Until They Sail (1957) User Reviews

This is what I spend the night with—and no regrets . . . And nobody gets hurt.

[lastliberal · 7/10 · 12 October 2008]

Very good Paul Newman about the effect that war has on people's lives as they try to cope with their loneliness due to separation.

It was a great ensemble cast with Newman and Jean Simmons (Oscar nominations for The Happy Ending and Hamlet), Joan Fontaine (Oscar for Suspicion, and nominations for Rebecca and The Constant Nymph), Piper Laurie (Oscar nominations for Carrie, Children of a Lesser God, The Hustler), and Sandra Dee.

For a 1957 film, it really took on issues such as infidelity and illegitimate children and the casualness of sex during wartime.

Newman was great as the officer charged with investigating girls who soldiers wanted to marry and take back home. He played a character very familiar in his films - one that had a close relationship with the bottle.

Better than the reviews imply--finely tuned and sensitive

[secondtake · 7/10 · 13 October 2014]

Until They Sail (1957)

In some ways this is a terrific movie about women at home as their soldier men fought in World War II. The setting is New Zealand, and the women are four sisters there. The men are mostly American soldiers, seen not as invaders but still as aliens who are not quite welcome, The filming in wide screen (Cinemascope, really wide) black and white is fabulous. And the acting, including key roles by Paul Newman and Jean Simmons, is great.

There isn't a stick of actual fighting here, if you want that kind of movie. Instead it's an interwoven tale of women trying to survive lost husbands in the war, and finding love, or not, in the mixed up world of war time New Zealand.

It's an interesting cast, with three women and one man (Paul Newman) as the top four billings. And a story by James Michener, with photography by Joseph Ruttenberg. Sounds like a winner, especially as the director (with MGM) was the soon to be legendary Robert Wise.

The scene is New Zealand during WWII. And it has to be added that Joan Fontaine and Jean Simmons are both first rate actresses (and Sandra Dee is getting a breakout role), all playing young women left behind by the men called to war. It's filmed in a kind of somber, clear-eye black and white, very emphatic and straight forward. It's what Paul Newman insisted was a "woman's picture," and in fact it really is about the four sisters and their varying interests in men.

Jean Simmons shines far more than the famed Joan Fontaine, and she is the counterpart for Paul Newman, who is the point man for the American presence (and the introduction to American men). The writing is a bit stiff and the editing sometimes slow, as if the nuances of fairly mundane reactions and intentions are worth lingering over. They aren't, not always. If you make it beyond the long long establishing scenes, you'll eventually get sucked in. I'm a huge fan of Simmons, who seems undeniable in any role and not just for some kind of cover girl beaiuty, and so I loved her scenes, which are numerous.

And yet, even if this movie seems to follow some ordinary romantic path, you can't help but feel, individually, for the four women wanting to not be alone. (It has some echo of "Little Women," to me.) That's the reason to hang in there. It takes time to get invested in the characters and their needs. Paul Newman is very good as usual, but more restrained than you might expect. Handsome, but without some kind of edge that made him bigger than life.

This strikes me as a drama, not a war film but about a human problem that happens to have some soldiers in it. It's not all great stuff-some of the writing is filler, or a bit dumbed down-but the best of it is felt and honest, and it's all seen (filmed) with classic beauty. The interwoven series of relationships with several women and several men has a weird echo of the earlier "The Best Years of Their Lives," and that's a good thing (and Ruttenberg holds his own against Gregg Toland in that parallel). In fact, the photography in black and white Cinemascope (anamorphic wide screen) is really special, for those who notice such things.

This is pure Hollywood, shot on an MGM lot (and studio). But it does to show how the "old" method worked so well. So, I loved this more than many of you will because of it's moviemaking aspects. It will get patient at times, but we all have to make time sometimes. As these women learned, too, without any choice.

