Customer Reviews

Five Came Back [VHS]

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First of all, this minor cult classic was made in 1939: if it was made in any other year, it would have garnered more attention rather than to have gotten lost in obscurity. In LA, nine passengers board the SILVER QUEEN, a plane piloted by Bill Brooks bound for Panama City. On board, passengers include Peggy Nolan (Lucyball) a lady of the pavements (!), Crimp (John Carradine) a ruthless detective determined to bring back his prisoner, the anarchist Vasquez (Joseph Calleia) for a $5,OOO reward - among other assorted colourful characters. The plane is force landed during a nasty storm in a dense jungle - and there are native drums threatening attack....when the plane is fixed - at long last - it can only take back 5 passengers. Directed by John Farrow, father of Mia and husband to Maureen O'Sullivan, this taut little "B" thriller from RKO is still quite enjoyable. Dated, to be sure, it nevertheless entertains with its GRAND HOTEL - like storyline both on a plane & in the jungle. The supporting cast is excellent: Wendy Barrie, C. Aubrey Smith, Patric Knowles & Alan Jenkins. Lucy's leading man is Chester Morris - as Bill.

Hollywood occasionally tells the tale of a group of travellers stuck within an enclosed arena against which they must contend with opposition externally and internally. In 5 CAME BACK, director John Farrow places some surprisingly well-known actors (Lucille Ball, John Carradine, Chester Morris, and C. Aubrey Smith)in an airplane that is caught in a storm and crash lands in the head-hunter jungles of Brazil. What makes this film click is the unexpectedly successful melding of fine acting with a gloomy and dense jungle backdrop that serves to bring out the best and the worst of the passengers. Lucille Ball is a floozy that nevertheless can rise to the challenge of surviving in a forest and still look good enough to find romance with the co-pilot. John Carradine plays Crimp the bounty-hunter who determines to bring in his prisoner for the reward. But the one who steals the show is veteran character actor C. Aubrey Smith, who has made a career of playing the distinguished English upper crust gentleman who knows how to die with the same style as how to live. This is no film of special effects; in fact one can even see the blatant rubber undersides of the planted "trees" against which the head-hunters appear from the ankles down. 5 CAME BACK is however the ancestor of such future films as STAGECOACH and THE BREAKFAST CLUB. What makes movies like this resonate even with the cheesiness of the production values is the odd way that locked in strangers must confront their inner demons even as they must face their outer ones. 5 CAME BACK is a fine example of this genre.

I'll admit I started watching this film because I'm a big Lucy fan, but before long I found myself engrossed. I couldn't wait to see who came back.

The film is not as predictable as you might think. Spoilers follow...

What a powerful ending!

Who could have seen the twist coming when Vasquez alone picks those who live and those who die. I watched the film assuming it would turn out to be a "lifeboat" situation, full of justifications and categorizations. Instead, Vasquez chooses based on logic and morality. This would be a wonderful conversation starter!

And the surprises just kept coming -- I audibly gasped when we see only two bullets in the gun. I suppose there is a concept, then, that justice is finally served as Vasquez alone is left to the hands of the natives.

Frankly I didn't think Peggy (Lucy) had a chance of surviving as the woman with a questionable reputation, and yet she redeems herself when she becomes Tommy's mother.

My only gripe with the film is that it ends prematurely, literally with their fate up in the air. We have to assume they all make it back safely, but even a quick sequence of the plane landing or even seeing safety ahead would have sufficed. Perhaps the director and writers were telling us that the real drama was not on the plane at the end but on the ground. Is Vasquez the central character then? I'll have to watch it again and think about it some more.

Full of complex characters and wonderful performances, "Five Came Back" is a classic worth watching again!

There are some films that are good, but they remain give-or-take for me. `Five Came Back' is one of those films. It has an interesting premise, and it executes things rather well, but in the end it doesn't thrill me in a way that encourages me to return anytime soon. The films tells of a group of passengers on a small jet that, after being forced to land thanks to a storm, is in need of repairs. Once it's all set and ready to take off yet again, there is a big problem; the jet can't fly with a full load. Some decisions must be made, and when you factor in dangerous natives and a convict on board you have a slew of problems flying at you all at once. The film is certainly dated, but that's to be expected a little, and its nothing that should damper your cinematic experience any. The performances by the entire cast (of unknowns at the time) are pretty good, especially Lucille Ball who takes on a very different character than the one we are all familiar with. I'd definitely check this one out, but in the end it has a cheesy forgettable quality about it that makes it `less than a winner'.

