I saw this title coming up on TCM, read the synopsis, and KNEW instantly that this one I had to see. And like I said, I should have known. Poitier is probably one of the top ten dramatic actors of ALL TIME! I'm not sure I've ever seen a bad film that he was in. This little gem, was tremendous. I don't comment on many film's but when I see one I haven't seen before, and it's as good as this one, I can't restrain myself. Watch it when/if you can, and you won't be disappointed! There are many subplots and twists to this film, and it has many fine performances, including Telly Savalas, and Ann Bancroft. There are small parts, for a young Dabney Coleman, and one of Ed Asner's early ones as well. I am a classic movie buff, with over 800 titles in my library, and I simply love it when I come across a new one that I hadn't seen/heard of before. Like I said, Watch this one when/if you can.
36 Reviews
Anne Bancroft, RIP
lee_eisenberg2 December 2005
I believe that this was Sydney Pollack's directorial debut. If so, then he certainly gave an interesting insight into his future work. Seattle college student Alan Newell (Sidney Poitier) is working at a crisis hotline center when he gets a call from housewife Inge Dyson (Anne Bancroft), who is reaching the breaking point. Because they can't see each other, it gives the movie a real sense of tension, as implied by the title - even if it drags a little bit at times.
A previous reviewer said that Poitier plays his usual role: a morally superior black man in a white-dominated society. That's partly true, but here, he has a job that anyone could have, and his race doesn't really matter (although as the reviewer noted, they could have been subtly talking about race). As for Anne Bancroft, her death six months ago brings her filmography to mind. This may have not been her most famous role, but I would recommend it.
A previous reviewer said that Poitier plays his usual role: a morally superior black man in a white-dominated society. That's partly true, but here, he has a job that anyone could have, and his race doesn't really matter (although as the reviewer noted, they could have been subtly talking about race). As for Anne Bancroft, her death six months ago brings her filmography to mind. This may have not been her most famous role, but I would recommend it.
mid-60s time capsule of Seattle
DAW-828 February 2005
I remember seeing this film a few years ago and it stuck with me for some reason. looking at it again, i know why. The whole thing has a mid-1960s melancholy to it, almost with a tinge of the horror films that would emerge in the late 1960s, like rosemary's baby, or, roman polanski's first horror film 'repulsion' which was made in the same year as slender thread. one of the most amazing things about this film is the opening sequence which uses all kinds of staples of film shooting styles and techniques of the mid-late 60s, which themselves add a melancholic tone to the film. There is the space needle, which looks positively cold-war futuristic with the car going up the side of it; the world's fair architecture with its modernist water fountains--which foreground the first shot a desperate-looking Anne Bancroft, and of course, the locks, dams and highways of the Seattle waterfront. You can't help but get nostalgic seeing the Seattle of this time. Not to mention that Anne Bancroft's husband is a fisherman. I've never been to Seattle but i'm pretty sure most of this stuff is gone. (wasn't there some attempt to save the old docks in a big standoff in 1964?). If you want to see another view of Seattle in the early 70s, I recommend seeing "Cinderella Liberty" with James Caan. Then there are even more visual and aural elements which help create the mood: the shots of the 'backroom' of the telephone company--with its immense network of phone lines--actual physical lines!--and the women operators unplugging and plugging cables to connect one line to another. These are bygone days! You wonder if Sydney Pollack wasn't subtly, or not so subtly, making a comment on the postwar bureaucratized society itself. Another treat is the 'Hyatt hotel' sign towards the end of the film. Total 1960s visual. And of course, Quincy Jones' soundtrack with some great Sam and Dave-style jazzy organ music.
Visuals aside, this is a great film. Again, dealing with some rather dark issues. The scene where Anne Bancroft comes home and sees her husband in the living room looking depressed...you don't know if he's having a psychotic episode, has lost his job or is on LSD. Anne Bancroft, overall, is a disturbing character. Perhaps more disturbing is that she would play another tragic character two years later - Mrs. Robinson, in The Graduate. Sidney Poitier is in usual form - the studious, morally-superior black in a predominantly white setting. I like what someone else here said - that the film very subtly has a subtext on race (how could a 1960s film showing blacks and whites in the same frame not? How could we as Americans not read race into the film?) while never dealing with race explicitly. This is actually one reason I think Sidney Poitier's characters and films are an important, and yet lost, representation of race relations. For all the flack that he got in the racially charged mood of the 1960s as an assimilationist good black who whites could accept, especially as he was the first black protagonist in films (it didn't help that he was West Indian, having grown up in the Bahamas). to me I still see some kind of Caribbean AND Black persona in his characters which I think he 'sneaks in' in subtle ways. His classic move is some breaking point at which he can't take any more -- whether its racial bigotry, disrespect for authority, or something else -- and he delivers some great speech of moral indignation. He does it in 'pressure point', in 'to sir with love', 'in the heat of the night', and maybe a few others. It may be pretentious at times, but this 'style' disappeared after the late 60s as blaxploitation with its overly masculinized and violent characters became the dominant representation in film.
Anyway, all the political and social analysis aside, this is really a great film.
Visuals aside, this is a great film. Again, dealing with some rather dark issues. The scene where Anne Bancroft comes home and sees her husband in the living room looking depressed...you don't know if he's having a psychotic episode, has lost his job or is on LSD. Anne Bancroft, overall, is a disturbing character. Perhaps more disturbing is that she would play another tragic character two years later - Mrs. Robinson, in The Graduate. Sidney Poitier is in usual form - the studious, morally-superior black in a predominantly white setting. I like what someone else here said - that the film very subtly has a subtext on race (how could a 1960s film showing blacks and whites in the same frame not? How could we as Americans not read race into the film?) while never dealing with race explicitly. This is actually one reason I think Sidney Poitier's characters and films are an important, and yet lost, representation of race relations. For all the flack that he got in the racially charged mood of the 1960s as an assimilationist good black who whites could accept, especially as he was the first black protagonist in films (it didn't help that he was West Indian, having grown up in the Bahamas). to me I still see some kind of Caribbean AND Black persona in his characters which I think he 'sneaks in' in subtle ways. His classic move is some breaking point at which he can't take any more -- whether its racial bigotry, disrespect for authority, or something else -- and he delivers some great speech of moral indignation. He does it in 'pressure point', in 'to sir with love', 'in the heat of the night', and maybe a few others. It may be pretentious at times, but this 'style' disappeared after the late 60s as blaxploitation with its overly masculinized and violent characters became the dominant representation in film.
