|
Phone Call from a Stranger | 
| Actors: Eve Arden, Hugh Beaumont, Perdita Chandler, Harry V. Cheshire, Bette Davis
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $9.92
You Save: $10.06 (50%)
New (41) Used (8) Collectible (1) from $6.99
Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 40483
Format: Black & White, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.4
MPN: FOXD2250728D
UPC: 024543507284
EAN: 0024543507284
ASIN: B0012KSUUO
Theatrical Release Date: 1952
Release Date: April 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 04/08/2008 Run time: 96 minutes Rating: Nr
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Decent, short but good performance by Bette Davis December 12, 2008
Manuel Pestalozzi
This movie is a kind of a precursor of Peter Weir's Fearless. It is mainly about bereavement and how we deal with it. The subject matter is treated in an un-melodramatic way and with tact. Bette Davis is very strong as the bedridden wife who meets the survivor of a plain crash in which her husband died.
Good film, but beware! July 7, 2008
J. Robbins (Orlando, FL)
As the sole survivor of a plane crash, Gary Merrill becomes dedicated to tying up all of the loose ends of his friends who died in the crash. While mending the lives of others, he discovers a way to mend his own.
The problem I had with this film is that I really expected it to be a Bette Davis picture. I was very disappointed to find that after waiting for over half the movie, Bette's part was only a cameo. She gives a great performance in the film, and her sad saga could break your heart, but it wasn't what I had expected.
However, when I reevaluated this film, I actually quite enjoyed it. Shelley Winters is quite comical, and Gary Merrill is all man. The plot is original, and the stories of the passengers aboard the doomed flight range from hilarious to tear-jerking. It's at least worth a rental.
 More than a plane crash! April 10, 2008
C. Scott Harrison
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have waited years for this terrific film to come out on DVD. Though a trifle melodramatic by today's jaded standards, there is an endearing quality to this film. The cast is perfect, yes, even Davis playing against type!, especially Merrill. Fascinating, thoughtful and absorbing film. Very glad it is finally out. Once started you cannot stop viewing- even for a bathroom break!
1952 Bette Davis & Gary Merrill Doing a Morality Movie? April 2, 2008
dr. m~d (USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The lives of 4 passengers, who randomly meet before a flight to Los Angeles, become eternally braided. Nunnally Johnson & co-writer, I.A.R. Wylie come dangerously close to using the story from Thornton Wilder's (1927) novel, "The Bridge of San Luis Rey," without acknowleging it. Opps!
Before their flight is delayed by weather, 4 travelers commune in the airport's cafe. Playing the lead role is Bette Davis' 4th (& last) with her 4th husband, Gary Merrill. He's David Trask, a lawyer who's just left his adulterous wife immediately after she confesses to him that her affair is over. He's the serious & ethical guy in the movie compared to the other 3 characters.
One's Dr. Robert Fortness (Michael Rennie), a physician who's hiding something horrible. The second is Binky Gay (Shelley Winters). She's a stripper with a attractive-to-men charm who lusts after having good times. A fun 'girl', they'd say about such a woman. The third is an obnoxious prankster, "Good Time" Eddie Hoke (Keenan Wynn). He's a traveling salesman for a novelty company who can't shut up, has to be the center of attention.
The chemistry between these four mixes swell enough that they decide to stay in touch with each other. So, they exchange contact information while awaiting their flight in an airport cafe'. The more time they spend together, the more they reveal of themselves to each other. For instance, because of the trouble the physician is in, he hires Trask to be his attorney & thus, confides his secret to Trask.
Binky is an armchair psychoanalyst by default. Since she's had men's drunken hearts poured out to her repeatedly, given her profession, Binky's got a knack for doing instinctive personality analyses. She does this with the group of men & they learn that she's more than a "bimbo."
The never serious Good-Timing-Eddie whips out a wallet photo of his wife & passes it around. To everyone's astonishment she's a raving beauty with whom he's madly in love.
By now you might say, 'hey, it's 1952, Bette Davis has made it to the big time, where is she in this film?' I was thinking the same thing until she finally appeared. Believe me, without giving away the best parts of the story, she makes her 'entrance' right on time. Davis (predictably) steals the show in a supporting role, with her real-life husband playing the lead to her brief but key appearance.
Don't go away because the last scene with obnoxious Eddie's wife delivers the main point of the motion picture. It is such a surprise ending that it provides a feeling of being astounded because as the audience we're left questioning what really matters in our own lives? Which of our precious values is worth compromising & for whom?
After all is said & done in this high drama movie, then the viewer knows they've just been drawn cleverly into a morality movie.
I'll warn you though, throughout I'd be surprised if you didn't wonder over & again, 'what the heck is this all about?' 'What is going to hold all of these loose pieces together?' I'd also be extremely surprised if the word obnoxious, when it came to characterizing Good-Time-Eddie, wasn't one of those absolute suitably good fits.
Like everything else that Bette Davis --chose herself-- to perform in, she had extra good reasons that had so much to do with her own set of values. In this movie, Davis' message is soft spoken, but quite clear.
HEALING THROUGH TRAGEDY.... January 24, 2008
Mark Norvell (HOUSTON)
24 out of 25 found this review helpful
Engrossing film about a man (Gary Merrill) who befriends a small group of fellow passengers on a plane trip. When the plane crashes, he alone survives. Disturbed by the stories the people he befriended told him about their lives, he sets out to contact their families and help set things straight. In doing so, he brings healing to them and to himself with his own problems. The passengers include Keenan Wynn as an overly gregarious salesman bragging about his "sexy" wife and Shelley Winters as a stripper whose mother-in-law had no respect for her. Bette Davis appears as the widow of a victim with a tragic story of her own. The stories are told episodically as Merrill contacts each family. This is one of Merrill's finest performances. He was married to Davis at the time. Entire cast is excellent and their stories are touching and tragic with slight dashes of humor. A worthwhile film that is entertaining and with a timely message about forgiveness. Enjoy.
|
|
|
Proud member of the Celebrity Pro Network. Make sure you check out these other great CelebrityPro network sites:
Lyrics Database
Celebrity Blog
Celebrity Thing
Celebrity PC
Latest Celebrity Photos
Portal
Travel Photos
Quotes
Flash Games
|
Is there a better
price available?
Find out:
|
|
|
|
