JohnHowardReid Copyright 30 September 1964 by Arcola Pictures. An Aaron Rosenberg Production, released through 20th Century-Fox. New York opening at the Palace and local cinemas: 9 December 1964. U.S. release: 30 September 1964. U.K. release: November 1964. Sydney opening at the Regent. 9,506 feet. 105 minutes.SYNOPSIS: One night on a lonely beach near the Los Angeles Airport, Consolidated Airlines flight 22 piloted by Captain Jack Savage (Rod Taylor) crashes and burns. All passengers and crew are killed, with the exception of a stewardess, Martha Webster (played by Suzanne Pleshette). Sam McBane (Glenn Ford) Director of Flight Operations for the Airline, rushes to the scene of the accident. He is told by airport personnel that Savage reported his right engine on fire shortly after takeoff and requested permission to land. Savage was told to maintain altitude on his left engine until a flight path was cleared. Minutes later, the plane crashed. McBane is baffled by the accident. It is his assignment to determine the accident's cause, but he can find no logical reason. Surely the plane could have maintained altitude on one engine. What else could have gone wrong? COMMENT: Flashbacks, that's the problem. Much as I enjoyed Jane Russell's guest spot, all the re-enactments really do is to flesh out the part played by Rod Taylor. As Mr. Taylor is not an actor over-loaded with charisma, I can do without these unnecessary scenes. Otherwise it's not a bad little film, with some good suspense — even if the solution is somewhat too pat and thus unsatisfying. Glenn Ford is his usual reliable self, and the support cast is loaded with interest.

Robert W. Anderson I'm thinking they didn't get any support from the FAA, or what ever it was called in these days. This is a silly story about the investigation of airliner crash. Glen Ford would be the worst crash investigator ever if this character was real investigator. The crash its self is the only thing that's believable in this film. Fords portrayal is of a man who can't make a coherent statement at the crash site. And all through the film his character is so over wrought as to be nearly incapable of completing his job. And the screen play is twisted around to allow for roles for women, pretty to make it into the story in ways that leave you scratching your head. The author of the book that this movie was based on was very dissatisfied with the way this movie turned out and I can see why. All in all this wasn't a very good movie. It was nice to see Suzanne Pleshette, Nancy Kwan, and Jane Russell, but they were just stuck into the movie. Russell and Kwan's parts were just window dressing, and Pleshette's character is I'm sorry to say ridiculous. The level of her involvement in this investigation is beyond belief. A hour and half I'll never get back, and was totally wasted.

bkoganbing Fate Is The Hunter casts Glenn Ford as an airline executive and former pilot who is investigating the crash of an airline at his airport where a former Korean war buddy Rod Taylor was the pilot. Most on the flight were killed, one of the survivors was stewardess Susanne Pleshette.Ford has a vested interest both professional and personal, he hired Taylor as a pilot and his judgment is called in question as well. And Taylor was a roguish sort of guy who bent the rules considerably. But Ford knew Taylor as a man cool in combat and we see Taylor after the initial crash in all sides of his character in flashback.The film is based on an Ernest K. Gann novel who also gave us Island In The Sky and The High And The Mighty. The film keeps the attention throughout with its documentary like approach. Ford is a man with a disagreeable task and he's praying his faith in Taylor will not be in vain.The airline is more interested in covering itself in case of potential lawsuits than at getting at the truth. Pilot error is the easiest explanation all around and Taylor's past doesn't help any.There are a couple of noteworthy supporting performances first being Dorothy Malone who was not billed oddly enough as a party girl who Taylor was involved with and dumped. It's a chip off the performance Malone gave as Marilee Hadley in Written On The Wind. Also noteworthy is Wally Cox who was a fellow crewman on Taylor and Ford's ship in Korea who provides an insight into an incident in Korea that Ford does not remember fondly.What does cause the crash? It's something quite trivial, but Taylor's posthumous reputation owes a debt of gratitude to Susanne Pleshette surviving the crash and to the black box recording even then, standard on commercial flights. It was kind of quaint seeing the airline investigators playing the black box recording on those old fashioned reel to reel tapes.For aviation fans and fans of the principal players and many others. A really good piece of work that all the cast could take pride in.

cherimerritt This movie is one of my all-time favorites that I'm happy to share tonight with my movie-buff husband who has never seen it. (I'll bet Tony DiNozzo would remember it, though.) I've been trying to remember the title for ages (couldn't recall Rod Taylor's last name to look it up online. Getting senile I guess.)I agree with Roscoe-4. "It illustrates the many zany and unusual things that can happen to change our lives forever." The actual cause of this plane crash has stuck with me since I first saw the film over 30 years ago on TV. Many times I have caught myself in the midst of a possible negative chain-of-events and changed something I was doing because of this movie (especially if there was a cup of coffee involved in what I was doing). It also probably lead to my interest in Multivariate Statistics (quantification of the phenomenon of multiple variables leading to a single outcome.)Personally, I think everyone should see this film. At least it tells a person to keep looking deeper for causes instead of assuming that "what you think is accurate" is also worth believing just because "it makes sense" to you. "It makes sense" should never be enough by itself to lead us all the way to a conclusion.