Anyway, all the political and social analysis aside, this is really a great film.
Telephone Extension Taken Literally
BaronBl00d25 June 2008
Sydney Pollack's first feature directorial debut after years of directing episodic television is crisp, tense, and generally very well-acted. Anne Bancroft plays a woman facing a turning point hard to cope with in her life and Sidney Poitier plays a young college student raking in hours at a suicide hot-line extending a figurative helping hand. Though the two great actors share no scenes together - they have a certain chemistry as they talk, talk, and talk on the phones, and we are given flashback sequences showing us how and why Bancroft is fighting her new found depression. Though the story itself is rather mundane in terms of the impetus for her disposition, the dialog and performances easily make up for any inadequacies. Both Bancroft and Poitier really shine in their roles and the rest of the cast - especially Telly Savalas do fine work. It is evident that Pollack was honing his craft but also possessed a great deal of ability in terms of framing a shot and creating a strong pace and presence throughout the picture.
A True Classic
ivan-224 March 2002
I saw it years ago (because they don't show it anymore) and I loved it. This is one of the best films I have ever seen. I am not such a big fan of drama, but this mixture of drama and suspense, coupled with a touching homage to the selflessness and compassion of the suicide prevention workers, is simply breathtaking. I also liked the fact that race is never an issue, yet it does loom between the lines (she can't see his color, so, in what sense does it even exist?). Bancroft and Poitier are among my favorite stars because so many of their films are so good. I always want to know: what role does an actor have in selecting his movie roles? Actors are - I hope - not only actors, but selectors of roles. That is a critical role, because there is no good acting in a bad movie.
Overlooked But Excellent Film
DKosty12330 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Anne Bancroft is terrific in this as the suicidal wife who feels she has hurt her husband too much by not telling him for 12 years that their son is not his. She plays the role very convincingly.
Sidney Portier is great as the crisis line counselor caught alone who needs help & reaches deep within himself to keep her on the phone as he tries desperately to identify & save her. A fine job & surprising a strong support role by Telly Savalas as his supervisor trying to help him as he comes in.
This is a big name cast, but once you get past those 3, the rest of the folks all have minor roles. In a way the film tries to simulate the timing of the Western Classic "High Noon". It attempts in real time speed to try & find Bancrofts character after she has over dosed on prescription drugs. For some reason, it is not quite as effective as the Western but that is only because we don't have a gun fight when time runs out. Suicide is not the same.
One of Sydney Pollacks earlier efforts & I think if it had been later in his career in might have been done better. Some scenes show Pollack is still learning, or that someone else at the studio was cutting the films scenes for him. This one is not as polished as his later films.
In this case excellent work by Bancroft & Portier carry this film. If you like either of these folks, this is a must see for you.
Sidney Portier is great as the crisis line counselor caught alone who needs help & reaches deep within himself to keep her on the phone as he tries desperately to identify & save her. A fine job & surprising a strong support role by Telly Savalas as his supervisor trying to help him as he comes in.
This is a big name cast, but once you get past those 3, the rest of the folks all have minor roles. In a way the film tries to simulate the timing of the Western Classic "High Noon". It attempts in real time speed to try & find Bancrofts character after she has over dosed on prescription drugs. For some reason, it is not quite as effective as the Western but that is only because we don't have a gun fight when time runs out. Suicide is not the same.
One of Sydney Pollacks earlier efforts & I think if it had been later in his career in might have been done better. Some scenes show Pollack is still learning, or that someone else at the studio was cutting the films scenes for him. This one is not as polished as his later films.
In this case excellent work by Bancroft & Portier carry this film. If you like either of these folks, this is a must see for you.
THE SLENDER THREAD (Sydney Pollack, 1965) ***
Bunuel197623 June 2008
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.
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.
Bancroft is excellent...
MarieGabrielle26 July 2007
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.
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.
Sidney Pollack the best!
tommathensik20 December 2021
What I enjoy about this film was the accuracy and careful attention to detail that Pollack gave to this picture! Granted- the cast was great and had me on the edge of my seat but being a retired telephone technician really hooked me!
I am glad that Pacific North West Bell gave Sidney permission to film inside its central offices and that he spent extra time in filming the actual trace sequences in both types of switching equipment (I trained and operated the Western Electric crossbar switch depicted in the film) and lost myself in years ago when I worked for Bell!
I spent a lot of time tracing 911 calls through the crossbar switches and also wondered about the final results. But modern technology caught up and computers did the trace in a fraction of the time it took to call a tech out to the CO, trace the call and give the information to the operator supervisor or the 911 call-centre!
I hope this movie makes a comeback soon
Thomas P. Mathensik.
I am glad that Pacific North West Bell gave Sidney permission to film inside its central offices and that he spent extra time in filming the actual trace sequences in both types of switching equipment (I trained and operated the Western Electric crossbar switch depicted in the film) and lost myself in years ago when I worked for Bell!
I spent a lot of time tracing 911 calls through the crossbar switches and also wondered about the final results. But modern technology caught up and computers did the trace in a fraction of the time it took to call a tech out to the CO, trace the call and give the information to the operator supervisor or the 911 call-centre!
I hope this movie makes a comeback soon
Thomas P. Mathensik.
Over 50 years later it keeps you on the edge of your seat..
AlsExGal27 February 2017
...even if it couldn't be made today, at least the way it was made then.
It was a terrific suspense movie that had the added benefit of showing Poitier in a totally race-neutral role as young psychology student Alan Newell who is volunteering at the local suicide hotline crisis center on a night that he has every reason to believe will be quiet...and then Inga Dyson (Ann Bancroft) calls him. She has just taken a bottle of barbiturates, does not want to be rescued, but does want to talk. So Alan has to keep his cool and keep Inga on the line long enough to be found, and she only has about 90 minutes to live.
