Telefonata a tre mogli

Gary Merrill's plane is delayed by weather, and he waits in a small airport terminal with three strangers: Shelley Winters, Michael Rennie, and Keenan Wynn. All four have complex pasts, and, over the course of the night, they become friends and share secrets. A tragic crash leaves only one of the four alive, Gary Merrill, which is no spoiler because the advertising blurb reveals that plot point. Thus, Gary makes the "Phone Call from a Stranger" to the families of the three friends who died. Although a clever and engaging story device, the disparate stories tidy up a bit too quickly and neatly. However, the cast is entertaining, and the film is engaging throughout its 96-minute running time.

Merrill is solid as David Trask, a lawyer with his own issues, who links the stories. Shelley Winters shines as Binky Gay, an entertainer who never quite made the big time and lives in the shadow of her celebrity husband and mother-in-law. Winters's role is showy, and she plays both her character and Trask's enhanced version of her character with panache. Keenan Wynn is the perpetual clown, who grows tiresome to his friends and eventually to the audience. Beyond the four central characters, even the small parts are big in this film. A young Beatrice Straight plays Michael Rennie's wife; Evelyn Varden is Sally Carr, an aging nightclub headliner; and Bette Davis appears near the end to show her then husband, Merrill, how to face his own character's crisis.

"Phone Call from a Stranger" is not a classic, but rather a solid programmer from the early 1950's with an above-average cast and some good performances. While the film does not merit repeat viewings, except perhaps to appreciate a little known Bette Davis role, the story is told with a good pace, and any time spent in the company of these fine actors is well spent.

Gary Merrill is the stranger making the phone calls in "Phone Call from a Stranger," a 1952 film directed by Jean Negulesco and also starring Shelley Winters, Keenan Wynn, Michael Rennie, Beatrice Straight, Craig Stevens and Bette Davis. Unable to forgive his wife for an affair, David Trask gets on a plane, where, due to the plane being late and an unexpected stopover because of bad weather, he becomes friendly with three passengers: a performer (Winters), a salesman (Wynn) and an alcoholic attorney (Rennie) and hears their stories. The salesman seems a happy man with a knockout for a wife; the performer has a horrid mother-in-law, a former vaudeville star with whom she competes, but she loves her husband; and the attorney has resolved to go to the DA and admit responsibility for an accident that happened a few years earlier which has destroyed his marriage. When the plane crashes, Trask is the only survivor of the four. He visits each of the victims' families to pay his condolences and possibly put some matters right. Then he learns from one of the family members the importance of putting his own life back together.

This isn't a particularly big-budget film - it's in black and white; some of these actors were under contract to Fox; others are not huge names with the exception of Davis. Her role is short but worth the entire film, though all the performances are very good and the stories heartfelt. The attorney's family story is heavy drama, with the son believing his mother drove his father away. The performer's family story is the comic relief as the mother-in-law right out of hell gets her comeuppance. And the tear-jerker is the scene with the salesman's wife. Davis is often criticized for being overblown and mannered, and yet she was always capable of giving a restrained performance as she does here and also did in "All This and Heaven Too" and "Watch on the Rhine." There are other treats as well. Shelley Winters is pretty and vivacious in a wonderful role for her, Keenan Wynn is excellent as the loud salesman, and as the attorney, Rennie is an appropriately sad and reflective figure. Gary Merrill is very likable as Trask. Though he never really made it to big star status, he was a dependable actor, very handsome and masculine. Of course he and Davis had sparks in "All About Eve" - so much so that they got married in real life - and there's a nice chemistry between them here as well. It's nice to see them when they were happy together. They also did a very good British film together, "Another Man's Poison." My only complaint is the at times overpowering musical score.

Very entertaining and highly recommended, especially for Davis fans.

"Phone Call from a Stranger" tells the tale of four passengers (Merrill, Rennie, Wynn, and Winters) on a cross-country airplane trip. The four become friends and share personal thoughts before the plane crashes, killing all except Merrill, who sets out to contact the relatives of his dead friends. He finds that each family has a very different story to tell, and each has its own issues arising from the deaths of their relatives.

Extremely well-acted, directed and scripted film also has harrowing airplane footage and a very good ending. Merrill is top form, as is Winters and especially Rennie, who is haunted by an accident in which a colleague was killed years earlier. Unlike many modern movies, this one really leaves you with a profound message--the void that is left behind when someone suddenly dies.

Try to see it if you can, my AMC tape is several years old and I've enjoyed this film many times. Just be warned--people scared of flying may cringe at the nighttime approach to the Vega airport.

This is an interesting story with a great cast. The survivor of a plane crash meets the other people in the lives of those he met on the plane before the crash. This framework provides a fascinating study in conscience and human nature.

Various passengers (Shelley Winters , Gary Merrill , Keenan Wynn, Michael Rennie) meet at an airport and all of them make friendship. Having survived an air crash , one of the survivors visits the bereaved families of three fellow passengers with whom he had become friendly during the fateful flight . Five great stars in a masterpiece of bold and beloved emotions !

An interesting and decent but hardly ever outstanding dramatic compendium , dealing with a simple and plain plot about a survivor after a plane accident visits the families of three of the victims whom he met during the flight , being paced in good sense , sensibility and with plenty of emotion . Maudlin and adorable film with emotion , deep feeling and and intense drama . Compellingly performed by a nice main cast as Gary Merrill , Shelley Winters , Michael Rennie and Keenan Wynn .These great stars being well accompanied by a good support cast , such as : Evelyn Varden , Warren Stevens, Beatrice Straight , Craig Stevens , John Doucette , Nestor Paiva and Helen Westcott . Brief appearance by George Nader as a pilot and Bette Davis , then Gary Merrill's wife, shows up in a subordinate role as Keenan Wynn's spouse and moves things up a gear or two .

Being well written and produced by Nunnally Johnson. Displaying a stirring and memorable musical score by classic composer Franz Waxman . Equally , an atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Milton R. Krasner. This agreeable and sentimental weepie was competently directed by Jean Negulesco . This classy Hollywood director Jean Negulesco was an elegant and brilliant filmmaker who made notorious films with penchant for Musical, Comedy and Drama, such as : The invincible six, The best everything, Daddy long legs, Three coins in the fountain, How to marry a millionaire, Titanic, Phone call from a stranger, A woman's world, Three came home , Road house, Humoresque, among others. And of course his successful Belinda with the Oscarized Jane Wyman. Phone Call from a Stranger (1952) rating : 7.5/10. Better than average.