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Phone Call from a Stranger ()


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While awaiting a delayed flight, a lawyer who has left his unfaithful wife, befriends three fellow passengers. After the plane crashes and he is among the few to survive, he feels compelled to contact the families of his dead friends.

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Complete, Cast awaiting verification

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Binky Gay (Mrs. Michael Carr)
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David L. Trask
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Dr. Robert Fortness
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Marie Hoke
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Eddie Hoke
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Sally Carr
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Marty Nelson
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Claire Fortness
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Jerry Fortness
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Mike Carr
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Jane Trask
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Dr. Tim Brooks (uncredited)
Genevieve Bell ...
Mrs. Fletcher (uncredited)
Lulu Mae Bohrman ...
Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
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Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks ...
Airplane Passenger (uncredited)
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Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Perdita Chandler ...
Mrs. Brooks (uncredited)
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Dr. Luther Fletcher (uncredited)
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Pier Watchman (uncredited)
Cliff Clark ...
Watchman (uncredited)
Jack Daley ...
Hotel Doorman (uncredited)
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Arthur (uncredited)
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Doctor (uncredited)
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Man at Airport (uncredited)
Elizabeth Flournoy ...
Restaurant Hostess (uncredited)
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Airport Cafeteria Customer (uncredited)
Charles Fogel ...
Airport Cafeteria Customer (uncredited)
Betty Francine ...
(uncredited)
Kay Garrett ...
Plane Passenger (uncredited)
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Airport Cafeteria Customer (uncredited)
Lillian Hamilton ...
Nurse (uncredited)
John Hedloe ...
Ticket Agent (uncredited)
Keith Hetherington ...
Travel Agent (uncredited)
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Club Patron (uncredited)
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Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
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Mr. Sawyer (uncredited)
Chester Jones ...
Baggage Man (uncredited)
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Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Freeman Lusk ...
Assistant District Attorney Thompson (uncredited)
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Bellhop (uncredited)
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Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
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Plane Passenger (uncredited)
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Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
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Pilot (uncredited)
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Flight Announcer (uncredited) (voice)
Bill Neff ...
Co-Pilot (uncredited)
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Carl - Headwaiter (uncredited)
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Airport Official (uncredited)
Sydney Perkins ...
Stewardess (uncredited)
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Clerk (uncredited)
Paul Power ...
Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
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Dr. Fernwood (uncredited)
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Henry (uncredited)
Ruth Robinson ...
Home Nurse (uncredited)
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Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
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Airline Passenger (uncredited)
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Airport Intercom Announcer (uncredited) (voice)
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Waiter (uncredited)
Sally Yarnell ...
Plane Passenger (uncredited)

Directed by

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Jean Negulesco

Written by

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Nunnally Johnson ... (screenplay)
 
I.A.R. Wylie ... (story)

Produced by

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Nunnally Johnson ... producer

Music by

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Franz Waxman

Cinematography by

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Milton R. Krasner ... director of photography (as Milton Krasner)

Editing by

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Hugh S. Fowler ... (as Hugh Fowler)

Art Direction by

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J. Russell Spencer
Lyle R. Wheeler ... (as Lyle Wheeler)

Set Decoration by

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Thomas Little
Bruce MacDonald ... (as Bruce Macdonald)

Costume Design by

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Elois Jenssen

Makeup Department

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Ben Nye ... makeup artist (uncredited)
Lynn F. Reynolds ... makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Richard Maybery ... assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Eugene Grossman ... sound
Roger Heman Sr. ... sound (as Roger Heman)

Visual Effects by

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Ray Kellogg ... special photographic effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Charles Le Maire ... wardrobe director (as Charles LeMaire)

Music Department

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Bernard Mayers ... orchestrator
Leonid Raab ... orchestrator
Crew believed to be complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

On a flight from Chicago to Los Angeles, lawyer David Trask befriends three of his fellow passengers while one technical issue after another lead to unscheduled stops and delays. The other three are physician Dr. Robert Fortness, a struggling actress with the stage name Binky Gay, and loud-mouthed salesman Eddie Hoke, who is both quick with a joke and quick to show off a photograph of his beautiful wife, Marie. Two of them confess to David having painful reckonings waiting for them in Los Angeles. Dr. Fortness, an alcoholic, is returning to own up to his responsibility for a car accident in which his friend and two others were killed, and his guilt over letting his wife Claire lie for him, which destroyed their marriage and alienated his son. Binky, who has tried and failed to realize success on the New York stage for the past year, is returning to her husband, Mike Carr, hoping to keep his affection despite his overbearing mother, former vaudeville star Sally Carr, who still basks in her former but no longer shining glory, and who resents Binky as competition on and off stage. David feels compelled to help their families come to terms with their losses, especially in the case of Dr. Fortness, who hired David as his attorney. Each case is different. The doctor's wife and son need to face the truth. Binky's mother-in-law thinks she knows everything and won't let David get a word in edgewise, so he fools her into thinking that Binky had been successful in New York, only discussing the truth with her husband. Meeting Eddie's widow, David finds that she has more comfort to give him than he has for her. Marie's reminiscence about her marriage to Eddie causes David to reflect on his own marriage, leading him to make a decision. Written by Huggo

Plot Keywords
Taglines Five great stars in a masterpiece of bold and intimate emotions ! See more »
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Parents Guide Add content advisory for parents »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Appel d'un inconnu (France)
  • Llama a un desconocido (Spain)
  • Llama un desconocido (Spain)
  • Telefon från en främling (Sweden)
  • Appel d'un inconnu (Canada, French title)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 105 min
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Did You Know?

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Trivia The film was the third and final on-screen pairing of real life husband and wife Gary Merrill and Bette Davis. The other two pictures are All About Eve (1950) and Another Man's Poison (1951). See more »
Goofs Behind the opening credits, the taxi that's taking Trask to the airport passes two movie theaters at least three times, as if the rear projection of stock footage was on a continuous loop. The movies playing at these theaters are "Homestretch" and "The Two Mrs. Carrolls," (at the McVickers), both released five years before this film. The McVickers was a well known Chicago theatrical site, but the taxi arrives at the MIDLAND CITY, IOWA airport, and a flight FROM Chicago is among those listed on the arrival schedule. See more »
Movie Connections References The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947). See more »
Soundtracks The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze See more »
Quotes Marie Hoke: Dull, foolish, vulgar to some but not to me. To me he was a man like a rock. Nothing could shake him. Nothing could shake his love. It was from him that I learned what love really was. Not a frail little fancy to be smashed and broken by pride and vanity and self pity. That's for children. That's for high school kids. But a rock as strong as life itself indestructible and eternal.
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