Appel d'un inconnu

Phone Call From A Stranger casts Gary Merrill, Shelley Winters, Michael Rennie and Keenan Wynn as four complete strangers who bond during a cross country flight that ends in tragedy. Of the four Merrill survives the plane crash and feels it his duty to call on the survivors that the three others left. In the process he works out a few issues for himself.

Michael Rennie was a prominent doctor who became a whole lot less prominent after he got out of a vehicular homicide charge by throwing the blame on the other man in the car. Merrill calls on wife Beatrice Straight and son Ted Donaldson who've been living with an alcoholic for many years.

Shelley Winters had left her husband Craig Stevens and his domineering mother Evelyn Varden to seek some fame and fortune on the stage. She was returning home in defeat. Varden is one truly hateful woman, a kind of Sophie Tucker like entertainer on steroids. Merrill conceives it his duty to give Varden a temporary comeuppance of sorts.

The most poignant tale is that of Keenan Wynn. Wynn is a traveling salesman, one of those characters who is constantly 'on'. Keenan borrowed a bit from his borscht belt comedian character from The Hucksters for this role. He carries a picture of his wife Bette Davis from her pinup girl days in a Betty Grable poise in a bathing suit. The Davis that Merrill meets is quite a bit different than what Wynn showed the others. In fact Davis when she recites her own story paints a picture of Wynn as a person of real character that you would never suspect in meeting him casually. This role may have been Keenan Wynn's best screen performance, at least I think so.

The Davis/Wynn story is the best, but the others aren't bad either. The writing by Nunnally Johnson from an I.A.R. Wylie story is just superb and Jean Negulesco gets great performances from his cast. Phone Call From A Stranger is a soap opera, but an intelligent and moving one that may wring a tear from a few hardened hearts.

"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.

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.

While Gary Merrill's main claim to fame was his brief marriage to Bette Davis, he was a minor Hollywood star on his own--playing a variety of bit parts. However, this film features him as a survivor of a plane crash who seeks out family members of victims he met on the trip. And, he does a competent job and proves he really could act. Unfortunately, he was far from a handsome leading man and once he was divorced from Ms. Davis, his career pretty much disappeared.

In addition to his excellent performance, the movie is so well-written. The vignettes where he meets the families are very touching and sometimes very ironic (such as the one he plays with Ms. Davis). It is a strange but well-executed film that deserves to be remembered.

Surviving a plane crash and then going on to meet the families of those who did not. What an intriguing idea! How morbid, to say the least; but yet this is a well-done film mostly because of a fine ensemble cast.

Shelley Winters is one of the passengers who did not make it. Following a difficult life and breakup, she is one of the passengers who interacted with the survivor.

What do you say to the families at a time like this? How does one feel? Why did they survive the crash and the others did not? We face serious questions of ethics and moral values in this film.

Surprisingly, Bette Davis took a supporting role in this film. She is quite effective as the bedridden wife of one of the victims. No matter how large or small the part, Miss Davis always could figure it out!