Glossy, well-acted WWII tale...nothing dynamic, but engaging

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 3 August 2009]

James A. Michener's WWII tale of four sisters in a seaside New Zealand home who experience the highs and lows of love. With nearly all the men in their town off fighting in the war, the gals are at first apprehensive, but finally grateful when the streets fill up with American Yanks on leave. Joan Fontaine, as the eldest of the clan, falls for handsome soldier Charles Drake from Oklahoma (and has his child out of wedlock!), while Jean Simmons manages to get close to cynical, hard-drinking Paul Newman. Piper Laurie, as sort of the beautiful black sheep of the family, tires quickly of her sudden marriage and heads off to nearby Wellington to play the field. Sandra Dee, in her film debut, is very cute as a dimply, growing 15-year-old with a passion for boys. Attractive M-G-M production surprises in its openness of sexual matters, yet the flashback framework was unnecessary, as were the stock-shots of battleships on the horizon (making it seem as if the girls live on their own private island). Though each actor gets equal screen-time, Laurie nearly steals the picture with a finely-etched portrayal of a young woman desperately trying to find herself--and feeling the strangulation of family ties (she's also extraordinarily lovely here). Not up to the classics of the wartime movie genre, but certainly not bad. **1/2 from ****

Newman's move for the better

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 7/10 · 23 June 2005]

The film opens with Newman, as a military officer, testifying at a trial, which reminds one of "The Rack." Indeed the subject once more is the way people surrender their ideals and moral standards under the pressures of war… But here the emphasis is on women, and the story details the endless suffering and sacrifices of four sisters on the New Zealand Homefront during World War II…

Newman, an American marine, becomes involved with one of the sisters (Jean Simmons), whose husband has recently been killed in combat… It's hardly a smooth relationship: Simmons doesn't trust the GIs, who exploit and abuse the local women; Newman, who has been, in his words, "recently unmarried," has no faith in women or in romance… He is tough, unsociable, defensive, and trying to remain detached; and he uses his position as investigator of servicemen's prospective brides to advise men against marriage…

This is the first of Newman's genuine alcoholics… When Simmons first meets him, he's in a bar, preoccupied with his liquor, and later, when she asks him how he copes with life, he shows her a bottle and delivers what would become characteristic Newman lines: "This is what I spend the night with—and no regrets . . . And nobody gets hurt."

Gradually this confused and cynical man is unable to resist Simmons, who, he realizes, is the only woman he's ever really liked… He abandons what she calls his "hot affair with the bottle," although they seem to avoid a sexual relationship… Some melodramatic events threaten to keep them apart, but all ends happily in a huge CinemaScope closeup embrace…

Newman manages to mask his insecurities and neuroses… Instead of showing his usual aggressiveness with women, he becomes very dependent, seeing Simmons as almost a mother and letting her see his weaknesses… Most Newman characters are emotionally immature but they are rarely as open about it—rarely as overtly passive, dependent and adolescent

First impressions can be deceiving...

[icblue02 · 6/10 · 15 November 2005]

I have to admit, when I first heard of this film, I didn't think it would keep my interest or attention. The casting, albeit comprised of talented performers, seemed a little odd: 40 year old Fontaine and 13 year old Sandra Dee as sisters sounds a little far fetched, but the pairing actually plays out believably on screen. The age difference translates into a believable mother/daughter type of sisterly relationship, which is appropriate since Fontaine's character has been left to tend to her three sisters after her parents' death.

Preconceived notions aside, the story is a compelling one, centering around four sisters in WWII New Zealand. Fontaine, Dee, Jean Simmons, and Piper Laurie all turn in admirable performances as the Lesley sisters in a plot that can sometimes seem a little implausible, or at the very least, ahead of it's time. Paul Newman also co-stars as a Marine officer who plays a pivotal role in the lives of the sisters, namely Simmons' character.

Not the best role of any of the principal actors' careers, but definitely worth seeing, especially if you are drawn to WWII era dramas.

Taking wanted love

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 27 October 2018]

A good deal made me want to see 'Until They Sail'. A fine director in Robert Wise, who directed two of my favourite films ('West Side Story' and 'The Sound of Music', is that going to be a popular opinion here?), a cast full of great actors (Paul Newman, Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine), some interesting themes, my love for classic film and an equally interesting idea for a story.

While it was not mind-blowing or perfect, neither will it be one of my favourites any time soon, 'Until They Sail' was still a well done film with many great things, that had emotional impact, was brave in how it portrayed its themes, made the most out of its story and far from wasted its talent. Not the best work of all involved but all come off well. More one of those appreciated it rather than loved it ones.

