Review of The Slender Thread (1965) by Greg W — 27 Dec 2010

In most critically acclaimed movies I hate, I at least see some of why they are acclaimed. This one, I cannot. It's silly all the way through and just stupid.

It was up for two Oscars for use of black and white. Whatever. Poitier is a college student working a suicide hotline when a woman calls. She's already taken pills and he and others try and trace the call to get her help. At really no point does she ever sound like a suicidal. She seems pretty happy with a flirty voice and even tells some jokes. Poitier goes back and forth between this caring and patient guy and an angry stranger. It's just not a believable performance. The script is so obviously made to be dramatic, but it's so far from realistic that I just hated it.

Even the ending is stupid. They find her in her room just minutes from death. A voice on the other end says they found her and she's still breathing. The people around Poitier celebrate, even lighting a cigar. Really? She's that close to death but merely finding her will bring her back to life? Medically stupid. And I guess we have to assume they save her even though there is no evidence to indicate such. Well I didn't. I think she dies and that's the only realistic part of this overrated movie.