Fun film to watch. I love the old B&W films so this was right up my alley. This is the first movie I have seen where Lucille Ball was so young and I thought she was beautiful. The year was 1939 so it was before she met Desi. One thing that struck about this film is that everyone, even the murderer HAD MANNERS. They were decent to the people they met, not like the world today. The screenplay is by Dalton Trumbo (before he was blacklisted by Hollywood) and is rather good (written almost 70 years ago). I hope they produce a DVD of this film. Hey Techncolor Tessey, you never looked more lovely!!!! check it out

"Five Came Back" was an entertaining grade B 1939 production featuring a 27 year old Lucille Ball in an expanded role for her as gal of questionable repute Peggy Nolan. Ball was among a group of 12 passengers aboard an airplane flying from California by way of Mexico to Panama City.

During a severe tropical storm the pilot played by Chester Morris and co-pilot played by Kent Smith are forced to crash land in the remote Central American jungle. The group are compelled to cooperate to survive the rigors of the environment and to repair the plane to fly it out of it's confinement. The group including C. Aubrey Smith as a professor and Joseph Calleia as a prisoner escorted by malcontent detective John Carradine help make life tolerable.

When repairs are completed, the plane is too damaged to manage to fly with a full payload. Only five passengers will be able to escape out of the jungle just as the unseen natives brandishing poison darts are closing in. But who will be chosen?

"Five Came Back" is one of the first survivor films, although one can look at John Ford's "The Lost Patrol" (1934) and "Souls at Sea" (1937) starring Gary Cooper as having a similar theme. Basically, 9 passengers and 3 crew board a flight to Panama City, the plane crashes, and when repairs are made it can carry only 5 people - who will go and who will stay?

* Lovely Lucille Ball who plays a woman from the school of hard knocks

* The brave determined pilot/skipper played by Chester Morris

* The professor, played by C. Aubrey Smith or his dutiful wife (Elisabeth Risdon)

* The gangster (Allen Jenkins) who is escorting the son (Casey Johnson) of his crime boss

* The wealthy couple played by Patric Knowles and Wendy Barrie

* The mad anarchist (Joseph Calleia) who is being escorted by policeman John Carradine

(Fans of TV's Gilligan's Island will surely recognize many of these characters!)

As you can see, it's a great cast.

Chester Morris (1901-70) is best remembered for his "Boston Blackie" films although he was nominated for an Oscar for his work in "Alibi" (1929). In the 50s he transitioned to TV and continued working until his death.

The great C Aubrey Smith (1863-1948) appeared in more than 100 films from 1915 to 1949. He gave us memorable roles including Major Hamilton in "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" (1935), Lord Capulet in "Romeo and Juliet" (1936), and Colonel Zapt in "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1937).

Joseph Calleia (1897-1975) appeared in more than 50 films, but is probably best known for playing Buldeo in "Jungle Book" (1942) and Orson Welles's sidekick in "Touch of Evil" (1958). I liked him best as the Italian lothario in "Riff raff" (1935) and the French policeman in Algiers (1938).

Allen Jenkins (1900-1974)usually was the quirky comedy foil who lit up so many films of the 30s and 40s and then went on to a successful career in TV. Some of his memorable roles were in "Dead End" (1937), "Destry Rides Again" (1939), "Tortilla Flats" (1942), "Robin and the 7 Hoods" (1964) and "Front Page" (1974). Here he plays it straight.

Lucille Ball (1911-89) is, of course, the Lucy that everyone loves, but before she found her comic chops she was a pretty good dramatic actress and was known as the Queen of the B movies - a title she inherited from Fay Wray. This film was made the year before she met Desi.

John Farrow (1904-63) directs. Farrow was the father of actress Mia Farrow with Margaret O'Sullivan (Jane from the Tarzan films). Farrow was twice nominated for an Oscar, winning for "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956) and nominated for "Wake Island" (1942).

Cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca (1892-1975) was a master of the film noir visuals ("Stranger on the 3rd Floor", "Cat People", "Out of the Past") and worked with Val Lewton ("Ghost Ship", "Bedlam") as well as Fritz Lang ("The Blue Gardenia", "Clash by Night"). Ironically he received an Oscar nomination for his work on "I Remember Mama" (1948).

The musical score from Roy Webb (1888-1982) is excellent, a great example of how music can supplement the story without imposing. Webb is best known from his work with Val Lewton, though he worked on more than 200 films and was nominated for an Oscar 6 times between 1938 and 1946.

The NY Times called it "a rousing salute to melodrama, suspenseful as a slow-burning fuse, exciting as a pinwheel, spectacularly explosive as an aerial bomb."

Bottom line - a compelling melodrama, well acted, and one of the first survivor films.