Conqueror of Death
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Conqueror of Death |
| Original title | Fate is the Hunter |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1964 |
| length | 106 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Ralph Nelson |
| script | Harold Medford |
| production | Aaron Rosenberg |
| music | Jerry Goldsmith |
| camera | Milton R. Krasner |
| cut | Robert L. Simpson |
| occupation | |
| |
Vanquisher of Death (Original title: Fate is the Hunter ) is an American film drama from 1964. The screenplay is based on the novel of the same name by Ernest K. Gann .
action
Flight 22 of Consolidated Airlines under Captain Jack Savage crashes after taking off from Los Angeles . The disaster cost 53 lives, only the stewardess Martha Webster survived the crash. Continental's flight director Sam McBane begins an investigation into the accident. McBane discovers that Savage radioed a fire in the right engine shortly after takeoff. He asked for permission to land, but was instructed to maintain the altitude so that the airspace could be cleared. The following crash amazes McBane, because the thrust of the left engine should have been enough to maintain the altitude. McBane learns from the surviving stewardess, who was serving coffee at the time, that there was a signal that the left engine had also caught fire. Savage also shut down the engine. Then he tried to make an emergency landing on a deserted stretch of beach, but crashed into an old pier.
McBane examines the wreckage and finds that the left engine shows no signs of fire. Rumors arise that Savage was said to have been drunk before the start. But McBane still knows Savage as a pilot from the war and doubts the rumors. Sally Fraser, the captain's life insurance beneficiary, believes the crash was fate. McBane decides to repeat the flight on the same plane with Martha on board. When he switches off the right engine, the machine begins to tumble. Martha, who serves coffee like on the first flight, stumbles and spills the coffee on the instrument panel. Shortly afterwards, the warning light comes on, stating that the left engine has caught fire. McBane pried out the instrument panel and found that the fluid damaged the cables, triggering the wrong signal. Captain Savage is thus rehabilitated.
background
The film is one of the few US productions that premiered abroad earlier than in the US. In Germany, the film was released in cinemas on October 16, 1964, and in the USA on November 8.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films found the film “richly constructed with mostly accurate descriptions of the milieu and only really exciting towards the end”. Bosley Crowther of the New York Times described the film as stupid and annoying.
For Variety, however, the film was a realistic production with good actors. Tony Mastroianni of the Cleveland Press described the film as melodramatic and sometimes exciting.
Awards
In 1965 Milton R. Krasner was nominated for an Oscar in the category Best Camera / Black & White . There was another nomination for screenwriter Harold Medford for the Edgar Allan Poe Award .
Web links
- Conqueror of death in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Conqueror of death at Turner Classic Movies (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Conqueror of Death. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 28, 2019 .
- ↑ Bosley Crowther : 'Fate Is the Hunter' Opens: Film of Plane Crash at Local Theaters Glenn Ford Is Starred With Nancy Kwan . In: The New York Times , December 10, 1964.
- ↑ See Fate is the Hunter . In: Variety , 1964.
- ↑ Tony Mastroianni: "Fate Is the Hunter" Is Just So-So . In: Cleveland Press , 1964.