''The Slender Thread'' is a 1965 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
starring
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, tw ...
and
Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...
. It was the first feature-length film directed by future
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People and fictional and mythical characters
* Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar
* Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
-winning director, producer and actor
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Pollack is known for directing commercially and critically acclaimed studio films. Over his forty year career he received numerous accolades ...
.
Poitier portrays Alan, a college student who is volunteering at
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
's then-new Crisis Clinic, a
suicide prevention hotline
''Suicide Prevention Hotline EP'' is an official extended play release from Alaska in Winter. It debuted 31 May 2011 through the band's Blogspot account, and a note published on its Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social ne ...
. Shortly after beginning his solo duty on the night shift, Alan receives a call from a woman named Inga (Bancroft) who says she has just taken a lethal dose of pills and wants to talk to someone before she dies. The story line follows the efforts of Alan, a psychiatrist (
Telly Savalas) and a detective (
Ed Asner) to locate Inga and her husband Mark (
Steven Hill
Steven Hill (born Solomon Krakovsky; ; February 24, 1922 – August 23, 2016) was an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as district attorney Adam Schiff (Law & Order), Adam Schiff on the NBC television drama series ''Law & ...
), who is on a local fishing vessel. Various
flashback scenes depict the events that led Inga to make the attempt on her life.
The film was inspired by a ''
Life
Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'' magazine article by
Shana Alexander about actual events. The film is set in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, and includes scenes shot on location, as well as an opening tracking aerial shot of Seattle circa 1965.
This movie is noted for the physical tracing of the call to find Inga (Bancroft) before she dies. Throughout the movie, the call is traced by hand through several electro-mechanical telephone central office switches which leads to the hotel where Inga was staying (at the Hyatt House, since demolished) near the
Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.
Plot
Early one evening, psychology student Alan Newell (
Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...
) rushes from the university to his shift as a volunteer telephone attendant at Seattle's then-new Crisis Clinic. As he drives past the
Ballard Bridge
The Ballard Bridge, also known as the 15th Avenue Bridge, is a double-leaf bascule bridge in Seattle, Washington. It carries 15th Avenue NW over Seattle's Salmon Bay between Ballard to the north and Interbay to the south. The Ballard Bridge ...
, he doesn’t notice the car being driven erratically in the opposite lane by a woman (
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, tw ...
) with whose path his will cross later on.
As Alan arrives at the clinic, Dr. Joe Coburn (
Telly Savalas), who is on his way out, gives him his telephone number for use only in case of an emergency. Marian the secretary (
Indus Arthur) prepares coffee before leaving as well. Now alone, Alan is prepared for an uneventful evening as he prepares to study while manning the phones. The only call he receives is some ramblings from a drunken barber.
Then Alan receives a call from a woman who claims she has ingested a large amount of
barbiturate
Barbiturates are a class of depressant, depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medication, medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological a ...
s, intending to kill herself, and wants to talk with someone before she dies. Realizing that she is serious, Alan, with the pretense of getting coffee, puts down the phone. On another line, he calls the phone company to trace the call and have the police bring Dr. Coburn back to the clinic. Alan then returns to his call with the woman.
Eventually, Dr. Coburn returns and the call is put on speaker. Marian returns as well to help, and they are joined by a
medical technician who monitors the woman’s progress as he listens in. At the same time, off-duty Detective Ridley (
Edward Asner) joins the police as they search for the woman, whose name Alan learns is Inga (the same woman seen driving recklessly at the beginning of the film). Through flashbacks, Inga begins to recall the events that led up to her desperate situation.
Sometime earlier, Inga’s husband Mark (
Steven Hill
Steven Hill (born Solomon Krakovsky; ; February 24, 1922 – August 23, 2016) was an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as district attorney Adam Schiff (Law & Order), Adam Schiff on the NBC television drama series ''Law & ...
), a commercial fisherman, inadvertently finds out that he is not the biological father of their twelve-year-old son Chris (Greg Jarvis) – something which Inga never had the nerve to tell Mark. Mark takes it hard. A fun night out and a suicide attempt by Inga later on does little for him to forgive her.
As Alan continues to talk to Inga while being supervised by Dr. Coburn, the phone company traces the call using the technology of the day. Meanwhile, Ridley finds Inga’s abandoned car, as the police continue their desperate search for her.
The call is finally traced to a hotel near the airport, where Ridley and the police search frantically for Inga. Back at the clinic, Alan and the team are relieved to hear the police entering the room and finding Inga still alive. At that moment, Mark, who was away on an expedition, enters the clinic with the police. He thanks Alan for his help before being taken by the police to be with Inga at the hospital.
Dr. Coburn also leaves for the hospital along with the medical technician, leaving Alan and Marian at the clinic. Relieved and emotionally spent, Alan lets out a triumphant cheer before continuing with the rest of his shift.