What makes this movie totally anachronistic today is that the entire plot centers around a coordinated effort by scores of public servants in Seattle to trace Inga's phone number and save her before the pills do their job. Of course it would take about 10 seconds for the line to be traced today, which would kind of do away with the suspense.
The suspense is that her call COULD be traced, but it requires the huge telephone company building with countless thousands of connecting plugs and wires that had to be narrowed down, plus the police and fire departments and the State Department of Motor Vehicles, in order to locate the caller's number and where she was calling from. It was like a giant public works department that gave employment to pretty much every proactive player we see in the movie.
In the character development department we have a conversation between Alan an Inga in which we see how she got to the point of despair. It is one part of unforgiveness on her husband's part for a deed done before they were ever married, too much time on Inga's hands one day as the husband continues to stay emotionally detached from her as though she is some unclean thing, the fact that she wanted to talk to somebody about how she felt but could find nobody who would, and the final straw involves the death of an injured bird that is regarded callously by those around her while she tries to help.
In addition to Poitier and Bancroft, Steven Hill gives a chilling and highly credible performance as the unforgiving husband who's driven Bancroft to her suicide attempt. He's such a creepy character that he makes us almost want to force him to swallow those pills instead, and that's a sign that he plays the part to perfection.
Highly recommended because the emotions still ring true even if the technology is long gone.
It was a terrific suspense movie that had the added benefit of showing Poitier in a totally race-neutral role as young psychology student Alan Newell who is volunteering at the local suicide hotline crisis center on a night that he has every reason to believe will be quiet...and then Inga Dyson (Ann Bancroft) calls him. She has just taken a bottle of barbiturates, does not want to be rescued, but does want to talk. So Alan has to keep his cool and keep Inga on the line long enough to be found, and she only has about 90 minutes to live.
What makes this movie totally anachronistic today is that the entire plot centers around a coordinated effort by scores of public servants in Seattle to trace Inga's phone number and save her before the pills do their job. Of course it would take about 10 seconds for the line to be traced today, which would kind of do away with the suspense.
The suspense is that her call COULD be traced, but it requires the huge telephone company building with countless thousands of connecting plugs and wires that had to be narrowed down, plus the police and fire departments and the State Department of Motor Vehicles, in order to locate the caller's number and where she was calling from. It was like a giant public works department that gave employment to pretty much every proactive player we see in the movie.
In the character development department we have a conversation between Alan an Inga in which we see how she got to the point of despair. It is one part of unforgiveness on her husband's part for a deed done before they were ever married, too much time on Inga's hands one day as the husband continues to stay emotionally detached from her as though she is some unclean thing, the fact that she wanted to talk to somebody about how she felt but could find nobody who would, and the final straw involves the death of an injured bird that is regarded callously by those around her while she tries to help.
In addition to Poitier and Bancroft, Steven Hill gives a chilling and highly credible performance as the unforgiving husband who's driven Bancroft to her suicide attempt. He's such a creepy character that he makes us almost want to force him to swallow those pills instead, and that's a sign that he plays the part to perfection.
Highly recommended because the emotions still ring true even if the technology is long gone.
A solid screenplay
maisannes7 January 2002
Sydney Pollack's first as a director stars Sidney Poitier as an intern at a Seattle suicide hotline and Anne Bancroft as the barbituate swallower. Cast includes Telly Savalas, Ed Asner and (HOORAY!) Steven Hill (best known as the gravel-voiced head lawyer in Law and Order.) Enough gruff-but-lovables for ya?
It is completely dialogue-driven drama, so it must have something special to overcome my biases against that form, such as:
1. Details. Learn how caller-ID/*69 was done in the analog world. See each level of interaction between the fire dept/phone co/police/hospital/etc. A tribute to the beginnings of the modern rescue squad safety net.
2. The first Poitier role I know of that doesn't dwell on his race. Content of character over color of skin indeed.
3. The tension is not "I'm going to talk you out of taking the pills." The pills are already being digested; instead, the goal is to keep Bancroft on the line so she can be found before she dies. This slight tweak forces the screenplay away from some easy cliches.
Rates as a 6 out of 10. (I'm a tough grader)
It is completely dialogue-driven drama, so it must have something special to overcome my biases against that form, such as:
1. Details. Learn how caller-ID/*69 was done in the analog world. See each level of interaction between the fire dept/phone co/police/hospital/etc. A tribute to the beginnings of the modern rescue squad safety net.
2. The first Poitier role I know of that doesn't dwell on his race. Content of character over color of skin indeed.
3. The tension is not "I'm going to talk you out of taking the pills." The pills are already being digested; instead, the goal is to keep Bancroft on the line so she can be found before she dies. This slight tweak forces the screenplay away from some easy cliches.
Rates as a 6 out of 10. (I'm a tough grader)
Excellent drama, with two great stars
Boyo-227 November 2000
Sidney Poitier and Anne Bancroft do not have any scenes together in this movie, which is about his attempts to keep her on the telephone long enough to trace the call, since she's just taken an overdose of pills. It may sound stagnant but it never is - there is some great cinematography and location shooting (in Seattle). A lot of the story is flashbacks, as you find out why Anne has tried to off herself. Her performance is poignant and she never overdoes it; Sidney is perfect, as always.
Tech credits are first rate - scoring by Quincy Jones, costumes by Edith Head, and a Westmore on make-up. I believe this was the first directing job by Sydney Pollack - he did a nice job.
Its okay that the stars never met, they met in real life - Bancroft presented Sidney with his only Oscar, for "Lilies of the Field" two years earlier. And this would make a good double-bill with "'night, Mother", in which Bancroft is on the other end of a suicide attempt.
Tech credits are first rate - scoring by Quincy Jones, costumes by Edith Head, and a Westmore on make-up. I believe this was the first directing job by Sydney Pollack - he did a nice job.