'Until They Sail' is a little overwrought at times as could have done with a little less talk.

Also found the outcome of the Piper Laurie and Wally Cassell subplot forced and a jarring note in a film that otherwise was anything but. The odd pacing lull here and there, but a vast majority of the time the pace is measured but seldom dull.

However, there is nothing to fault the cast. Fontaine and Simmons give sensitive, deeply felt performances and Newman's is one of his better ones of his early career, comfortable and intensely cool. Piper Laurie's accent may stick out somewhat but her acting is committed and rich in emotion, while Sandra Dee is more than credible. Wise directs superbly.

Visually, 'Until They Sail' is beautifully and cleverly shot with some striking and vivid locations. The script is thought-provoking and remarkably daring in its sophistication-filled and not over-serious handling of themes seldom explored in film at this point, giving it much humanity. The story is mostly sympathetic and poignant, avoiding getting too over the top in melodrama, not easy to do with the subject and topics explored. The characters are realistically written.

In conclusion, well done and interesting, with few stumbling blocks and many great things. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Great Romantic Story

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 5 June 2008]

This film was written by famous writer James Michener and also a very famous director Robert Wise along with a great cast of actors who made this into a great 1957 Classic to view and enjoy. The story revolves around sister's who live in New Zealand during the war and most of the men have gone into the service of their country and left a small town without any men and strictly women. As the war continues, these women seek men and when the United States troops arrive in New Zealand many women want to get married, some have babies out of wedlock and the war upsets the morals of all men and women in this small town. Jean Simmons, (Barbara Leslie Forbes); Joan Fontaine Anne Leslie and Sandra Dee, (Evelyn Leslie) are all sisters, some married and some simply living with one man after another. Sanda Dee plays the role of the baby sister in her teens who also begins to fall in love. Paul Newman, (Capt. Richard Bates) has a great interest in Barbara Leslie after her husband is killed, but he will not commit himself to her and is really afraid to start a relationship because he has to fight in the Pacific against the Japanese Government. This is a very emotional film and shows the horrors of war and the suffering it causes men and women. Enjoy.

A black and white gem

[ga-bsi · 8/10 · 14 March 2009]

This movie is wonderful. It's romantic, truthful and perfectly cast. It shows how lonely women can be without the love of a man in their life, and how wounds take so long to heal, and how easily they can be made. Jean Simmons is beautiful and sensitive in her portrayal of a New Zealand lass trying to remain decent and understanding emotional pain and restriction in a time of war. Paul Newman is positively gorgeous and plays his role as a cynical soldier so well i could seriously believe him really being one. The ending of the movie, although somewhat predictable, is lovely and suitable. I recommend this film to all lovers of Jean Simmons, Paul Newman and the classically romantic dramas of the 50's.

Excellent ensemble acting with an intelligent script

[acamera · 7/10 · 25 August 1999]

War starts, the New Zealand men go off to fight, and four sisters are left to cope with that- and the arrival of the American fleet! It sounds like a recipe for the most hackneyed sort of wartime romance weepie, but this film is certainly not that.

First, this is an ensemble movie, where no one 'star' dominates. From Paul Newman (probably the best-remembered name now) on, we are given a whole clutch of accomplished and finely nuanced performances.

The cinematography is superbly judged: this is one of those lovingly observed pictures where a shot of 'two people talking' is rarely just that; the backgrounds and choice of shots are a delight. This must be viewed in the original format, not 'scanned'!

The script is intelligent and daring. Sexual topics such as promiscuity and having children outside marriage are dealt with in a surprisingly straightforward and sophisticated manner for a 1950s movie. And, it must be said, they are dealt with in a human and sympathetic fashion. There is no hint of the lurid sensationalism nor of the tight-arsed repressiveness that films of this era often display when dealing with such subject matter.

In a situation where the old well-patterned expectations have gone by the board, the sisters attempt to keep track of their universe with a wall-map of the world on which they plot where their men are now. The scope of this exercise is enlarged to include the dead, and then American 'friends'. Ultimately, the map is screwed up and thrown on the fire as the old world- including the old moral universe- goes up in smoke.

