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IMDbPro

The Slender Thread

  • 19651965
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
2.2K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
25,856
4,080
Anne Bancroft and Sidney Poitier in The Slender Thread (1965)
College volunteer Alan Dyson is working alone at the crisis center one evening when he receives a telephone call from suicidal caller Inga Dyson.
Play trailer1:54
1 Video
98 Photos
Drama
College volunteer Alan is working alone at the crisis center one evening when he receives a telephone call from suicidal caller Inga Dyson.College volunteer Alan is working alone at the crisis center one evening when he receives a telephone call from suicidal caller Inga Dyson.College volunteer Alan is working alone at the crisis center one evening when he receives a telephone call from suicidal caller Inga Dyson.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
2.2K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
25,856
4,080
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Sydney Pollack
    • Writers
      • Shana Alexander(article)
      • Stirling Silliphant
      • David Rayfiel(uncredited)
    • Stars
      • Sidney Poitier
      • Anne Bancroft
      • Telly Savalas
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Sydney Pollack
    • Writers
      • Shana Alexander(article)
      • Stirling Silliphant
      • David Rayfiel(uncredited)
    • Stars
      • Sidney Poitier
      • Anne Bancroft
      • Telly Savalas
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 34User reviews
    • 18Critic reviews
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 2 wins & 4 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:54
    Official Trailer

    Photos98

    Sidney Poitier in The Slender Thread (1965)
    Anne Bancroft and Sidney Poitier in The Slender Thread (1965)
    Anne Bancroft and Sidney Poitier in The Slender Thread (1965)
    Sidney Poitier in The Slender Thread (1965)
    Sidney Poitier in The Slender Thread (1965)
    Sidney Poitier, Telly Savalas, Indus Arthur, and Jason Wingreen in The Slender Thread (1965)
    Sidney Poitier, Telly Savalas, Indus Arthur, Steven Hill, and Jason Wingreen in The Slender Thread (1965)
    Steven Hill in The Slender Thread (1965)
    Sidney Poitier, Telly Savalas, Indus Arthur, and Jason Wingreen in The Slender Thread (1965)
    Anne Bancroft in The Slender Thread (1965)
    Indus Arthur and Jason Wingreen in The Slender Thread (1965)
    Sidney Poitier and Telly Savalas in The Slender Thread (1965)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sidney Poitier
    Sidney Poitier
    • Alan Newell
    Anne Bancroft
    Anne Bancroft
    • Inga Dyson
    Telly Savalas
    Telly Savalas
    • Dr. Joe Coburn
    Steven Hill
    Steven Hill
    • Mark Dyson
    Edward Asner
    Edward Asner
    • Det. Judd Ridley
    Indus Arthur
    Indus Arthur
    • Marian
    Paul Newlan
    Paul Newlan
    • Sgt. Harry Ward
    Dabney Coleman
    Dabney Coleman
    • Charlie
    H.M. Wynant
    H.M. Wynant
    • Doctor Morris
    • (as H.N. Wynant)
    Bob Hoy
    Bob Hoy
    • Patrolman Steve Peters
    • (as Robert Hoy)
    Greg Jarvis
    Greg Jarvis
    • Chris Dyson
    Jason Wingreen
    Jason Wingreen
    • Medical Technician
    Marjorie Nelson
    Marjorie Nelson
    • Mrs. Thomas
    Steven Marlo
    Steven Marlo
    • Arthur Foss
    Thomas Hill
    Thomas Hill
    • Liquor Salesman
    Lane Bradford
    Lane Bradford
    • Al McCardle
    Janet Dudley
    • Edna
    John Napier
    • Dr. Alden Van
    • Director
      • Sydney Pollack
    • Writers
      • Shana Alexander(article)
      • Stirling Silliphant
      • David Rayfiel(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Although top-billed, Sidney Poitier and Anne Bancroft don't appear on-screen together in a single scene. Bancroft later repeated this odd accomplishment when she and Sir Anthony Hopkins co-starred, but played no scenes together, in 84 Charing Cross Road (1987).
    • Goofs
      After Inga attempts suicide by drowning herself in the bay, she arrives at hospital with perfectly styled hair.
    • Quotes

      Mark Dyson: [to Inga] Do you think that not getting caught in a lie is the same as telling the truth?

    • Connections
      Featured in The Directors: The Films of Sydney Pollack (2000)
    • Soundtracks
      Preludium
      Written and Produced by Quincy Jones

      Performed by Quincy Jones

    User reviews34

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    THE SLENDER THREAD (Sydney Pollack, 1965) ***
    The late Sydney Pollack tried his hand at several different genres and succeeded in most; since he never demonstrated an individualistic style (for many he was the antithesis of an auteur!), he could adapt himself to virtually anything (and Pollack often set his sights on grand themes) – though the end result would always be somewhat artificial (if undeniably slick) because of the director’s impersonal approach!

    Anyway, for his debut film, he settled on an intimate melodrama – shot on location in glorious black-and-white (incidentally, all his subsequent work would be in color). The plot is simple: Sidney Poitier is a student who works nights at a Seattle Crisis Clinic; on one occasion, a call comes in where a wealthy socialite at the end of her tether (Anne Bancroft) declares she has deliberately overdosed on barbiturates! She phoned not so much because she wanted help but rather so that someone will know of her outcome; Poitier, however, determines to keep her on the line – while he sets in motion a complex operation in order to trace Bancroft’s whereabouts and save her life.

    For about the first third of the film, Bancroft barely appears: we only hear her world-weary voice booming across the room at the clinic, Poitier having switched the call to the loudspeaker; eventually, she starts to let her hair down and, in intermittent flashbacks, we see her movements during the last few days (which boils down to her alienation from familial cords due to a past mistake which has come back to haunt her). While this was certainly a way to do it, I’m baffled as to why we never cut to where Bancroft is now until the last act: consequently, we have to contend with a fair bit of padding during the ‘re-enactments’ (which could have easily been covered via dialogue delivered by the heroine)! That said, I guess it was a conscious decision on Pollack’s part to ‘open up’ the drama (not merely to include other characters – most prominently, Steven Hill as the woman’s husband – but also to utilize a number of exteriors, where he was able to exercise a keen eye for realistic detail).

    Still, the film compels attention despite an essentially contrived central situation: for instance, at this point, it’s best not to go into how Bancroft manages to remain lucid for so long or, even more importantly, why she just doesn’t hang up on Poitier; and what about the plausibility of the latter’s temper-tantrums (to the exasperation of clinic psychiatrist Telly Savalas!) to coerce the woman into reacting, thus hanging on to life in spite of herself? But that’s Hollywood for you…and, in a talky film such as this, the emphasis is on the writing (by Stirling Silliphant) and the acting (Bancroft is typically excellent and Poitier’s contribution, amounting to a variation on his PRESSURE POINT [1962] role, just as good if slightly overstated in the long run). Even so, as a counter-balance to the ongoing histrionics, reasonable suspense – aided by up-to-date methods of detection – is generated throughout by the race-against-time to locate Bancroft.

    At the end of the day, THE SLENDER THREAD emerges as a quite impressive (and generally still powerful) first outing – recalling the gritty work of many a contemporary film-maker who, like Pollack, had emerged from TV.
    helpful•6
    1
    • Bunuel1976
    • Jun 23, 2008

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 16, 1965 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Call Me Back
    • Filming locations
      • Seattle, Washington, USA
    • Production company
      • Stephen Alexander Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 38 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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