Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

pointyfilippa The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

classicsoncall I'm happy to say it was worth the effort to get up early this morning to catch this nifty programmer on Turner Classics. I was drawn to the title when I scanned the cable listings and saw Lucille Ball's name in the cast. Her character was described as an ex-prostitute in the brief description of the film, but if I hadn't read that, I don't know if I would have drawn that conclusion from watching the story. She portrays hard luck gal Peggy Nolan who happens to mention that she's had trouble with men in the past, but that could mean anything. Anyway, I've always thought she was a gorgeous actress prior to her Lucy days, and so you've got another picture here that bears that out, particularly in her first appearance on screen looking like a well to do society woman.The story utilizes an often used plot in which an airplane goes down in bad weather and crash lands in a remote jungle setting. The passengers on board come from various walks of life, including an 'anarchist' (Joseph Calleia) being escorted to his home country to face execution by hanging. As the story progresses, I got the impression that the writers were expressing a social and political statement with the motivations of their characters, and to get an excellent overview of those dimensions I would direct you to the review on this board by 'dougdoepke'; it's very well reasoned and articulated.For those of you just looking for a good picture, there's that too. There are some confusing elements though that distracted from the story a little for me. For example, it was mentioned that the crash took place in the Amazon, but if the flight's original destination was Panama City, the plane would never have gotten near South America. Then there's that business about jungle headhunters, and I'm not up on my headhunter lore, but that just didn't strike me as credible. I'll look it up though.Some of the character turns in the picture are predictable enough. Pilot Bill Brooks (Chester Morris) assumes leadership of the stranded group with an able assist from co-pilot Kent Taylor. Under pressure, affluent businessman Ellis (Patric Knowles) takes to the bottle and has a falling out with fiancée Alice Melbourne (Wendy Barrie). Perhaps the most interesting couple in the mix are the Spenglers (C. Aubrey Smith and Elisabeth Risdon), adjusting to their situation with an admirable grace and equanimity knowing that they may never make it back to civilization. If there's a twist to the story, it's the way villain Vasquez (Calleia) emerges to shape the outcome when it becomes clear that the repaired plane can only depart with a total of five on board. He argues for a logical decision to choose who'll survive, reasoning that otherwise, the 'wrong people might win'. Interestingly, I would have picked the same players to make it back home.

CelluloidDog A pleasant surprise of a film! It has a common theme of surviving a disaster (in this case, a plane crash but other themes might be shipwreck or being stranded in the desert) and trying to survive against all odds. Not everyone can make it out so it's a study in character and sacrifice. The jungles are lush and the natives are a bit stereotyped, however back then I think not due to the producers and directors but to captivate a less sophisticated audience. With Lucille Ball, John Carradine in early roles, it's a curiosity and well-acted. The budget was small and it's called a B movie, but in many ways, it's not. 8 for acting and plot/influence.

Ralph I Tivo'd this because I was told this was a "minor classic". Watched it with my wife and she seemed to stay into it, I was thinking this was a serious "dog". The running line between us was, "which 5?" well we ruled the kid from the start, so I'm thinking OK do the pilots count? The crash (which happens a long almost half way point) yields no new deaths, just a bruised shoulder from the old lovable professor (of Shirley Temple and 4 Feathers fame among many other roles). Anyway a total waste of John Caradine, I was hoping he would be good here, but no luck, he's dead in the jungle after a very bad start. I mean c'mon, is this a chick action flick or what? Hey, its Hollywood, its couples going out, its not about grim realities, its a kind of boy that was cool action flick (if your a woman), its lame (if your a dude). 5 of 10. I don't know why I rate it that high, but the wife didn't fall asleep which is saying something for a old black and white film. I'm into them, and old planes; but this one was barking loud like a dog in heat. I predicted the head hunters also long before they showed up. yawn. Was waiting for some savagery among the survivors (all of them survived, sheesh) but we got nothing like that. Boring B flick worth forgetting about. Also, Lucy isn't in much here if thats why you are are curious.

Bill Smith I have always been intrigued by RKO (RKO Radio) Pictures. Since darkness and shadows always held a steady platform for the old studio, I preferred my RKOs in living black-and-white! I have no favorite RKO films in color."FIVE CAME BACK" is a typical RKO Radio Pictures release. Never mind the sometimes "overdone" acting! The story of a plane that has crashed in a South American jungle, with very limited hope of survival for those on board, requires the likes of Chester Morris, Lucille Ball, Sir C. Aubrey Smith and others! Remember --- this is 1939. A new version starring Robert Ryan was released by RKO in 1956. This flick was titled "BACK FROM ETERNITIY". It had a bigger budget, and the acting was very good, but the original still stands as my personal favorite. Perhaps it was the simplicity ... check the guide wire on top of the plane as it crashes into the trees! The wire wasn't attached when the double-engine job was in the air! The most obvious "dummy" plane just adds to that touch of movie innocence preceding World War II."FIVE CAME BACK" is a movie-collector's delight. Nothing fancy, just simple fun. It's worth the short viewing time (75-minutes) to see a beautiful, 27-year-old Lucille Ball! Add to that the obvious low-budget (approximately $250,000) and you're set for a very good time "at the movies".As a tag: One wonders why it took Sir C. Aubrey Smith half the film time to remove his coat in the overheated jungle! As I recall, he never removed his tie during the miserably hot weeks at the crash site!