The only jarring note is the plot device allowing the film to open and close with a murder trial. One of the sisters has married a 'local'- clearly marked as unsuitable by his working class tones and chest hair! The relationship ends in worse than tears. This element of the film has all the sophistication of an Enid Blyton 'Famous Five' childrens book, and sits uneasily in such an- otherwise- intelligent performance!

"Ten Thousand Girls Did It - And You'd Be A Fool Not To!"

[stryker-5 · 6 August 2000]

This one is about New Zealand in wartime and the romantic entanglements of four kiwi sisters with American servicemen stationed in Christchurch and Wellington. Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, Piper Laurie and Sandra Dee play Barbara, Ann, Delia and Evelyn respectively, the nice middle-class Lesley girls whose men are away fighting in North Africa, and who find themselves drawn to the glamorous Americans.

"It's no use worrying about Delia. She's lost," opines Ann. Delia is the fallen woman, the girl whose head is turned by the sexual allure of the G.I.'s. She lands herself a job in Wellington in order to get away from South Island and the orbit of Ann, and also to situate herself in the middle of the highest possible concentration of Americans. Piper Laurie is ideal as the beautiful, doomed girl, and the only thing which detracts from an otherwise memorable performance is her difficulty concealing her American accent.

The tale is told from the subjective viewpoint of Barbara. Her husband left for the African campaign only a month after marrying her, but as the second-eldest of the Lesley girls, and a married woman, she has to shoulder a lot of responsibility for her sisters. She meets the handsome, embittered Major Harding (Paul Newman) and when, after the first encounter, she stops to look back at him, we know that she will fall in love. As Harding puts it, misquoting Shakespeare, "war makes strange bedfellows".

Ann is the eldest of the brood, and the one most preoccupied with respectability. She falls for Captain Bates (we see her suppress a smile when Barbara looks her way). What subsequently happens to Ann is meant to illustrate that it is only natural for men and women to couple, and that conventional notions of decency fly out of the bedroom window in wartime. However, the events which befall her, good and bad, are rather far-fetched and damage the story's overall credibility.

Even the youngest of the litter, schoolgirl Evelyn, has Tommy away fighting with ANZAC and Max here in Christchurch. How believable is this, given Evelyn's age and the mores of her time and social class?

The story contains too many dramatic sunderings and liaisons to be convincing. Would Barbara really trawl the hotels of Wellington, asking for Harding at each reception desk, when she could simply phone around? In its bid to appeal to the American market, the film goes in for grating Americanisms like courtroom witnesses "taking the stand".

Verdict - Pleasant romantic yarn which does not stand up to close scrutiny

Movie spoilt by inaccurate accents.

[maryelizabeths · 4/10 · 23 April 2017]

I am currently watching this movie on television. I am a native of Christchurch, New Zealand, where this movie was made in 1957.I am afraid to say that,despite any positive attributes this film may have, it is completely spoilt for me by the total absence of any detectable NZ accent spoken by the lead characters so far.The accents seem to swing from Jean Simmonds "cut glass" English tones, to the other obvious American accents of the principals, supposedly playing NZ girls.There has been one attempt at our accent so far, by a man, which ended up sounding broad Cockney.I appreciate that back when this film was made,credible New Zealand born actors were in much shorter supply than nowadays, but these voices playing Kiwis must have been as grating to NZers watching then, as they are now.Jean Simmonds speaks the way the Queen does...nothing like a New Zealander!Voice coaches must surely have been in existence back then? We don't talk in English or American accents, and didn't then either.Sloppy work..."if a jobs worth doing, its worth doing well."

One of the finest movies I know

[SHAWFAN · 10/10 · 22 October 2007]

Having spent six years living in New Zealand I was especially gratified to see some of my old haunts and gorgeous scenery up there on the screen. When I was there 1986-1992 the people were still very upset about the goings-on between their native daughters and the visiting Americans despite 40 years having gone by. I was struck, in reading the reviews, both external and internal, by the insufferable condescension shown by the reviewers toward the finely nuanced shades of human emotion they had just been privileged to witness as created by author James Michener and director Robert Wise. Some of these people wouldn't know an authentic emotion if it shouted "Boo" at them. The clichéd use of the terms "women's movie" and "soap opera" ought to be finally banned from any attempt at serious criticism. Such marvelous performances by all concerned (both English and American) are to be treasured and appreciated rather than sneered at from some vantage point of aesthetic superiority on high. The emotional melting of the uptight moralistic Joan Fontaine and the pained, cynical Paul Newman are both heartbreakingly beautiful moments in this film. And the cottage pre-departure embrace between Newman and Peters reminded me of the similar moment on the beach between Lancaster and Kerr in From Here to Eternity of four years before. I think Until They Sail is one of the most wonderful movies I've ever seen.

