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The Slender Thread (1965)
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Overview
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Director:
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Release Date:
28 March 1966 (Sweden)
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Plot:
A college volunteer at the crisis phone gets a call from a suicide caller. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars.
Another 1 nomination
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NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Sydney Pollack Dies at 73
(From IMDb News. 27 May 2008, 4:12 AM, PDT)
Director Sydney Pollack dies at 73
(From digitalspy. 27 May 2008, 1:39 AM, PDT)
(From IMDb News. 27 May 2008, 4:12 AM, PDT)
Director Sydney Pollack dies at 73
(From digitalspy. 27 May 2008, 1:39 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Bancroft is excellent...
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Sidney Poitier | ... | Alan Newell | |
| Anne Bancroft | ... | Inga Dyson | |
| Telly Savalas | ... | Dr. Joe Coburn | |
| Steven Hill | ... | Mark Dyson | |
| Edward Asner | ... | Det. Judd Ridley | |
| Indus Arthur | ... | Marian | |
| Paul Newlan | ... | Sgt. Harry Ward | |
| Dabney Coleman | ... | Charlie | |
| H.M. Wynant | ... | Doctor Morris (as H. N. Wynant) | |
| Robert F. Hoy | ... | Patrolman Steve Peters (as Robert Hoy) | |
| Greg Jarvis | ... | Christopher 'Chris' Dyson | |
| Jason Wingreen | ... | Medical technician | |
| Marjorie Nelson | ... | Mrs. Thomas | |
| Steven Marlo | ... | Arthur Foss | |
| Thomas Hill | ... | Liquor salesman |
Additional Details
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Runtime:
98 min
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Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
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Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Originally titled "Cross My Heart And Hope To Die" and slated to star Elizabeth Ashley (who was forced to drop out over contract dispute)
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Goofs:
Factual errors: After Inga attempts suicide by drowning herself in the bay, she arrives at hospital with perfectly styled hair.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in Three Days of the Condor (1975)
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This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (23 total)
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This film tackles subject matter which we still do not see addressed as often as it could be, with Sidney Poitier as a young suicide hot-line worker/college student who works helping out a Seattle psychiatrist Dr. Coburn (well-portrayed by Telly Savalas).
At the time this was even more of a taboo subject. A housewife feeling despair, Bancroft portrays her alienation and desperation sympathetically and in an understated manner. She has a child from her first boyfriend, concealed this from her husband (well-portrayed by Steven Hill) Her husband becomes angry and she begins to feel as if her life is a sham. Her office job no longer satisfying, she takes to wandering the city of Seattle, there are several intriguing scenes of the coastline.
There is one moving scene where she is on the beach and comes across a small group of children who are trying to rescue an injured bird. She rushes to a liquor store to buy some brandy (not sure how this can quite help the bird, but anyway...) she returns to the beach to find the children have abandoned the bird. It is an effective and disturbing scene.
Poitier is outstanding as usual, in that he is trying to locate Bancroft when she calls threatening suicide. She has checked into the Hyatt Hotel somewhere in the city. He becomes alternately frustrated, caring, sympathetic, angry and joyous in various aspects of the film.
Overall this is an excellent film with some very good performances. Highly recommended. 9/10.