Its okay that the stars never met, they met in real life - Bancroft presented Sidney with his only Oscar, for "Lilies of the Field" two years earlier. And this would make a good double-bill with "'night, Mother", in which Bancroft is on the other end of a suicide attempt.
The Slender Thread
howdymax1 May 2007
I remember seeing this movie some years ago and it stayed with me. When it popped up again on TCM I made it a point to record it so I could pay closer attention to it. I hate to say that I was a little disappointed. Some of the more obvious and unavoidable problems you can chalk up to the age of the movie. 1965 was rife with mop-haired nerds and white-booted chicks doing the jerk-agogo or whatever the hell we did back then. The whining, blues tainted horns of the Quincy Jones score seems dated as well.
A young wife, played to perfection by Anne Bancroft, has a dark secret. When her husband discovers her indiscretion, she begins to retreat into her own, dark, guilt-filled space. As time goes by, her husband becomes distant and judgmental while she plunges deeper and deeper into depression. She loses all hope of reconstructing her life, checks into a motel and chucks down a cocktail of pills.
This is when the movie gets interesting. She calls in to a crisis hot-line because she has no one else to talk to and doesn't want to die alone. As luck would have it, she reaches a student volunteer played by Sidney Poitier. The rest of the story is a frantic search to find her before the pills do the business. As she babbles on the phone, we are treated to flashback after flashback telling us her story.
The movie is a bumpy ride. While the director concentrates on those tense scenes where the rescue team is trying to trace the victim, we find our muscles tensing and our eyes tearing, wishing they knew what we know. At other times, we get to know the players oh so much more than we need to. There is a scene where we get to watch Anne Bancroft staring into a pool for what seems like forever. Very arty - but very boring. This is not an action flick, and I don't want to sound impatient, but a little less art and a little more action wouldn't hurt.
Anne Bancroft plays her part to perfection. At times she is seductive, confused, disturbed, and profoundly sad. She hit almost every emotion in the book, and hit the mark every time. On the other hand, Sidney Poitier seems to be angry, explosive, almost seething in his emotional display. I know it's heresy, but I just didn't think he was very good. I could envision any number of actors that would have been more believable. I don't know how much to blame him as opposed to Sidney Pollack who directed. It all depends on who had control, but the end result was disappointing. I accidentally gave this movie a 6. On reflection, I think I'll jack that up to an 8. Sidney Poitier aside, it was still a good movie.
A young wife, played to perfection by Anne Bancroft, has a dark secret. When her husband discovers her indiscretion, she begins to retreat into her own, dark, guilt-filled space. As time goes by, her husband becomes distant and judgmental while she plunges deeper and deeper into depression. She loses all hope of reconstructing her life, checks into a motel and chucks down a cocktail of pills.
This is when the movie gets interesting. She calls in to a crisis hot-line because she has no one else to talk to and doesn't want to die alone. As luck would have it, she reaches a student volunteer played by Sidney Poitier. The rest of the story is a frantic search to find her before the pills do the business. As she babbles on the phone, we are treated to flashback after flashback telling us her story.
The movie is a bumpy ride. While the director concentrates on those tense scenes where the rescue team is trying to trace the victim, we find our muscles tensing and our eyes tearing, wishing they knew what we know. At other times, we get to know the players oh so much more than we need to. There is a scene where we get to watch Anne Bancroft staring into a pool for what seems like forever. Very arty - but very boring. This is not an action flick, and I don't want to sound impatient, but a little less art and a little more action wouldn't hurt.
Anne Bancroft plays her part to perfection. At times she is seductive, confused, disturbed, and profoundly sad. She hit almost every emotion in the book, and hit the mark every time. On the other hand, Sidney Poitier seems to be angry, explosive, almost seething in his emotional display. I know it's heresy, but I just didn't think he was very good. I could envision any number of actors that would have been more believable. I don't know how much to blame him as opposed to Sidney Pollack who directed. It all depends on who had control, but the end result was disappointing. I accidentally gave this movie a 6. On reflection, I think I'll jack that up to an 8. Sidney Poitier aside, it was still a good movie.
Memorable
Ripshin22 August 2004
This film has stuck in my mind since seeing in the early 70s, when I was a child. This is only my second viewing, and while I still find the movie quite effective, the overacting of Poitier makes it a little less enjoyable. Bancroft is wonderful, and quite sympathetic, in the lead. As stated in a previous post, this is Pollack's first feature - what an excellent start. The Seattle location filming is beautiful, and it's nice to see the 64 World's Fair site on celluloid. (Of course, for more detailed coverage, there's Elvis's "It Happened at the World's Fair" from 1964.)
Just for the sake of curiosity, I wonder if the hotel where she is found, is still standing today. It was a Hyatt at that time.
Just for the sake of curiosity, I wonder if the hotel where she is found, is still standing today. It was a Hyatt at that time.
Great Sydney Pollack Debut
whpratt16 May 2007
Sidney Poitier, (Alan Newell) plays the role of a college student attending a college in Seattle, Washington who went directly from his classes to a Crises Hotline Center where he serves as a volunteer. Alan expects to spend a quite evening at the center and brings along plenty of his textbooks for studying. Telly Savales, (Dr. Joe Coburn) is the boss at the Center and tells Alan Newell that he is not going to be with him this evening and has a special event to attend, so Alan is going to be on his own during the entire night. It does not take too long before a telephone call comes into his office from a drunken barber who rambles on and on and then a telephone call is called in by Ann Bancroft, (Inga Dyson) who has taken pills in order to commit suicide. As soon as Alan Newell finds out this is a real crises for emergency assistance and it is all up to Alan to use everything in his power to stop Inga from taking her life. This is a rather long drawn out film, but worth the time to view and enjoy.
Slender is the Night
Miles-108 January 2022
One of the people I watched this movie with recently (the day before Sidney Poitier died) worked with me on a "hotline" crisis center in the 1970s. (That was in a small town; I subsequently worked at another one in a large city.) The use of technology in this 1965 movie to locate a suicide was, in its time, stretching the possibilities.
"We never were able to trace a call," said my friend about our small town hotline.
"As far as I know, we never did in the city, either," I said.
