Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
HEALING THROUGH TRAGEDY...., January 24, 2008
Engrossing film about a man (Gary Merrill) who befriends a small group of fellow passengers on a plane trip. When the plane crashes, he alone survives. Disturbed by the stories the people he befriended told him about their lives, he sets out to contact their families and help set things straight. In doing so, he brings healing to them and to himself with his own problems. The passengers include Keenan Wynn as an overly gregarious salesman bragging about his "sexy" wife and Shelley Winters as a stripper whose mother-in-law had no respect for her. Bette Davis appears as the widow of a victim with a tragic story of her own. The stories are told episodically as Merrill contacts each family. This is one of Merrill's finest performances. He was married to Davis at the time. Entire cast is excellent and their stories are touching and tragic with slight dashes of humor. A worthwhile film that is entertaining and with a timely message about forgiveness. Enjoy.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More than a plane crash!, April 10, 2008
I have waited years for this terrific film to come out on DVD. Though a trifle melodramatic by today's jaded standards, there is an endearing quality to this film. The cast is perfect, yes, even Davis playing against type!, especially Merrill. Fascinating, thoughtful and absorbing film. Very glad it is finally out. Once started you cannot stop viewing- even for a bathroom break!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
1952 Bette Davis & Gary Merrill Doing a Morality Movie?, April 1, 2008
The lives of 4 passengers, who randomly meet before a flight to Los Angeles, become eternally braided. Nunnally Johnson & co-writer, I.A.R. Wylie come dangerously close to using the story from Thornton Wilder's (1927) novel, "The Bridge of San Luis Rey," without acknowleging it. Opps!
Before their flight is delayed by weather, 4 travelers commune in the airport's cafe. Playing the lead role is Bette Davis' 4th (& last) with her 4th husband, Gary Merrill. He's David Trask, a lawyer who's just left his adulterous wife immediately after she confesses to him that her affair is over. He's the serious & ethical guy in the movie compared to the other 3 characters.
One's Dr. Robert Fortness (Michael Rennie), a physician who's hiding something horrible. The second is Binky Gay (Shelley Winters). She's a stripper with a attractive-to-men charm who lusts after having good times. A fun 'girl', they'd say about such a woman. The third is an obnoxious prankster, "Good Time" Eddie Hoke (Keenan Wynn). He's a traveling salesman for a novelty company who can't shut up, has to be the center of attention.
The chemistry between these four mixes swell enough that they decide to stay in touch with each other. So, they exchange contact information while awaiting their flight in an airport cafe'. The more time they spend together, the more they reveal of themselves to each other. For instance, because of the trouble the physician is in, he hires Trask to be his attorney & thus, confides his secret to Trask.
Binky is an armchair psychoanalyst by default. Since she's had men's drunken hearts poured out to her repeatedly, given her profession, Binky's got a knack for doing instinctive personality analyses. She does this with the group of men & they learn that she's more than a "bimbo."
The never serious Good-Timing-Eddie whips out a wallet photo of his wife & passes it around. To everyone's astonishment she's a raving beauty with whom he's madly in love.
By now you might say, 'hey, it's 1952, Bette Davis has made it to the big time, where is she in this film?' I was thinking the same thing until she finally appeared. Believe me, without giving away the best parts of the story, she makes her 'entrance' right on time. Davis (predictably) steals the show in a supporting role, with her real-life husband playing the lead to her brief but key appearance.
Don't go away because the last scene with obnoxious Eddie's wife delivers the main point of the motion picture. It is such a surprise ending that it provides a feeling of being astounded because as the audience we're left questioning what really matters in our own lives? Which of our precious values is worth compromising & for whom?
After all is said & done in this high drama movie, then the viewer knows they've just been drawn cleverly into a morality movie.
I'll warn you though, throughout I'd be surprised if you didn't wonder over & again, 'what the heck is this all about?' 'What is going to hold all of these loose pieces together?' I'd also be extremely surprised if the word obnoxious, when it came to characterizing Good-Time-Eddie, wasn't one of those absolute suitably good fits.
Like everything else that Bette Davis --chose herself-- to perform in, she had extra good reasons that had so much to do with her own set of values. In this movie, Davis' message is soft spoken, but quite clear.
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