This film was
inspired by a Life Magazine article by Shana Alexander and it’s based on actual
events. Alan Newell is a
psychology student attending college in Seattle, Washington. He can get college credits for volunteering at a
crisis center. He is at the clinic
alone, he receives a call from a woman and she has taken sleeping pills. He continues to talk to her and he
arranges for the telephone company to trace the call. The police and fire department also get involved. They all must work together to save
Inga Dyson from dying. She has
husband and a young son, she feels they are lost to her and she has nothing
to live for. She can’t forgive
herself for something she’s done and she feels her family cannot forgive her
either. She thinks she is better off dead??
This is a black and
white film. The entire time that
Alan is on the phone you don’t know what the outcome will be for Inga. What happened in her life is shown in
flashbacks. During this time
period it was much more difficult to trace a call because phone lines had to be
traced through electro-mechanical telephone central office switches. I liked the cars, clothing, the views
of an older Seattle and the social mores of this time period. 3 ½* (I liked this movie)
98
min, Drama directed by Sydney Pollack with Sidney Poitier, Anne Bancroft, Telly
Savalas, Steen Hill, Edward Asner, Indus Arthur, Paul Newlan, Dabney Coleman,
H. M. Wynant, Bob Hoy Greg Jarvis, Jason Wingreen.
Note: Imdb 7.0 out of 10, 76% audience on
Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 46 reviews, TCM user rating 4.3*
out of 5*.
Special
Note: Filmed at Paramount Studios,
Los Angeles, California; University of Washington, Seattle Center, Seattle,
Washington. The original title was
Cross My Heart And Hope To Die and Elizabeth Ashley was cast in the role of
Inga. This is the feature film
directorial debut of Sydney Pollack.
He previously did all his work with television. Poitier and Bancroft do not appear on
the screen together in any scene.
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