"The moment that rings truest for me," said my friend, "is the end where Poitier's character blows off steam. I really felt like that after my first suicide call." That's one of the places where most viewers might think that Poitier over-acts. We didn't think so.
This is not a great movie, although it is worth seeing for a number of reasons. Somebody said that there are no great performances in a bad movie. I rather think this is a flawed movie that nevertheless has some good acting, although, putting two award-winning actors together under the direction of a relatively inexperienced director (Sydney Pollack) is not a sure-fire formula.
Many of the 'sixties tropes on display are dated. Not least of all is that, excepting Poitier, the few black faces in this movie are all in the deep background. If you were not looking for them, you could be excused for thinking that Poitier's was the only black face on the screen.
Perhaps the most interesting question is whether or not race is ever alluded to. It is never directly mentioned, but it could well be subtext. The suicidal woman, Inga (Anne Bancroft), has big problems, but Alan (Poitier) mentions that, hey, he has problems, too, but he does not elaborate on them.
Talk about subtext: the movie confronts Inga's problem only superficially. She is caught between being regarded either as a madonna or a slut by her husband and she takes this to heart as if these are the only ways she can view herself. The movie does not interrogate the issue because the main focus is on whether Poitier and the rest of the male cast of rescuers can push along the now primitive-seeming technology used to trace her call.
Most lost in terms of what is expected of him is Steven Hill as Inga's husband, Mark. (Hill is best known, perhaps, either as the original district attorney on "Law and Order" or the original team leader on "Mission: Impossible".) His problem is her problem as he is torn between his simultaneous love and disgust for her. What is he supposed to be thinking and doing most of the time? I don't know, and don't think anybody told the actor, either.
The help line that Inga calls is brand new. She just happens to learn about it from a newspaper headline reporting that it has opened. (Inga also seems to have a steel-trap memory: she calls the phone number after reading it in the paper without writing it down or rechecking it.) This makes me think about the social background of this mid-1960s movie.
The screenplay--by Stirling Silliphant, who also penned Poitier's hit, "In the Heat of the Night", two years later, and the uncredited David Rayfiel--was based on a "Life" magazine article, written by Shana Alexander, about a helpline worker who tries to save a suicidal woman.
The bigger picture can best be understood through the (now unavailable) documentary "Bold New Approach" (1966), which was probably filmed around the same time as "The Slender Thread". The Kennedy administration had earlier promoted the idea of developing community mental health resources, the need for which is suggested by a scene in which Inga meets a psychiatrist who does not have time for her. This seems to be a not too subtle criticism of the then-existing system, suggesting that mental health crisis services ought to be more available. (In the U. S. today, most state health departments oversee a regionally organized network of community-based behavioral health services that prominently include crisis options.)
The 1960s also saw the beginning of professional emergency medical services, hinted at here as the fire department ambulance goes out on the call to help Inga. Even ten years later, this was commonplace, but in 1965, a fire department ambulance with trained medical technicians was so new that it was almost science fiction.
The opening shots of Seattle remind us we are watching a movie probably shot about five years after zooming outdoor camera work emerged on the big screen, and new toys do tend to be over-used.
Even more glaring is the portrayal of a discothèque where the beatniks have not quite yet become hippies, and everything looks stylized, the way it would have been portrayed on television at the time; there is nothing realistic about the scene.
"We never were able to trace a call," said my friend about our small town hotline.
"As far as I know, we never did in the city, either," I said.
"The moment that rings truest for me," said my friend, "is the end where Poitier's character blows off steam. I really felt like that after my first suicide call." That's one of the places where most viewers might think that Poitier over-acts. We didn't think so.
This is not a great movie, although it is worth seeing for a number of reasons. Somebody said that there are no great performances in a bad movie. I rather think this is a flawed movie that nevertheless has some good acting, although, putting two award-winning actors together under the direction of a relatively inexperienced director (Sydney Pollack) is not a sure-fire formula.
Many of the 'sixties tropes on display are dated. Not least of all is that, excepting Poitier, the few black faces in this movie are all in the deep background. If you were not looking for them, you could be excused for thinking that Poitier's was the only black face on the screen.
Perhaps the most interesting question is whether or not race is ever alluded to. It is never directly mentioned, but it could well be subtext. The suicidal woman, Inga (Anne Bancroft), has big problems, but Alan (Poitier) mentions that, hey, he has problems, too, but he does not elaborate on them.
Talk about subtext: the movie confronts Inga's problem only superficially. She is caught between being regarded either as a madonna or a slut by her husband and she takes this to heart as if these are the only ways she can view herself. The movie does not interrogate the issue because the main focus is on whether Poitier and the rest of the male cast of rescuers can push along the now primitive-seeming technology used to trace her call.
Most lost in terms of what is expected of him is Steven Hill as Inga's husband, Mark. (Hill is best known, perhaps, either as the original district attorney on "Law and Order" or the original team leader on "Mission: Impossible".) His problem is her problem as he is torn between his simultaneous love and disgust for her. What is he supposed to be thinking and doing most of the time? I don't know, and don't think anybody told the actor, either.
The help line that Inga calls is brand new. She just happens to learn about it from a newspaper headline reporting that it has opened. (Inga also seems to have a steel-trap memory: she calls the phone number after reading it in the paper without writing it down or rechecking it.) This makes me think about the social background of this mid-1960s movie.
The screenplay--by Stirling Silliphant, who also penned Poitier's hit, "In the Heat of the Night", two years later, and the uncredited David Rayfiel--was based on a "Life" magazine article, written by Shana Alexander, about a helpline worker who tries to save a suicidal woman.
The bigger picture can best be understood through the (now unavailable) documentary "Bold New Approach" (1966), which was probably filmed around the same time as "The Slender Thread". The Kennedy administration had earlier promoted the idea of developing community mental health resources, the need for which is suggested by a scene in which Inga meets a psychiatrist who does not have time for her. This seems to be a not too subtle criticism of the then-existing system, suggesting that mental health crisis services ought to be more available. (In the U. S. today, most state health departments oversee a regionally organized network of community-based behavioral health services that prominently include crisis options.)
