The Slender Thread (1965)

I love this movie so much

Wow! Such a good movie.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

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.

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.

I came in late on this movie this morning on TCM, and then suspected it was a Sydney Pollack film when I heard the line, "Do you think not getting caught in a lie is the same thing as telling the truth?" spoken by Steven Hill to Anne Bancroft. This line is, remarkably, in two other Sydney Pollack films that I know of -- Three Days of the Condor, and most recently in The Interpreter. While it is a great line and distills an idea very well, the self-referential aspect of it is a little odd. However, it is a well-shot film and reminded me of the work of John Frankenheimer. There are some fantastic shots in Seattle locations, and Anne Bancroft looks so beautiful and sad.

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.