The Leslie Sisters Of Christchurch

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 29 June 2011]

Until They Sail might be the first Hollywood film about New Zealand that was filmed in New Zealand. Although you will find nary a Kiwi in the cast in the principal roles and no one even attempts an accent.

Despite this, the fact that it was written by James Michener who certainly was the American author who wrote stories of the South Pacific certainly guarantees authenticity and entertainment. The film is about the four Leslie sisters who are getting a bit lonely because all of the available males are in the service in some of the far flung fronts that the British Empire needed defending.

Although the danger wasn't as immediate for New Zealand as it was for Australia with Japanese occupied New Guinea spread like a canopy over that continent, still after Pearl Harbor for a couple of months fear of occupation was also added to the collective civilian psyche of the Kiwis. Then the American marines arrived and later the army as they did in Australia using the place as a training and embarkation point for the various island battles of the Pacific War.

The four sisters are Joan Fontaine, Jean Simmons, Piper Laurie, and Sandra Dee. Fontaine the eldest feels responsibility for the rest and she's in danger of becoming one prudish spinster, but she finds real romance with a marine captain in Charles Drake who is a Rhodes Scholar to boot.

Simmons is married with a husband off in North Africa and she resents all the Yanks, as they said in Great Britain, oversexed, overpaid, and over here. Paul Newman is a recently divorced marine who's quite cynical about the opposite sex and no threat. Later on Simmons and Newman do find a need for each other.

Newman is a staff officer and one of his jobs is to investigate claims for all the homesick marines who fall in love and decide they want to marry Kiwi girls. Piper Laurie has not let any grass grow under her feet, she marries Wally Cassell one of the few male Kiwis around and because she has needs. Then later she's got her pick of Americans for that chore after Cassell goes off to war. Truth be told Cassell is something of a low life, but not like Laurie didn't know what she was getting into.

Finally there's Sandra Dee in her motion picture debut creating her image of sweet virginity for the public. The youngest and wisest, she's content to wait for a boy in the service and hopes he'll come back safe and sound of wind and limb.

As the Citadel Film series book on The Films Of Paul Newman points out, this was Newman's first attempt at screen romance. The cynical part of his nature he always had down. But his scenes with Simmons were very tender indeed especially after his wall of cynicism comes crashing down.

The surprise for me was the performance that director Robert Wise got out of Wally Cassell. This is a guy who usually plays happy go lucky types, but good guys in many films. This portrayal opens quite a different dimension for me, for this particular player.

If it were remade today I think that it would be mandated that players from New Zealand or Australia have roles. I can certainly see Nicole Kidman in either the Simmons or Fontaine parts. Until a remake is done this version of Until They Sail is a fine wartime romance.

Judgmental of women

[HotToastyRag · 2/10 · 28 September 2020]

Welcome to the world of Until They Sail, which could have been entitled Every Girl in New Zealand is Stupid: A small town is depleted of its men during the outbreak of WWII, and when America joins the war and sends an influx of soldiers to the area, all the girls go boy-crazy. Believe it or not, this is a drama. It's also supposed to be believed that Joan Fontaine, Jean Simmons, Piper Laurie, and Sandra Dee (all of varying accents, none of which sound the slightest bit New Zealand) are sisters separated by only a few years apiece. Joan Fontaine was twenty-five years older than Sandra Dee, and until the characters repeatedly called her "sister," I thought she was the mother of the three girls.

