IslandGuru Who payed the critics

RyothChatty ridiculous rating

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

maryelizabeths 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."

Michael_Elliott Until They Sail (1957) ** (out of 4)WW2 melodrama about four sisters (Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, Piper Laurie, Sandra Dee) living in New Zealand and not having much going on since all the men are fighting in the war. Their one shot at meeting new men is when American soldiers come in and the widow (Simmons) gets another shot at love with one played by Paul Newman. Considering the wonderful cast and great director, I was somewhat surprised to see how rather lame this movie was. Lame might be the wrong word but it's certainly very flat compared with other WW2 films out around this time and in the end the movie has way too much soap for it to be fully entertaining. While the screenplay isn't the greatest that's not the biggest problem I had with the film. The biggest problem for me was that I never believed the settings of the film as in it taking place during WW2. There was never any real atmosphere to the film nor was there any real attempt to make it feel authentic. Another problem is that we're dealing with four different women's love lives and the film never really knows if it wants to center on Simmons or Fontaine and in the end there seems to be a lot of stuff missing. The film would have been much, much worse if it weren't for the incredible cast. The four women really come off as sisters and I loved how the screenplay at least gave them different characters with different problems. Simmons steals the film with her touching and mature performance but Fontaine is just as good as the more hard and bitter sister. Dee, in her film debut, does a very good job at playing the youngest and naive sister. Newman is still a little rough around the edges but he does remain fun to watch and even at this early point in his career he has his smile commented on by one of the women.

ga-bsi 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.

SHAWFAN 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.