Sydney Pollack made his directing debut with Slender Thread, an intimate drama about a woman on the verge of suicide, starring Anne Bancroft and Sidney Poitier.
Poitier portrays Alan Newell, a college student who is volunteering at Seattle’s new Crisis Clinic, a suicide prevention hotline.
Shortly after beginning his solo duty, Alan receives a call from a woman named Inga (Bancroft) who claims to have taken lethal dose of pills and wants to talk to someone before dying.
The ensuing tale centers on the efforts of Alan, a psychiatrist (Telly Savalas) and a detective (Ed Asner) to locate Inga and her husband Mark (Steven Hill)
Through flashback, we learn of the events that led Inga’s motivation to commit suicide.
The film was inspired by a Life magazine article by Shana Alexander about actual events.
Set in Seattle, the movie includes scenes shot on location, as well as an opening tracking aerial shot of Seattle circa 1965.
Throughout the movie, the call is traced by hand through electro-mechanical telephone central office switches which leads to the hotel where Inga was staying (at the Hyatt House) near the Seattle–Tacoma Airport.
In the end, relieved if emotionally exhausted, Alan lets out a triumphant cheer before continuing with the rest of his shift.
The film score was composed, arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones, and the soundtrack album was released on the Mercury label in 1966.
Initially, the film received indifferent reviews and did poor business at the box office upon release.
Oscar Context:
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards:
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White (Hal Pereira, Jack Poplin, Robert R. Benton, and Joseph Kish)
Best Costume Design, Black-and White (Edith Head)
Cast
Sidney Poitier – Alan Newell
Anne Bancroft – Inga Dyson
Telly Savalas – Dr. Joe Coburn
Steven Hill – Mark Dyson
Edward Asner – Det. Judd Ridley
Indus Arthur – Marian
Paul Newlan – Sgt. Harry Ward
Dabney Coleman – Charlie
H.N. Wynant – Doctor Morris
Robert Hoy – Patrolman Steve Peters
Greg Jarvis – Chris Dyson