Each girl claims to have great common sense, but one by one they exercise the worst common sense imaginable. Piper Laurie marries an oaf because he's one of the only men remaining after the draft, even though she has a sweetheart fighting overseas. Then, when she gets tired of her husband, she runs off to the big city and becomes a prostitute for American GIs. Joan Fontaine is strict with her other daughters-I mean sisters-and forbids them from having anything to do with Yank soldiers, but Sandra Dee is forward enough to approach strangers, flirt, and invite them to dinner. Jean Simmons keeps defending her sister's behavior, even though she's far too young, with the lousy excuse of "it's been three years since we've even seen a man!" Jean and Joan have their own romances eventually and make incredibly stupid mistakes. Jean falls for Paul Newman, someone who bluntly tells her he doesn't want to marry her and probably won't ever love her but wants to go to bed with her.

I stuck with this movie because of the cast. Who wouldn't want to see Jean Simmons and Paul Newman together? Boy, was I disappointed. This movie's just lousy, so unless you're having trouble sleeping, don't rent it. From start to finish, it's offensive against feminine judgment and judgment of women.

Touching, inusual and sprawling war movie

[bellino-angelo2014 · 7/10 · 4 December 2018]

As I wrote in the summary, this is NOT your typical war movie full of action and battles with fire-arms scenes; so, if you want to see something similar to THE LONGEST DAY or BATTLE OF BRITAIN, this movie it's not for you!

Now I am not saying that UNTIL THEY SAIL it's bad. I am saying that this movie, instead of focusing on the war actions, it focuses on the women left behind waiting their husbands from the war and their woes and all the differences between them. And, even though it's not a must-see movie, it's actually pretty good.

Visually, this movie is beautifully shot, and the locations (in New Zealand) are simply a delight to watch; the soundtrack, even though it's not outstanding, it's also pretty good. And the pace, although it dragged half-way, it's measured.

The performances are all good: Paul Newman (in one of his first movies) it's charismatic and cool as always; Joan Fontaine, Piper Laurie and Sandra Dee are credible and give heart-felt performances, and Jean Simmons, like Newman, gives a deep and touching performance. And it's directed by Robert Wise, another great director of the 1950s-1960s.

The story is very realistic and never gets over the top despite the setting and subject explored. In substance, even with a few flaws, it's well done and worth-watching.

Unusual Melodrama

[michaelarmer · 6/10 · 21 December 2019]

This is not my usual type film, I only watched it because it had Paul Newman and Jean Simmons, but I was surprised to find quite a good movie.

It is about 4 New Zealand sisters who want to marry US Sailors when stationed there during the war, an unusual precept for a Hollywood film, but it is mostly about Jean Simmons and Paul Newman of course, and they provide excellent acting, Paul Newman is very young and Jean Simmons incredibly beautiful. Also the New Zealand location shots are very nice. Joan Fontaine was very nice too.

Despite it not being my type I give it a 6 out of 10

Uneven story of sisters in World War II New Zealand

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 24 July 2007]

Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, Piper Laurie, Sandra Dee and Paul Newman star in "Until They Sail," a World War II romantic drama directed by Robert Wise. Four sisters watch their husbands and boyfriends go off to war and meet different fates. The central story is the romance between the widowed Barbara (Simmons) and an American marine (Newman). This is an early film for Newman; he has fourth billing.

The drama emphasizes the tremendous loneliness of the American soldiers and the New Zealand women and the resulting changing morality. The liaisons that result are sometimes one-nighters, sometimes serious that end with a soldier's death, and sometimes end in marriage and relocation. Anne (Fontaine) falls in love with a soldier (Charles Drake) and becomes pregnant; Dee (Piper Laurie) has a husband she doesn't love who is a prisoner of war - she moves to Wellington and takes up with an assortment of soldiers; and Barbara's husband is killed. Evelyn, a mere child at the beginning of the war, matures as it continues and falls in love.

"Until They Sail" begins with a courtroom scene and continues as Barbara's flashback. It moves somewhat slowly and has a tendency to be talky. The performances are uneven. Laurie, a vibrant actress, nevertheless seems as if she belongs to a different family, much more American than a New Zealand resident. Fontaine gives a gentle portrayal of a woman who finds love later in her life. As Barbara, Simmons gives us a serious young woman with certain standards who nevertheless finds herself drawn to the cynical Newman character. Though she enjoyed an excellent career, Simmons never had the career she deserved, belonging to an era that put her in competition with Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. It's a shame - of the three, she's the best actress. Her work in "Angel Face" is proof enough of that and that she is a stunning beauty who, when allowed, could also be sexy. In "Until They Sail," she again conveys her thoughts with no dialogue. At the end, she stands outside alone and the viewer can read her mind, as they could when she walked into the house in "Angel Face" after the death of her parents.