The 1960s also saw the beginning of professional emergency medical services, hinted at here as the fire department ambulance goes out on the call to help Inga. Even ten years later, this was commonplace, but in 1965, a fire department ambulance with trained medical technicians was so new that it was almost science fiction.
The opening shots of Seattle remind us we are watching a movie probably shot about five years after zooming outdoor camera work emerged on the big screen, and new toys do tend to be over-used.
Even more glaring is the portrayal of a discothèque where the beatniks have not quite yet become hippies, and everything looks stylized, the way it would have been portrayed on television at the time; there is nothing realistic about the scene.
Visual Treat
mgem120028 July 2023
If you enjoy on-location movies, the setting of 1964 Seattle in glorious black and white is the view here. The workings of emergency response systems from that era are fascinating when compared to today. So many people places and efforts to save one life will either impress you or make your eyes roll at the extremity. The set decoration and wardrobe were nominated for AA and you can see why. Some imperfections: The disco scene is a bit strange considering to the squareness of the characters. The purpose of Ed Asner's character seems a bit unnecessary too. Outside those slightly unusual faults, the film is excellent in its drama. The film is owned by Anne Bancroft with Sidney Poitier shining as usual. Recommend.
More of the 1960's unique film style from a lost era.
THX-1138-210 January 2001
I enjoyed the film not only for its taught and gripping story line; but also for the director's imaginative filming technique. The Slender Thread is unique in it's actual "threading" of actors, particularly, who become much bigger in life as their careers flourish. I always enjoy the chance to see an actor/actress before they go on to fame. Stephen Hill is one of those.
Although not a true film noir; the black and white filming for me adds to the total involvement of the viewer and gives a heightened perspective to the whole cinema outing.
I suggest the film highly. The interactions between cast are worth the view.
Although not a true film noir; the black and white filming for me adds to the total involvement of the viewer and gives a heightened perspective to the whole cinema outing.
I suggest the film highly. The interactions between cast are worth the view.
A slender plot, spiked by jazzy visuals and snappy Poitier performance
moonspinner556 May 2007
A college student who volunteers one night a week at a crisis help center receives a call from a woman who has just taken an overdose of barbiturates...can he keep her on the line long enough for the police to find and rescue her? Slim plot puffed up with importance by director Sydney Pollack, making his feature film debut; Pollack opens the picture with a dizzying array of overhead shots of Seattle, presumably to help us get our bearings for where we are and who the main players are, but with Quincy Jones madly changing music cues in the background, it becomes an unintentionally silly set-piece. Sidney Poitier plays the student with a nimble mix of concern, panic and irritation, and only occasionally is he encouraged to overdo it (Pollack certainly doesn't help, giving us too many extreme close-ups of Poitier wild-eyed and sweating). Anne Bancroft is the troubled wife and mother whose world is crashing down around her (actually, it's just her marriage) and I'm not sure what we're meant to get out of the glimpses of her working life (Bancroft asks a co-worker to go to lunch, and when the girl says she's busy Bancroft appears terribly wounded--doesn't she have any other acquaintances who care about her? and what about her relationship with her boss, which sounds one-sided-flirtatious?). Bancroft, with a big crop of wavy hair, is weighed down by this woeful role and she's forced into looking shell-shocked most of the time, though there is one scene--the hospital waiting room--where she gets to break character a bit and gets a wicked gleam in her eye. The movie is well-paced and is full of visual accoutrements, but one wonders about that ending and what exactly was solved. **1/2 from ****
Fighting to keep the spark for living alive
theowinthrop2 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Last week, as I mentioned in my review of THE WAY WE WERE, director and actor Sidney Pollack died of cancer. Pollack was known as an actor's director because of his own experience as a performer. I chose THE WAY WE WERE as the film by Pollack most destined to be considered great, but TOOTSIE, OUT OF Africa (his Oscar winner), JEREMIAH JOHNSON, and several others are worthy of consideration too. So is this, the first film Pollack directed, which is both an emotion churning drama regarding two people trying (one desperately) to relate to each other, and also a police procedural in tracing a missing person.
Sidney Poitier has just begun manning a 24 hour suicide prevention phone, and is working alongside Telly Savalas (as a psychiatrist here - rather interesting casting that), Indus Arthur and Jason Wingreen. There is a phone call from a woman (Anne Bancroft) who has just swallowed nearly a dozen sleeping pills. Poitier and the others are aware that she is going to be dead in less than two hours unless she reveals where she is or the police (who are notified) are able to trace her phone call. There is a problem - they can't tap the phones in Poitier's office without her noticing, so the Police are forced to depend on information Savalas or Wingreen manage to relate to them quietly from a distant corner. The police (one hand tied behind their backs) try to quickly analyze each clue with their most up-to-date (c. 1964) equipment, but find it nearly impossible. One cop who has been watching the work going around (his shift being over) is Ed Asner. He decides to drive in the approximate area that the call might have come from - looking for Bankroft's distinctive car.
While the police struggle onward Poitier and Bancroft continue their long phone conversation. The movie is unique as the two stars never actually appear in one scene together (the script, by the way, is by Sterling Silliphant) but are heard talking on the phone. Poitier is slowly losing his cool trying to coax enough information out of Bancroft about the reason for the suicide and where she currently is.
In the course of the conversation we learn (through flashbacks) that Bancroft's marriage to Steven Hill is getting sour because of a past indiscretion he cannot bring himself to forgive. Her sense of growing isolation from Hill, from her son (Greg Jarvis), and from her job and the world. The crisis occurs after a dinner with her husband does not lead to a better sexual relationship, and when he returns to his job (he's the captain of a fishing trawler) her isolation pushes her over the edge. The breaking point deals with her failure to save a little bird. Shortly after she decides on suicide.
