It isn't often that I run into a Bette Davis film that I haven't seen, but when I do, it's a real treat. This time, however, Davis is only part of an ensemble, and the actors and actresses put together a wonderful story.
The premise is rather simple -- a husband (Gary Merrill) who has walked out on his adulterous wife is on an air flight which has to make an emergency landing overnight (wow, was air travel primitive in 1952!) and gets to know three other passengers fairly well -- a stripper (Shelley Winters), a disgraced doctor (Michael Rennie), and a somewhat overbearing jokester salesman (Keenan Wynn). The next morning, after taking off again, the plane crashes, and of the four, only Merrill survives. Merrill then decides to contact each of the other's closest relative to tell them about their loved one's last hours. Rennie's son has run away thinking that his mother didn't love his father and drove him out...he solves that issue. Winters' second rate son-singer (Craig Stevens) and mother-in-law (Evelyn Varden)...well, let's just say that this segment is done in a very entertaining way. And finally, Keenan Wynn's wife is now a bedridden cripple...and she helps Merrill save his own marriage.
I remember Gary Merrill mostly as a good television actor. The last time I saw him in a film ("Another Man's Poison), I thought he was so bad that I gave the movie a "1" rating. But here, in this film, I thought he was great, and of course, at the time he was married to Bette Davis. I've never been a fan of Shelley Winters, but she does "okay" here). I always felt Michael Rennie was underrated as an actor; he's good here. I never cared for Keenan Wynn, but he does his job here. Evelyn Varden is a hoot here! Beatrice Straight is a character actress I usually enjoy, but here I felt there was something forced in her performance as Rennie's wife. This film demonstrates why Craig Stevens was never much more than a B actor, despite his good looks. Bette Davis -- who doesn't get top billing here -- is good, although I did not find this to be one of her memorable roles. Interestingly, Hugh Beaumont (the father in "Leave It To Beaver" has a small, uncredited -- though important -- role here; I never understood why he wasn't a more successful character actor.
I liked this film quite a bit. In a sense it was one of the very early disaster films!
The premise is rather simple -- a husband (Gary Merrill) who has walked out on his adulterous wife is on an air flight which has to make an emergency landing overnight (wow, was air travel primitive in 1952!) and gets to know three other passengers fairly well -- a stripper (Shelley Winters), a disgraced doctor (Michael Rennie), and a somewhat overbearing jokester salesman (Keenan Wynn). The next morning, after taking off again, the plane crashes, and of the four, only Merrill survives. Merrill then decides to contact each of the other's closest relative to tell them about their loved one's last hours. Rennie's son has run away thinking that his mother didn't love his father and drove him out...he solves that issue. Winters' second rate son-singer (Craig Stevens) and mother-in-law (Evelyn Varden)...well, let's just say that this segment is done in a very entertaining way. And finally, Keenan Wynn's wife is now a bedridden cripple...and she helps Merrill save his own marriage.
I remember Gary Merrill mostly as a good television actor. The last time I saw him in a film ("Another Man's Poison), I thought he was so bad that I gave the movie a "1" rating. But here, in this film, I thought he was great, and of course, at the time he was married to Bette Davis. I've never been a fan of Shelley Winters, but she does "okay" here). I always felt Michael Rennie was underrated as an actor; he's good here. I never cared for Keenan Wynn, but he does his job here. Evelyn Varden is a hoot here! Beatrice Straight is a character actress I usually enjoy, but here I felt there was something forced in her performance as Rennie's wife. This film demonstrates why Craig Stevens was never much more than a B actor, despite his good looks. Bette Davis -- who doesn't get top billing here -- is good, although I did not find this to be one of her memorable roles. Interestingly, Hugh Beaumont (the father in "Leave It To Beaver" has a small, uncredited -- though important -- role here; I never understood why he wasn't a more successful character actor.
I liked this film quite a bit. In a sense it was one of the very early disaster films!