This is a pleasant film, not spectacular, worth seeing for an early Newman and some likable actors.

Four Sisters for Four Soldiers

[matheson_dunross · 7/10 · 23 October 2007]

This is not the most spectacular "women in war" movie ever made, but Robert Wise didn't disappoint either.

The focus of this film is on Jean Simmons, which was a little disappointing for me because I watched it for Joan Fontaine. Her screen time is pretty much focused into a 20 minutes sequence showing Anne falling in love in Dick (Richard Bates), him shipping off to Tawara, ending with the despair on her face when Paul Newman told her that causality list is still top-secret. To top it off, the script annoyingly turned Anne's tragedy into a happy ending - having Anne receiving telegram and a large sum of money from her mother-in-law, a congressman writing to the Marines demanding that she be sent back as royalties. The audience is led to believe that Dick was from a good, wealthy family and Anne and her little boy will live happily ever after. If you want to see a more realistic look on how the foreign war brides adjust to their American life without their husbands, I recommend Oliver Stone's "Heaven and Earth".

The best developed story line is of course the relationship between Paul Newman's Jack and Jean Simmons's Barbara. It's a gentle but thoughtful criticism of the war marriages of 1940's, which Hollywood was beginning to examine during the 50's. And the film took its time bring them together, which makes the feelings Jack and Barbara have for each other more believable than that of Anne and Dick's. Again, I would have liked it better if they didn't end up together. But then, these four girls have been through so much.....and it never hurts to look into those blue eyes of Mr. Newman's as he says "I don't love you" (yeah right!)

good movie

[magicmouse94937 · 8/10 · 18 July 2013]

wonderful film

The cast is incredibly attractive. You have Joan Fontaine, Jean Simmons, Sandra Dee all in beautiful black and white. People look so much better in black and white, as it evens the skin tone. Probably a provocative movie in its day, and Michener sure has a way of weaving a story around history. The people are so pretty in this movie, and their voices are so nice too. Love to see a young Paul Newman, he is a very feminine, very unusual man.

I don't see movies that cover this much in 90 minutes now. I feel as if films today are afraid to cover ground too fast, and that the art of cinema has become overemphasized over storytelling, which this movie does rather well.

Thoroughly mediocre melodrama

[rdoyle29 · 7/10 · 24 January 2023]

Four sisters living in New Zealand during WWII have various interactions with American soldiers.

Jean Simmons is married, but her husband is killed in the war and she meets Paul Newman, a soldier tasked with assessing the desirability of women asking to marry US soldiers. He's (understandably) a bit of a cynic about romance.

Joan Fontaine meets Charles Drake and they plan on marrying, but he is sent off to battle.

Piper Laurie's husband is sent off to war, but their marriage was never good. She moves to Adelaide and has affairs with many soldiers.

Sandra Dee is dating a young man who is sent off to war and has minor dalliances while he's gone.

This is a very melodramatic, very mainstream drama based on a James Michener novel. It's about as good as that sounds, but is slightly elevated by it's great cast, even though some seem to be coasting here. (Newman, in particular, is not great.) It's the kind of film that would be a soapy TV miniseries a few decades later.

There's a weird and distracting lack of consistency with accents. Laurie is doing a (not good) accent, but none of her "sisters" bother. Some of the other New Zealanders are clearly Australian, others do no accent at all. Could we not just pick an approach and stick to it?

Until They Sail Goes Out to Sea **

[edwagreen · 4/10 · 30 January 2010]

What exactly was going on during World War 11 in New Zealand when American forces were there?

This awful story of 4 sisters was really pathetic to view. Can you imagine casting Joan Fontaine as the older sister to Sandra Dee? Fontaine looked more like her mother. Even funnier was that Fontaine becomes pregnant in the film.

Piper Laurie and Paul Newman who showed such great on screen chemistry 4 years later in "The Hustler," have no scenes together in this film. Laurie plays another sister who goes off to Wellington to tramp around there, despite the fact that she is married. Woe to her when her husband comes back from the war.