The conclusion is whether Asner and the cops will find Bancroft in time, or is she going to succeed in killing herself. All the actors acquit themselves well in the film, particularly Bancroft as a woman who sees no chance to regain what she lost. Poitier's intensity struggling to pull Bancroft from the edge is quite good as well, as is Asner's realistic cop (bucking his own reputation and the way he's viewed by his fellows) to try to find the woman before it's too late. Hill too comes out well - no Adam Shift here, no grizzled veteran who has seen it all (as he was on LAW AND ORDER) but a simple man who loves his wife, but feels she has disappointed him and God. Yet in the crisis he too regains his true sense of how he does not want to lose her.
Pollock in his first film showed an artistic flair as well, particularly (in my opinion) the sequence on the beach with the injured bird and the children. Stark and stripped of anything relieving the gray and blackness of the scene, it bodes ill even when Bancroft wrongly thinks she can save the little creature. Also note the final scenes where Asner and the cops have to push through crowds of people (who have no reason to understand why they are there) to try to find Bancroft. He certainly showed he had an eye for the construction of his scenes, and the film was an Oscar nominee for best costume design (black and white) and best art (black and white). It was a very promising start to a fine directing career.
Sidney Poitier has just begun manning a 24 hour suicide prevention phone, and is working alongside Telly Savalas (as a psychiatrist here - rather interesting casting that), Indus Arthur and Jason Wingreen. There is a phone call from a woman (Anne Bancroft) who has just swallowed nearly a dozen sleeping pills. Poitier and the others are aware that she is going to be dead in less than two hours unless she reveals where she is or the police (who are notified) are able to trace her phone call. There is a problem - they can't tap the phones in Poitier's office without her noticing, so the Police are forced to depend on information Savalas or Wingreen manage to relate to them quietly from a distant corner. The police (one hand tied behind their backs) try to quickly analyze each clue with their most up-to-date (c. 1964) equipment, but find it nearly impossible. One cop who has been watching the work going around (his shift being over) is Ed Asner. He decides to drive in the approximate area that the call might have come from - looking for Bankroft's distinctive car.
While the police struggle onward Poitier and Bancroft continue their long phone conversation. The movie is unique as the two stars never actually appear in one scene together (the script, by the way, is by Sterling Silliphant) but are heard talking on the phone. Poitier is slowly losing his cool trying to coax enough information out of Bancroft about the reason for the suicide and where she currently is.
In the course of the conversation we learn (through flashbacks) that Bancroft's marriage to Steven Hill is getting sour because of a past indiscretion he cannot bring himself to forgive. Her sense of growing isolation from Hill, from her son (Greg Jarvis), and from her job and the world. The crisis occurs after a dinner with her husband does not lead to a better sexual relationship, and when he returns to his job (he's the captain of a fishing trawler) her isolation pushes her over the edge. The breaking point deals with her failure to save a little bird. Shortly after she decides on suicide.
The conclusion is whether Asner and the cops will find Bancroft in time, or is she going to succeed in killing herself. All the actors acquit themselves well in the film, particularly Bancroft as a woman who sees no chance to regain what she lost. Poitier's intensity struggling to pull Bancroft from the edge is quite good as well, as is Asner's realistic cop (bucking his own reputation and the way he's viewed by his fellows) to try to find the woman before it's too late. Hill too comes out well - no Adam Shift here, no grizzled veteran who has seen it all (as he was on LAW AND ORDER) but a simple man who loves his wife, but feels she has disappointed him and God. Yet in the crisis he too regains his true sense of how he does not want to lose her.
Pollock in his first film showed an artistic flair as well, particularly (in my opinion) the sequence on the beach with the injured bird and the children. Stark and stripped of anything relieving the gray and blackness of the scene, it bodes ill even when Bancroft wrongly thinks she can save the little creature. Also note the final scenes where Asner and the cops have to push through crowds of people (who have no reason to understand why they are there) to try to find Bancroft. He certainly showed he had an eye for the construction of his scenes, and the film was an Oscar nominee for best costume design (black and white) and best art (black and white). It was a very promising start to a fine directing career.
When 1962's Best Actress and 1963's Best Actor get together, it's not murder, it's suicide!
mark.waltz1 December 2012
Warning: Spoilers
...But that's unless he gets help there in time!....
He is Sidney Poitier; She is Anne Bancroft, and their entire interaction throughout this mostly gripping drama about a race against time is on the telephone. Poitier works as a volunteer at a Suicide Prevention Hotline, and Bancroft is going to be the most challenging call he ever takes. She's messed up from her husband (Steven Hill) finding out that their young son was actually fathered by another man, and in addition to other insecurities has taken an overdose of barbiturates. Poitier has 30 minutes to find her or she will not make it. Not only is time running out, but so are the attempts to locate where her call is coming from. Bancroft, wallowing in both self pity and the cruelty of life, has her story told through flashback, and goes to great lengths to show the many layers of this fascinating character. In spite of her self-pity, she is never so pathetic that you loose interest in her. Poitier shows at great length how difficult it is to play a character basically being a "reactor". Audiences of the 1960's really came to like him because of his incredible humanity no matter what character he played. He joined the ranks of such previous "every man" such as James Stewart, Gary Cooper and Henry Fonda.
Telly Savalas and Ed Asner appear in major supporting roles (yes, Kojak and Lou Grant in the same film, although they do not appear together) with Greg Jarvis as Bancroft's loving son. Sydney Pollack shows the intensity and humanity of his many classic films, although this has a few moments of eye rolling 60's clichés. Still, with two actors of stage background letting themselves go, it is never dull, and it makes you really care about the outcome. Bancroft and Poitier are two actors excellent both in method and technique, and are helped by a gripping screenplay by the legendary Stirling Sipphilant. With adult dramas such as "Darling" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" testing the production code, Hollywood was really escaping from the themes it had previously not allowed to dramatize. While this may not be considered a classic, it will leave you almost breathless with a race where running or car chases are absolutely not involved.
