Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

HeadlinesExotic Boring

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Tad Pole " . . . crashes to the bottom of the sea? A good start!" happens to be one of Leader Trump's favorite jokes, according to Fox News. After the Troubles so-called feminist lawyers have recently wreaked upon Fox (forcing out founder Mr. Aisles and Factotum Billy O'Reilly, among others) it's very refreshing to see a Fox Movie which goes against the grain of such Pinko Flicks as INHERIT THE WIND and ERIN BROCKOVICH to reveal Legal "Counsels" as the True Sleaze Bags that they actually are. PHONE CALL FROM A STRANGER deals with a runaway dad attorney named "David Trask." Davey gets his jollies by making the rounds of plane crash victims' surviving family members, in order to invent tall tales and wild fantasies concerning the deceased. He violates the Socratic Oath time after time, intruding upon grieving families during their Darkest Hours with frivolous anecdotes totally discordant Vis a Vis Real Life Needs. Leader Trump's Reelection Platform doubtless will include a plank to outlaw thoughtless legal beagles such as STRANGER's David Trask!

Karl Ericsson Infidelity is not the same for men and women and not the same in all ages in life. If I'm 80 years old and my wife is 75 and is "unfaithful" with a 25 year old man, I will not react in the same way as when I'm 30, my wife 25 and the lover 25 or 30. And if the lover is 80 then that is yet another matter.Sexual intercourse is not the same for men and women. If there is no erection, then there is no sexual intercourse. This places women at an disadvantage. They are forced to make the erection come about - men are not forced to anything.Men can be raped by other men but not by women. If there is an erection, there is not truly rape just as little as there is truly rape of a woman getting an orgasm during an alleged rape.Women forgive men who are unfaithful sexually but they do not forgive men who are unfaithful financially. They cannot live with a man who squanders the family's income on other women and men cannot live with women (between 18 and 35 or there about) who give other men freely what is a token of love. Men do not show love (except late in life) through intercourse but instead by paying bills for the family (including her) or (for mistresses) by giving expensive gifts to a woman.It is amazing how little most people know about these things but one explanation is the propaganda they are receiving as in the end of this film.If it was not for that abominable ending, this film could have been a smash hit because the basic idea of a surviving man visiting the relatives of victims of a plane-crash is a very fine idea that works in all stories that are shown, except for the abominable last story in which this film turns into yet another "pretty woman".

secondtake Phone Call from a Stranger (1952)Well, the studio system is crumbling, and the great Golden Age stars like Bette Davis are finding new kinds of roles, but veteran directors like Jean Negulesco are still able to use all the great talents of Hollywood to put together what is a classic kind of movie. It's not a great movie at all, but it's tightly constructed, filled with twists, is dramatic and poignant in turns (and funny, too), and all in all makes for an entertaining and interesting movie. Not mind-blowing adjectives, I know, but appropriate.The key player here is a strong and silent type, Gary Merrill, a really steady and impressive actor every time I've seen him, though he usually plays secondary roles. But he calmly holds together a series of stories (there are four main threads here, with a unifying link that is quite a surprise). All the other actors have brief roles, as the movie is really broken into sections a little like A Letter to Three Wives from three years earlier (a better movie, but sharing a nice sense of interweaving stories). But this means Bette Davis, whose name appears in big letters as a star, appears fairly briefly. But she's fabulous, even in this limited role.There a some odd flaws, like an odd shift to soft focus on an actress for some close-ups of but not others. And the story for all its strengths feels a little forced, too, which you just go along with. But if you are glass half full person you'll see the strengths of acting and filming here (cinematographer Milton Krasner is among the best) as well as the music (Franz Waxman), and you'll really enjoy it start to finish.

Lawson This is a lesser-known movie that was slipped in with The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 2 but hers was really a supporting role. It's more of an ensemble piece, with good performances all around, but especially by the three Oscar-winning actresses, who play different sorts of wives.Bette Davis gives a restrained and touching performance as a paraplegic widow who tells the story of how her devoted husband took her back despite her unfaithfulness prior to her accident. Beatrice Straight, in her first movie role, is convincing in her straightforward (haha) role of a woman who has just lost her husband and might also be losing her child.Shelley Winters, because of whom I had bought this movie, brings her real-life bubbliness (I've read her autobiography) to her role of a wife who was returning to her husband after trying and failing at a showbiz career. She has a fun fantasy sequence that shows off her bouncy side, but more importantly, she also gets to reveal her vulnerable side when she wonders if her husband will take her back.Phone Call might've been planned to be a tear-jerker, but I feel its story - though entertaining - doesn't quite reach either melodrama or genuine poignancy, so it's more of a showcase of stars, especially if you're a Davis or Winters fan.