Phone Call from a Stranger (1952)
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- 1h 45min
- Drama, Film-Noir
- 15 Feb 1952 (USA)
- Movie
- 1 win & 1 nomination.
- See more »
Photos and Videos
Complete, Cast awaiting verification
Shelley Winters | ... |
Binky Gay (Mrs. Michael Carr)
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Gary Merrill | ... |
David L. Trask
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Michael Rennie | ... |
Dr. Robert Fortness
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Bette Davis | ... |
Marie Hoke
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Keenan Wynn | ... |
Eddie Hoke
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Evelyn Varden | ... |
Sally Carr
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Warren Stevens | ... |
Marty Nelson
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Beatrice Straight | ... |
Claire Fortness
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Ted Donaldson | ... |
Jerry Fortness
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Craig Stevens | ... |
Mike Carr
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Helen Westcott | ... |
Jane Trask
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Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Hugh Beaumont | ... |
Dr. Tim Brooks (uncredited)
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Genevieve Bell | ... |
Mrs. Fletcher (uncredited)
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Lulu Mae Bohrman | ... |
Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
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Douglas Brooks | ... |
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
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Ralph Brooks | ... |
Airplane Passenger (uncredited)
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Steve Carruthers | ... |
Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
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Perdita Chandler | ... |
Mrs. Brooks (uncredited)
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Harry Cheshire | ... |
Dr. Luther Fletcher (uncredited)
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Ken Christy | ... |
Pier Watchman (uncredited)
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Cliff Clark | ... |
Watchman (uncredited)
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Jack Daley | ... |
Hotel Doorman (uncredited)
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John Doucette | ... |
Arthur (uncredited)
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George Eldredge | ... |
Doctor (uncredited)
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Franklyn Farnum | ... |
Man at Airport (uncredited)
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Elizabeth Flournoy | ... |
Restaurant Hostess (uncredited)
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Bess Flowers | ... |
Airport Cafeteria Customer (uncredited)
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Charles Fogel | ... |
Airport Cafeteria Customer (uncredited)
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Betty Francine | ... |
(uncredited)
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Kay Garrett | ... |
Plane Passenger (uncredited)
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Herschel Graham | ... |
Airport Cafeteria Customer (uncredited)
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Lillian Hamilton | ... |
Nurse (uncredited)
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John Hedloe | ... |
Ticket Agent (uncredited)
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Keith Hetherington | ... |
Travel Agent (uncredited)
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Bill Hickman | ... |
Club Patron (uncredited)
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Jane Howard | ... |
Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
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Thomas E. Jackson | ... |
Mr. Sawyer (uncredited)
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Chester Jones | ... |
Baggage Man (uncredited)
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Leota Lorraine | ... |
Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
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Freeman Lusk | ... |
Assistant District Attorney Thompson (uncredited)
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Bill McLean | ... |
Bellhop (uncredited)
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Frank McLure | ... |
Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
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Harold Miller | ... |
Plane Passenger (uncredited)
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Forbes Murray | ... |
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
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George Nader | ... |
Pilot (uncredited)
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Jack Narz | ... |
Flight Announcer (uncredited) (voice)
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Bill Neff | ... |
Co-Pilot (uncredited)
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Nestor Paiva | ... |
Carl - Headwaiter (uncredited)
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Steve Pendleton | ... |
Airport Official (uncredited)
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Sydney Perkins | ... |
Stewardess (uncredited)
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Foster H. Phinney | ... |
Clerk (uncredited)
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Paul Power | ... |
Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
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Tom Powers | ... |
Dr. Fernwood (uncredited)
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Davis Roberts | ... |
Henry (uncredited)
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Ruth Robinson | ... |
Home Nurse (uncredited)
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Bernard Sell | ... |
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
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Charles Sherlock | ... |
Airline Passenger (uncredited)
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Charles Tannen | ... |
Airport Intercom Announcer (uncredited) (voice)
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Robert B. Williams | ... |
Waiter (uncredited)
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Sally Yarnell | ... |
Plane Passenger (uncredited)
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Directed by
Jean Negulesco |
Written by
Nunnally Johnson | ... | (screenplay) |
I.A.R. Wylie | ... | (story) |
Produced by
Nunnally Johnson | ... | producer |
Music by
Franz Waxman |
Cinematography by
Milton R. Krasner | ... | director of photography (as Milton Krasner) |
Editing by
Hugh S. Fowler | ... | (as Hugh Fowler) |
Art Direction by
J. Russell Spencer | ||
Lyle R. Wheeler | ... | (as Lyle Wheeler) |
Set Decoration by
Thomas Little | ||
Bruce MacDonald | ... | (as Bruce Macdonald) |
Costume Design by
Elois Jenssen |
Makeup Department
Ben Nye | ... | makeup artist (uncredited) |
Lynn F. Reynolds | ... | makeup artist (uncredited) |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Maybery | ... | assistant director (uncredited) |
Sound Department
Eugene Grossman | ... | sound |
Roger Heman Sr. | ... | sound (as Roger Heman) |
Visual Effects by
Ray Kellogg | ... | special photographic effects |
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Le Maire | ... | wardrobe director (as Charles LeMaire) |
Music Department
Bernard Mayers | ... | orchestrator |
Leonid Raab | ... | orchestrator |
Production Companies
Distributors
- Twentieth Century Fox (1952) (United States) (theatrical)
- Twentieth Century Fox Film Company (1952) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- Twentieth Century Fox (1952) (France) (theatrical)
- Twentieth Century-Fox (1952) (Mexico) (theatrical)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1953) (Austria) (theatrical)
- Key Video (1988) (United States) (VHS)
- CBS/Fox Home Video (1990) (Australia) (video)
Special Effects
Other Companies
- Western Electric (sound recording)
Storyline
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 |
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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 » |
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Did You Know?
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. See more » |