Cast
Production
On January 6, 1965, it was announced in ''
Daily Variety
''Variety'' is an American trade magazine owned by Penske Media Corporation. It was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933, ''Daily Variety'' was launched, based in ...
'' that
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
had secured the rights to produce "Voice in the Wind," a screenplay written by Stirling Silliphant. The script was based on the ''
Life
Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'' magazine article "Decision to Die," published on May 29, 1964, which chronicled the real-life story of a woman in Seattle, Washington, who attempted suicide. Originally developed as a 100-page treatment for
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
(MGM), the project faced rejection from the studio due to creative differences. Paramount's production president,
Howard W. Koch, then acquired the treatment and enlisted
Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...
to star. On April 21, 1965, ''Daily Variety'' revealed the film's title had been changed to ''Call Me Back!''
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Pollack is known for directing commercially and critically acclaimed studio films. Over his forty year career he received numerous accolades ...
, making his motion picture directing debut, was chosen to helm the project, having previously directed and starred in various television programs. In January 1965,
Elizabeth Ashley
Elizabeth Ann Cole (born August 30, 1939), known professionally as Elizabeth Ashley, is an American actress of theatre, film, and television. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards, winning once in 1962 for '' Take Her, She's Mine''. Ash ...
was initially cast as "Inga Dyson," but a third party later informed her that she had been replaced by
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, tw ...
without formal notice. Allegedly, Ashley had turned down a lucrative opportunity worth $100,000 due to her commitment to the project, leading to a legal dispute with the studio. By November 1965, the lawsuit was settled out of court.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began on June 14, 1965. Paramount changed the film's title to ''The Slender Thread'' after agreeing to relinquish the rights to the title "Call Me Back" to accommodate negotiations for a feature project based on a 1960
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
teleplay of the same name. Filming took place at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California, as well as on location in Seattle. Poitier's scenes were filmed on a sound stage, while Bancroft read her lines offstage or through a receiver in her dressing room wired with a live telephone connection. The production incurred a daily expenditure of approximately $12,000 during location shoots. Filming concluded in late June or early July 1965.
''The Slender Thread'' was slated for a special engagement at the
Stanley Warner Theater in Beverly Hills, California, on December 15, 1965, to qualify for
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
consideration. The film then opened in New York City on December 23, 1965, with a general release in early 1966.
Awards
The film was nominated for two
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
:
*
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White (
Hal Pereira,
Jack Poplin
Jack Poplin (November 18, 1920 – October 15, 2007) was an American art director. He was nominated for an Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are ...
,
Robert R. Benton, and
Joseph Kish)
*
Best Costume Design, Black-and White (
Edith Head
Edith Claire Head (née Posener, October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American film costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making he ...
)
Reception
At the time, the film received indifferent reviews and did poor business at the box office upon release. However, more recent reviews give it a favorable score of 83%.
Musical score and soundtrack
The
film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
was composed, arranged and conducted by
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...
, and the
soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...
was released on the
Mercury label in 1966.
Reception
The Vinyl Factory said "at only 26 minutes this soundtrack may be short on time but not quality. All smooth jazz grooves and rollicking vibes and gorgeous orchestrations, it’s a nice summation of the talents Jones acquired as a jazz music student in Paris in the late 1950s".
10 definitive Quincy Jones soundtracks from the ’60s and ’70s
The Vinyl Factory, accessed January 17, 2018
Track listing
All compositions by Quincy Jones
# "Preludium (Main Title Part II)" − 2:27
# "Main Theme (Main Title Part I)" − 2:02
# "Threadbare (Main Title Part III)" − 2:14
# "Aftermath" − 2:43
# "Fox's Sugar" − 3:27
# "Funny Farm" − 1:31
# "Theme for Inga" − 2:30
# "Psychosis" − 3:06
# "No Place to Go" − 3:08
# "Big Sir" − 2:15
Personnel
*Unidentified orchestra arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones including
** Plas Johnson
Plas John Johnson Jr. () (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s " The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and bar ...
- tenor sax
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...
** David Grusin - piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
** Howard Roberts
Howard Mancel Roberts (October 2, 1929 – June 28, 1992) was an American jazz guitarist, educator, and session musician.
Early life
Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona to Damon and Vesta Roberts, and began playing guitar at the age of 8 — a ...
- guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
** Carol Kaye - electric bass
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...
** Emil Richards - percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
See also
* List of American films of 1965
References
External links
*
*
1965 New York Times Review by A.H. WEILER
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slender Thread
1965 films
1965 directorial debut films
1965 drama films
American black-and-white films
American drama films
Films about suicide
Films directed by Sydney Pollack
Films scored by Quincy Jones
Films set in Seattle
Films shot in Seattle
Films with screenplays by Stirling Silliphant
Paramount Pictures films
Films about telephony
1960s English-language films
1960s American films