Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

dougdoepke The movie's a one-note plot— Poitier trying to keep Bancroft on the telephone so the authorities can find her before her suicide pills take full effect. Clearly, the filmmakers have their work cut out for them. They've got 100-minutes to fill with a basically stationary plot-line. By and large, they do a decent job of interspersing the phone talk with action scenes of people trying to trace down the call; plus, flashbacks showing how the lonely, guilt-ridden Bancroft got that way. Poitier, in particular, gets to run through a gamut of emotions as his frustration builds over Bancroft's teasing determination to die. The suspense is on particular high near the end, as could be expected. But frankly, the single note plot-- pregnant though it is-- becomes a little tiresome when stretched out over the lengthy run-time. Thus, I began to feel frustrated along with Poitier, but then maybe that was the filmmakers' intent. All in all, it's a decent nail-biter whose most notable point may be the absence of any racial angle at a time when race was prominent in the headlines. Otherwise, the movie remains something of a curiosity.

PudgyPandaMan I started watching this movie only half-heartedly. I didn't even expect that I would finish. But it wasn't long before the plot had me hooked. And Poitier and Bancroft act superbly to bring there characters to life.The writers and director did a great job of creating suspense and keeping you interested. Poitier's anxiety at trying to help the suicide victim is so palpable that I think I was sweating as much as he was. I particularly liked the way they kept you guessing at what possibly could have happened to this woman to send her off the edge.Bancroft does a wonderful job at creating true sympathy for her character, but at the same time, you wonder about the choices she made.

moonspinner55 A college student who volunteers one night a week at a crisis help center receives a call from a woman who has just taken an overdose of barbiturates...can he keep her on the line long enough for the police to find and rescue her? Slim plot puffed up with importance by director Sydney Pollack, making his feature film debut; Pollack opens the picture with a dizzying array of overhead shots of Seattle, presumably to help us get our bearings for where we are and who the main players are, but with Quincy Jones madly changing music cues in the background, it becomes an unintentionally silly set-piece. Sidney Poitier plays the student with a nimble mix of concern, panic and irritation, and only occasionally is he encouraged to overdo it (Pollack certainly doesn't help, giving us too many extreme close-ups of Poitier wild-eyed and sweating). Anne Bancroft is the troubled wife and mother whose world is crashing down around her (actually, it's just her marriage) and I'm not sure what we're meant to get out of the glimpses of her working life (Bancroft asks a co-worker to go to lunch, and when the girl says she's busy Bancroft appears terribly wounded--doesn't she have any other acquaintances who care about her? and what about her relationship with her boss, which sounds one-sided-flirtatious?). Bancroft, with a big crop of wavy hair, is weighed down by this woeful role and she's forced into looking shell-shocked most of the time, though there is one scene--the hospital waiting room--where she gets to break character a bit and gets a wicked gleam in her eye. The movie is well-paced and is full of visual accoutrements, but one wonders about that ending and what exactly was solved. **1/2 from ****

DKosty123 Anne Bancroft is terrific in this as the suicidal wife who feels she has hurt her husband too much by not telling him for 12 years that their son is not his. She plays the role very convincingly.Sidney Portier is great as the crisis line counselor caught alone who needs help & reaches deep within himself to keep her on the phone as he tries desperately to identify & save her. A fine job & surprising a strong support role by Telly Savalas as his supervisor trying to help him as he comes in.This is a big name cast, but once you get past those 3, the rest of the folks all have minor roles. In a way the film tries to simulate the timing of the Western Classic "High Noon". It attempts in real time speed to try & find Bancrofts character after she has over dosed on prescription drugs. For some reason, it is not quite as effective as the Western but that is only because we don't have a gun fight when time runs out. Suicide is not the same.One of Sydney Pollacks earlier efforts & I think if it had been later in his career in might have been done better. Some scenes show Pollack is still learning, or that someone else at the studio was cutting the films scenes for him. This one is not as polished as his later films.In this case excellent work by Bancroft & Portier carry this film. If you like either of these folks, this is a must see for you.