Five Came Back is probably the first major example of a suspense disaster film about a plane crash with an all-star cast, filmed 30 years before Airport, and still gripping. It also features one of Lucille Ball's first major roles, and is one of the few movies you can find starring Chester Morris, who was a popular star in those days (he played Boston Blackie in a series of B-movies in the '40s). Morris and Kent Taylor are pilots of an airliner flying assorted passengers to South America. Included on board are an anarchist (Joseph Calleia) being extradited by a mercenary (John Carradine); a wealthy society playboy (Patrick Knowles) and his secret fiancée (Wendy Barrie); a retiring botanist (C. Aubrey Smith) and his wife (Elizabeth Risdon); a small boy in the care of a gangster (Allen Jenkins); and of course Lucille Ball in a serious role. In a violent storm the plane is forced to crash-land in the Amazon jungle, and they all ten survive the landing, but as the title hints, a suspenseful situation arises as they attempt to repair the plane.
Review of Five Came Back