He is Sidney Poitier; She is Anne Bancroft, and their entire interaction throughout this mostly gripping drama about a race against time is on the telephone. Poitier works as a volunteer at a Suicide Prevention Hotline, and Bancroft is going to be the most challenging call he ever takes. She's messed up from her husband (Steven Hill) finding out that their young son was actually fathered by another man, and in addition to other insecurities has taken an overdose of barbiturates. Poitier has 30 minutes to find her or she will not make it. Not only is time running out, but so are the attempts to locate where her call is coming from. Bancroft, wallowing in both self pity and the cruelty of life, has her story told through flashback, and goes to great lengths to show the many layers of this fascinating character. In spite of her self-pity, she is never so pathetic that you loose interest in her. Poitier shows at great length how difficult it is to play a character basically being a "reactor". Audiences of the 1960's really came to like him because of his incredible humanity no matter what character he played. He joined the ranks of such previous "every man" such as James Stewart, Gary Cooper and Henry Fonda.
Telly Savalas and Ed Asner appear in major supporting roles (yes, Kojak and Lou Grant in the same film, although they do not appear together) with Greg Jarvis as Bancroft's loving son. Sydney Pollack shows the intensity and humanity of his many classic films, although this has a few moments of eye rolling 60's clichés. Still, with two actors of stage background letting themselves go, it is never dull, and it makes you really care about the outcome. Bancroft and Poitier are two actors excellent both in method and technique, and are helped by a gripping screenplay by the legendary Stirling Sipphilant. With adult dramas such as "Darling" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" testing the production code, Hollywood was really escaping from the themes it had previously not allowed to dramatize. While this may not be considered a classic, it will leave you almost breathless with a race where running or car chases are absolutely not involved.
Poitier is incredible
mswnola10 February 2019
I stumbled on this movie one evening and it completely captured me. It is almost entirely a dialog between Bancroft and Poitier but I could not take my eyes off of their performances, especially Poitier. It was this film that convinced me that Poitier is my favorite American actor, even above Paul Newman, Bogart, and all the rest. The suspense is riveting, the caring of one human for another is compelling and Poitier made me care as well.
great actors restricted
SnoopyStyle5 September 2016
Seattle university student Alan Newell (Sidney Poitier) mans the phone at the Crisis Clinic. Inga Dyson (Anne Bancroft) calls claiming to have taken a lot of pills to commit suicide. She had a fight with her husband Mark Dyson (Steven Hill). The phone company traces the number. Dr. Joe Coburn (Telly Savalas) is the supervisor of the help phone. Det. Judd Ridley (Edward Asner) joins in the race to find Inga.
This was done at the dawn of the phone help line. That may excuse the bad work done by Alan. The concept does prevent Poitier and Bancroft to have face to face interactions. That is always a disadvantage of phone acting and this one isn't intense. The tracking down of Inga provides a little bit of kinetic energy but it's not compelling. The concept is forward thinking but it doesn't always make for a good movie.
This was done at the dawn of the phone help line. That may excuse the bad work done by Alan. The concept does prevent Poitier and Bancroft to have face to face interactions. That is always a disadvantage of phone acting and this one isn't intense. The tracking down of Inga provides a little bit of kinetic energy but it's not compelling. The concept is forward thinking but it doesn't always make for a good movie.
My father, sister and I were"extras" ...it was amazing to be part of this!
barbara-donahue27 May 2008
My late father, Donald J."Bud" Donahue and my sister, Sandy Donahue ( now Bernard) were extras....since my father was part of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce,at 2nd and Columbia streets, where the office scenes were filmed, he asked that we have small walk-on parts...my father was the "coffee cart guy" and my sister was beside him at the file cabinet....I got a role that entailed walking behind the amazing Bancroft as she talked with Kay Doubleday...it was SO much easier said that done....cables, cords and wires were covering the floors....I did succeed...it was So brief. When my sister and I went to the screening at a very small "theatre", we were so amazed at how the story took shape and the importance of mental health crises programs are in real life. I think that due in a large part to my introduction to the mental health issues shown in The Slender Thread, I began my work in day therapy programs for schools and continue working with high schoolers who might be "at risk".
Seattle was beautiful, as always, yet the continuity for those of us who grew up in Seattle was a bit of a stretch...trying to determine how the protagonists moved from one neighborhood to another in mere minutes.....it was fun to critique. It was laughable, yet serious.
I have since viewed this "dated" movie many times and am returned to a time much simpler..where people showed much empathy and truly cared for the well-being of others...without regard to personal gain...To me THAT is the value of this timeless movie...timeless in regard to social values it demonstrates..those values Never go out of style..for this reason this movie will never be "dated" to me.
Seattle was beautiful, as always, yet the continuity for those of us who grew up in Seattle was a bit of a stretch...trying to determine how the protagonists moved from one neighborhood to another in mere minutes.....it was fun to critique. It was laughable, yet serious.
I have since viewed this "dated" movie many times and am returned to a time much simpler..where people showed much empathy and truly cared for the well-being of others...without regard to personal gain...To me THAT is the value of this timeless movie...timeless in regard to social values it demonstrates..those values Never go out of style..for this reason this movie will never be "dated" to me.
The Slender Thread is a compelling drama starring Sidney Poitier and Anne Bancroft and directed by Sydney Pollack
tavm19 February 2011
In continuing to review movies featuring African-Americans in chronological order for Black History Month, we're once again at 1965 with another of Sidney Poitier's releases from that year. Here, he's Alan Newell-one of his few roles in which race is not an issue, a lone operator at the crisis prevention center in Seatle, Washington. He doesn't expect much service since the initial call is some barber complaining about his job but suddenly a woman who we find out is one Inga Dyson (Anne Bancroft) is on another line and talks about ending it all. I'll stop there and just say this was quite a compelling drama with excellent performances by both of the leads and crisp direction by Sydney Pollack on his first feature film. And they're surrounded by many good supporting turns by Telly Savalas as Dr. Joe Coburn, Edward Asner as Det. Judd Ridley, and Steven Hill as Inga's husband Mark. Other faces you may be familiar with that appear in smaller roles include Jason Wingreen and Dabney Coleman without his famous mustache. Other than a couple of extras in a dance scene, the only other person of color involved here is composer Quincy Jones on his first Poitier project. He work is excellent throughout the film. So on that note, I highly recommend The Slender Thread. P.S. Jones, like me, is a Chicago native.
See also
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