Five Came Back

"Four must die! One must choose!"

1939 1h 15m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 42

AdventureDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Twelve people are aboard Coast Airline's flagship the Silver Queen enroute to South America when the airplane encounters a storm and is blown off course. Crashing into jungles known to be inhabited by head hunters, pilots Bill and Joe race against time to fix the engines and attempt a take off. The situation brings out the best and worst in the stranded dozen as they create a makeshift runway and prepare to escape before the natives attack. But damage to the plane and low fuel reserves means that only 5 people can be carried to safety.

“Four must die! One must choose!”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Cast

Chester Morris
Bill Brooks
Lucille Ball
Peggy Nolan
Wendy Barrie
Alice Melbourne
John Carradine
Mr. Crimp
Allen Jenkins
Pete
Joseph Calleia
Vasquez
C. Aubrey Smith
Henry Spengler
Kent Taylor
Joe

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Farrow
Writers: Jerome Cady, Nathanael West, Dalton Trumbo
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 75-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

87 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Farrow, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Harry Marker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Chester Morris and Lucille Ball and Wendy Barrie carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Four must die! One must choose!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Farrow directs. Nicholas Musuraca behind the camera. Roy Webb scores. Harry Marker cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 75-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
387 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by John Farrow, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Harry Marker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Chester Morris and Lucille Ball and Wendy Barrie carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Four must die! One must choose!".
9IMDB entry: tt0031314 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 42 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "bounty hunter", "gangster", "amazon rainforest", "survival".