Paul Newman was reunited with director Robert Wise, who had catapulted him to stardom in the sports biopic Somebody Up There Likes Me for his third MGM loan-out from Warner in Until They Sail, a mediocre, femme-driven WWII melodrama.
Grade: C+ (** out of *****)
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Paul Newman is cast as a tough, disillusioned U.S. Marine Captain in New Zealand who cynically investigates servicemen’s requests to marry New Zealand girls. He seeks refuge in drinking because of an earlier marriage that didn’t work out–until he meets a young war widow, sensitively played by Jean Simmons.
Set in Christchurch, the story centers on four sisters and their reaction to the American GIs who came to New Zealand during the war en route to battle zones. Duringthat time, they engage in various romances with the local femmes—something to do until they sail.
Barbara Leslie Forbes (Jean Simmons) is still attached to the memory of her husband, who was killed after only one month of marriage, but she is practical enough to keep things in perspective and her emotions under control.
In contrast, Anne Leslie (Joan Fontaine) is a prim spinster who fears men but pretends to disapprove of them. She begins to soften under the romantic ministrations of a gentle captain (Charles Drake) who’s later killed in action, leaving her pregnant with his child.
The third sister, Delia (Piper Laurie), a passionate femme, marries the local low-life Phil Friskett (Wally Cassell), who later goes off to the war.
The youngest, Evelyn (Sandra Dee), wistfully observes her sisters’ lives, quietly waiting for her true love.
The Leslie sisters’ parents are dead and their only brother has been killed in the war. Moreover, almost all the men of New Zealand are away fighting, leaving the women under the influence of the virile and horny GIs.
Eventually, Newman’s Captain Jack Harding is humanized by his love for Barbara, who returns his feelings, though midway he declares that he is incapable of love and not planning to marry her.
Melodrama kicks in when Delia’s need for fulfillment drives her into promiscuity with officers. When her husband returns from the war and discovers her (mis)conduct, he kills her.
In the end, Barbara and Evelyn emerge as the happiest sisters, when Evelyn is reunited with her childhood sweethear, and Barbara and Jack reunite.
Jean Simmons got star billing, followed by Joan Fontaine. In a year, Paul Newman, who’s third billed, would become a major star with his performance in Cat in a Hot Tin Roof, opposite Elizabeth Taylor.
Until They Sail marked the screen debut of Sandra Dee, then age 15, who would establish her own fame with young fans in Gidget and A Summer’s Place.
The movie was not commercially popular, failing to recoup its production budget.
Cast
Jean Simmons as Barbara Leslie Forbes
Joan Fontaine as Anne Leslie
Paul Newman as Capt. Jack Harding
Piper Laurie as Delia Leslie Friskett
Charles Drake as Capt. Richard Bates
Sandra Dee as Evelyn Leslie
Wally Cassell as Phil Friskett
Alan Napier as Prosecution Attorney
Ralph Votrian as Max Murphy
John Wilder as Tommy
Tige Andrews as US Marine #1 (store customer)
Adam Kennedy as Lt. Andy
Mickey Shaughnessy as US Marine #2 (store customer)
Credits:
Directed by Robert Wise
Screenplay by Robert Anderson, based on “Until They Sail Return to Paradise” (1950) by James A. Michener
Produced by Charles Schnee
Cinematography Joseph Ruttenberg
Edited by Harold F. Kress
Music by David Raksin
Distributed by MGM
Release date: October 8, 1957
Running time: 94 minutes
Budget $1,841,000
Box office $1,420,000