Jean Simmons is widowed and finds romance with a much subdued Paul Newman. There is even romance for the young Miss Dee here.

The picture has little to no meaning. Are they trying to say that all is fair in love and war? If they are, they did a poor job in selling this.

The conflict of interest with Newman and Simmons is quickly disposed of. That is what should have been quickly done to this terribly disappointing film of 1957.

the backdrop setting is worth the watch

[georgewarnock · 8/10 · 18 November 2005]

filmed in New Zealand in 1957, One could wonder what paradise looks like from a couch potatoes vicarious point of view. 4 Sisters living in Christchurch New Zealand find love, happiness and sometimes tragedy after they embark in whirlwind relationships with visiting WWII American Soldiers. A cast of characters worthy of Hollywood splashes the screen with an older seasoned Joan fontaine matching wits with her 15 year old sister named Sandra Dee, To top it off you have Piper Laurie and jean Simmons as the other two sisters. Even though none of the sisters were born in New Zealand, they sure did a darn great job acting and making me believe that they couldn't have been born in any other country except New Zealand that i had to find out for myself! i would personally like to thank the New Zealand People for letting Hollywood film a great movie and letting the world watch the pristine, paradise settings of the NZ landscape !!!

waiting for Newman

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 30 April 2024]

It's New Zealand 1945. Capt. Jack Harding (Paul Newman) is testifying in court. He was investigating Delia Leslie who wanted to marry an American Marine. In flashback, Barbara Leslie Forbes (Jean Simmons) recalls the war years. She and her sisters, Anne (Joan Fontaine), Evelyn (Sandra Dee), and Delia (Piper Laurie), watch as most of the country's men march off to war.

This rotates between the four sisters and their emerging partners. These are interesting actresses although I kept on waiting for Newman when he's not on the screen. I'd rather just have him and Simmons do their thing. It's hard to be interested in the other guys when Newman is around somewhere out there. I wouldn't say that they have iconic chemistry. With more screen time, it could be a great romance. There are snippets of touching moments throughout.

"Little Women" given New Zealand wartime update...

[Doylenf · 31 January 2002]

Four sisters, their bittersweet loves and disappointments in wartime (World War II) New Zealand face the sort of sibling rivalries and fears that were amply demonstrated a century ago in "Little Women". This time, of course, the morals of the time and the conventions have changed drastically but we get only a superficial examination of these sisters and a rather uneven film with a storyline that is vaguely defined. Even a wonderful actor like Paul Newman is unable to make his character totally convincing.

Of the sisters, Jean Simmons and Joan Fontaine do superior work (although Fontaine's role is given scant screen footage) while Sandra Dee and Piper Laurie seem "wrong" for their respective roles as a sub-teen and a bitter harlot. Laurie, in particular, has a habit of letting her American accent dominate and plays her role in a strictly unsympathetic manner.

Strange to find that the story is based on a James Michener tale. It's also a surprise to find that Robert Wise directed this sudsy soaper. It has some genuinely moving moments and is interesting mainly for the casting of Joan Fontaine as the eldest sister. Too bad her role wasn't expanded instead of too much focus on Jean Simmons. Fontaine gives the film her special brand of sensitivity and looks very fetching.

Sweet but Tasteless Romance in World War II

[vitaleralphlouis · 3/10 · 13 March 2012]

It's 1944 in Christchurch, New Zealand. The men have been absent for three years -- fighting in the trenches against the brutal Japanese invasion. The women are at home and lonely --and also living their lives in generous comfort with no shortage of food, clothing or luxury. Enter the US Marines, on shore leave, waiting for the final push against Japan and anticipating a deadly encounter.....

What's troubling now --- as well as when I saw this film decades ago as an inexperienced teen -- is the almost total disregard of these sweet and proper wives for their absent husbands. Their men are NOT talked about, not remembered, not appreciated.

Jean Simmons and Paul Newman are the "nice" couples but it takes Simmons about 5 minutes after learning of her husband's death before she's put him out of mind in favor of Newman.

If you watch this movie with an active mind, the romance fades away, and you grasp the whole thing with the distaste it deserves.