Stop-over Forever (1964) User Reviews

"In Sicily they say it takes two to make a vendetta"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 6/10 · 4 April 2018]

A woman checks into a hotel in Taormina under an assumed name and is promptly murdered by a black gloved assassin. The woman with the real name Sue Chambers, who knew the woman as they were flight attendants checks into the same room which is rightly hers and begins to fear that the killer may be after her once she hears of the demise of her friend. Is it the policeman she has a bad history with or the air pilot keen on her or the amiable drunk yachtsman or the married man with whom she is having an affair? It's not a bad film but not that exciting either.

The character of Sue would have been better with a stronger player but Ann Bell does her best. The male cast are hardly used as it is mostly Ann Bell on the screen. What is very good is that the whole movie is shot on location in Taormina and the cinematography of William Jordan brings that beautiful town to life. Most of the film is bathed in sunshine.

There are some suspenseful moments but not enough to be gripping.

Shell drive you mad

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 4 April 2018]

Anne Bell is a flight attendant whose best friend is shot dead in a hotel.This of course is her next stopover and of course she stays at the same hotel.She imagines that everyone is about to murder her.She narrates her fears over the soundtrack.She seems to become paranoid and this leads her to take drastic action.Quite frankly she will turn you mad with the funereal pace of this lethargic thriller.

56 Minutes That Seem Like Forever

[boblipton · 3/10 · 4 April 2018]

When Ann Bell arrives at her hotel room in Sicily to meet up with her married lover, she finds that her friend, who has checked in for her, has been shot dead. It soon occurs to the protagonist that she was the target of the killer.

This short second feature is supposed to be a mystery in which understandably distraught Miss Bell wanders about and eventually solves her mystery, combined with an investigation into the psychology of panic. Cursed, as it is, with her offering her character's hysterical ramblings and nonsensical plans, I found it thoroughly annoying, despite cinematographer William Jordan's fine camerawork of Sicily and Miss Bell's frequent disrobing into bikini underwear. I kept wondering why she would hide herself in her room, imagine the killer lurking there, and never think of going to the police for help. Yes, I'm aware that people in the movies never ask the police for help, but the thought never even occurs to her, even to be instantly dismissed.

At 56 minutes, I found it dull and the characters annoying, despite the interesting set-up.

That's not amore.

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 22 July 2023]

The character of Susan played by Anne Bell is one of the most annoying of the ladies in peril dames, her narration painting her in a cloying light that has the viewer tempted to sue her for murder, a time killer more painful than any murder. Normally I'd feel sorry for a woman in this position, and do, for her fellow stewardess friend who is shot in the back of the head, making it obvious that Bell was the intended target. She walks around Sicily, stuck there as part of the investigation into the killing, and every time she sees a man begins to get more paranoid. After a while with her shrill voice, she begins to become intolerable.

I guess part of acting is knowing how to play annoying, and Bell does that perfectly. But annoying and being onscreen for nearly the entire running time makes the film a chore to get through, and as for the conclusion, it paints Bell's character in even a worse light, allowing her to get away with things far worse than being a PITA. There's nice outdoor filming however, and the potential was there. Just terrible miscasting and a surprise twist that just adds an unpleasant taste to the film overall. The viewer may feel the desire to murder her after it begins to get cumbersome, but fortunately the off switch works more legally than a trigger.