Stolen Hours (1963)

Mike, a famed racing driver and an old flame of hers, is worried that Laura may be ill. Tricking her into a doctor's examination, she discovers she is; a brain operation to remove a tumor ... See full summary »

Director:

Daniel Petrie (as Daniel M. Petrie)

Writers:

George Emerson Brewer Jr. (play), Bertram Bloch (play)

Stars:

Susan Hayward, Michael Craig, Diane Baker

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Susan Hayward	...	Laura Pember
Michael Craig	...	Dr. John Carmody
Diane Baker	...	Ellen
Edward Judd	...	Mike Bannerman
Paul Rogers	...	Dr. Eric McKenzie
Robert Bacon	...	Peter
Paul Stassino	...	Dalporto
Jerry Desmonde	...	Colonel
Ellen McIntosh	...	Miss Kendall
Gwen Nelson	...	Hospital Sister
Peter Madden	...	Reynolds
Joan Young
Joan Newell	...	Mrs. Hewitt
Chet Baker	...	Himself

Storyline

Mike, a famed racing driver and an old flame of hers, is worried that Laura may be ill. Tricking her into a doctor's examination, she discovers she is; a brain operation to remove a tumor is performed and her symptoms disappear. All isn't well, however, but she is unaware of it, and she and her doctor fall in love. Finding out she is not actually cured, Laura renounces her new love and goes back to her old "jet-set" ways wasting the time she has left until a racing accident shows her how important the hours she has left are.

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Plot Keywords:

automobile racing | terminal illness | melodrama | brain tumor | based on play | 

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Taglines:

Do you know what they say about Laura Pember...? They say she uses men like pep-up pills!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 October 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Summer Flight

Filming Locations:

Fowey, Cornwall, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Barbican Films, The Mirisch Corporation

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Laura's car, first seen at the beginning of the film, is a 1962 Mercedes-Benz 220 SE convertible. In excellent condition, at auction in 2019, this car could be worth over $100,000.

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Goofs

In the garden scene with Laura, her sister Ellen, Mike & John, Ellen and Mike have a scene where they are looking at Laura and they move closely together, almost touching. The camera immediately changes to a distance shot with all four people in it, and now Ellen and Mark area almost 2 feet apart.

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Connections

Version of Broadway Television Theatre: Dark Victory (1953)

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Soundtracks

Stolen Hours
Music by Mort Lindsey
Lyrics by Marilyn Bergman (as Marilyn Keith) and Alan Bergman

User Reviews

Good re-working of classic material, with one critical misfire

A very intelligent screenplay by Jessamyn West, updating the classic 1939 "Dark Victory" (which in turn was derived from the 1934 Broadway play of the same name). Although some of the character structuring is changed (the best friend of the protagonist now becomes her younger sister, for example) and the geography moves from NYC, Long Island and Vermont to London and the English countryside, still the basic story and message remain intact - to use one's life to achieve something of value. My only complaint, and an ambivalent one to be sure, is the casting of Susan Hayward in the lead. Although this legendary actress does a terrific job with the part, she was simply too old for the role at the time. (In "D.V.", the doomed heroine was 23, in this picture Hayward was already 45 - so her untimely death seems a little less tragic, the talk of having children with her much-younger doctor-husband is less credible, etc.); overall, however, a perfectly sound film, with some truly lovely photography of the Kentish countryside and the Cornish coast.