sky," John Wayne plays a captain who must keep his crew alive after their transport plane crashes in Canada's frozen frontier. It's a taut lost-in-the-wilderness thriller — and Gretchen Wayne's favorite of the two movies.

But the second film holds more historical interest, especially considering what it wrought.

In "The High and the Mighty," an airliner develops engine problems over the Pacific, and a washed-up co-pilot must take over when the lead pilot isn't up to the job. (John Wayne has a co-starring role.)

If that plot description reminds you of the spoof "Airplane!" — which celebrated its 25th anniversary earlier this month — you're right. From the set-up to the plot development to a slew of individual scenes, "Airplane!" pays homage to the plane-in-peril genre — and "The High and the Mighty" is one of the touchstones.

Gretchen Wayne sees her father-in-law's film as "the template" for the hit comedy. "It's more of a compliment," she said. "If anyone takes it another way, they have no sense of humor."

These films first premiered during a period when John Wayne often traded in his trademark cowboy hat for pilot goggles, in "Jet Pilot," "The Wings of Eagles" and "The Flying Leathernecks."

One-third of the 15 films John Wayne made between the westerns "Rio Grande" (1951) and "Legends of the Lost" (1957) had him up in the air. It was, after all, the Cold War, when the frontier we were most worried about was the one above our heads.

The first hour of "The High and the Mighty" is slow. Reeaaaally slow. Then the navigator announces to the crew they had just passed "the point of no return" on their Honolulu-to-San Francisco flight. Relief (for viewers) comes when the left engine goes out; the tension finally kicks into gear as crew and passengers face the prospect of ditching in the stormy Pacific. A classic? Not really, but certainly an enjoyable film that should be seen. Especially by "Airplane!" fans.