BACK FROM ETERNITY

One of the last films produced at RKO, BACK FROM ETERNITY (1956) is a remake of FIVE CAME BACK (1939). Both films were produced and directed by John Farrow (father of Mia) and while I haven't seen FIVE, BACK FROM ETERNITY is a solid adventure film.

A violent storm forces a plane to make an emergency landing in an uncharted South American jungle. The crew consists of pilot Bill Lonagan (Robert Ryan) and co-pilot Joe Brooks (Keith Andes). The passengers include an elderly couple, Professor and Mrs. Spangler (Cameron Prud'Homme and Beulah Bondi), gangster Pete Bostwick (Jesse (Maytag Repairman) White), detective Crimp (Fred Clark), a little boy, Tommy (Jon Provost, LASSIE's Timmy), the young couple of Jud Ellis (Gene (BAT MASTERSON) Barry) and Louise Melhorn (the lovely Phyllis Kirk), the blonde bombshell Rena (a smoking hot Anita Ekberg) and looming above them all, a convicted political assassin, Vasquel (Rod Steiger).

The stranded group soon discover that they have landed in head hunter country and it becomes a race against time to make the necessary repairs on the plane and fly out of the valley they're trapped in. But once the repairs are made, it's determined that only five people can safely take off on the plane, leaving four of the group behind. Who stays? Who goes?

Farrow directs the action with a sure, crisp touch and cinematographer William C. Mellor brings a noir atmosphere to many of the scenes. The miniature work is solid and the immense jungle set (containing towering rock cliffs and a full size airplane mock-up) is impressive.

Allegiances and alliances shift throughout the course of the film. Rena falls for Lonagan while Louise jilts Jud (who proves to be an asshole) and turns her affections towards Brooks. The Spanglers become friendly with Vasquel, while Pete becomes a father figure to Tommy. A couple of the characters die before the final choose up of winners and losers and the film ends on a decidedly grim note.

The cast is uniformly solid. It's a good mix of recognizable stars and veteran character actors. But the real pleasure here is watching the insanely over the top performance by Rod Steiger. Sporting an unknown accent, Steiger steals every scene he's in, even when he's doing nothing but standing in the background. He's also the only one of the stranded men to grow a beard during their ordeal, a visual marker that draws further attention to this enormous ham of an actor. I've never seen Steiger play any part in a subdued manner. The man was simply incapable of doing so. I suspect Steiger told Farrow "this is how I'm going to play this character" and Farrow, on a tight schedule and budget, said yes just to get the film finished.

BACK FROM ETERNITY is the type of story you might have found in the pages of a 1950s era men's adventure magazine and as such, it's a well crafted and nicely mounted adventure film.

Thumbs up.

.