The Slender Thread

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The Slender Thread

1965,

1h 38m,

Drama

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Watchlist

67%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

74%

250+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

67%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

As a volunteer at a crisis center, Alan Newell (Sidney Poitier) is working the late shift when he hears from a desperate woman named Inge Dyson (Anne Bancroft) who has attempted to overdose on sleeping pills. As Alan tries to keep Inge on the line, Detective Judd Ridley (Edward Asner) and Dr. Joe Coburn (Telly Savalas), a psychiatrist, both become involved in the increasingly tense situation. While they try to determine Inge's location in order to save her, time is quickly running out.

Variety Staff

Variety

Dec 20, 2007

Supercharged with emotion and dramatic overtones.

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A.H. Weiler

New York Times

May 10, 2005

3/5

The performances of the principals and the film's naturalistic dialogue are more memorable than the story itself.

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Pauline Kael

McCall's

Sep 20, 2023

This clean, economical, well-organized production is fraudulent naturalism -- details that are carefully arranged, so that we will accept them as normal, as true, though they are drawn not from observation but from the exigencies of plot need.

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Jul 23, 2021

7/10

I find the result quite moving because of the superb performances that Sidney Poitier and Anne Bancroft illustrate on the other end of the phone. When they talk, I feel like I hear something very relevant. [Full review in Spanish]

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Tony Mastroianni

Cleveland Press

Apr 5, 2019

The Slender Thread is a carefully constructed study in suspense, its climaxes well sustained.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Jun 2, 2008

C

Suffers from a slight soap opera story that fails to hold together for 98 minutes.

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Sydney Pollack

Director

Sidney Poitier

Alan Newell

Anne Bancroft

Inga Dyson

Telly Savalas

Dr. Joe Coburn

Steven Hill

Mark Dyson

Indus Arthur

Marian

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Synopsis

As a volunteer at a crisis center, Alan Newell (Sidney Poitier) is working the late shift when he hears from a desperate woman named Inge Dyson (Anne Bancroft) who has attempted to overdose on sleeping pills. As Alan tries to keep Inge on the line, Detective Judd Ridley (Edward Asner) and Dr. Joe Coburn (Telly Savalas), a psychiatrist, both become involved in the increasingly tense situation. While they try to determine Inge's location in order to save her, time is quickly running out.

Director: Sydney Pollack
Producer: Stephen Alexander
Screenwriter: Stirling Silliphant
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Athene Productions
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 23, 1965, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 8, 2017
Runtime: 1h 38m

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