***SPOILERS*** Early disaster-like movie that has some dozen or so people stranded in the dangerous head-hunter infested and uncharted South American jungle after their plane crash landed in a violent tropical storm.
With only enough food and drinking water to last for about a month the plane passengers try to fix the disabled plane so that they can fly out of the valley that their stuck in before the head-hunters get a lock on them and move in for the kill.
The movie "Five came Back" has an unlikely hero in the person of convicted assassin and anarchist Vasques, Joesph Calleia. Vasques is was to be brought back to Panama by bounty hunter Mr. Chimp, John Carradine,to be hung for his crimes against that country's leadership.
We get to see Vasquez lose his hostility to humanity and the world at large when he's confronted with the kindness shown to him by the elderly Professor Henry, and his wife Martha, Spengler, C. Aubrey Smith & Elisabeth Risdon. If there were more like you, Vasquez heart-fully tells Prof. Spengler, in the world there would be less like me.
Mr. Chimp who's interest in the $5,000.00 reward for turning in Vasquez is superseded by his wanting to save his life from being captured and beheaded by the head-hunters. This fear on Chimp's part has him make a blind and drunken run for it in the dark and unfriendly jungle, only to be killed by a native's poison dart blow gun. The rich and arrogant playboy Judson Ellis, Patrick Knowles,who's eloping with his sweetheart Alice Melbourne, Wendy Barrie,becomes panic-stricken when he realizes that his money can't buy him everything; as Vasquez tells him that he's, together with himself and the Spengler's who volunteered to stay, to be one of those left behind.
the rest of the stranded passengers and crew which includes Alice and the planes pilot Bill Brooks, Chester Morris, and co-pilot Joe (Kent Taylor), whom Alice fell in love with. Together with young five-year-old Tommy Mulvaney, Casey Johson, who's dad, Pat O'Malley, was just the victim of a mob rub-out in San Francisco together. There's also a 28 year-old pre-"I Love Lucy" Lucille Ball as the tough-talking dame with the heart of gold Peggy Noland. The now ready to fly plane is to take take off as soon the jungle drums stop beating and the head-hunters slowly move in to finish the survivor's off one by one. Tommy's guardian and his dad's best friend Pete, Allen Jenkins, was also one of those passengers who didn't make it back when he was shot and killed by a poison dart from a head-hunter's blow gun.
Vasquez telling Professor Spengler that he has three bullets left in his revolver, to do them and himself in before the head-hunters get a hold of them, really has only two and uses them on the elderly couple. We then see the plane, with the five who came back, fly off over the jungle sky and into the safety of modern 20th century civilization.
With Vasquez himself feeling in some strange sort of way a sense of freedom and redemption due to the unique turn of events that he finds himself in. By outliving his captor Mr. Chimp and denying his life to his Panamanian executioners, Vasquez now faces death at the hands of the jungle head-hunters. Whom to them the only crime that he committed was not being a member of their tribe.
With only enough food and drinking water to last for about a month the plane passengers try to fix the disabled plane so that they can fly out of the valley that their stuck in before the head-hunters get a lock on them and move in for the kill.
The movie "Five came Back" has an unlikely hero in the person of convicted assassin and anarchist Vasques, Joesph Calleia. Vasques is was to be brought back to Panama by bounty hunter Mr. Chimp, John Carradine,to be hung for his crimes against that country's leadership.
We get to see Vasquez lose his hostility to humanity and the world at large when he's confronted with the kindness shown to him by the elderly Professor Henry, and his wife Martha, Spengler, C. Aubrey Smith & Elisabeth Risdon. If there were more like you, Vasquez heart-fully tells Prof. Spengler, in the world there would be less like me.
Mr. Chimp who's interest in the $5,000.00 reward for turning in Vasquez is superseded by his wanting to save his life from being captured and beheaded by the head-hunters. This fear on Chimp's part has him make a blind and drunken run for it in the dark and unfriendly jungle, only to be killed by a native's poison dart blow gun. The rich and arrogant playboy Judson Ellis, Patrick Knowles,who's eloping with his sweetheart Alice Melbourne, Wendy Barrie,becomes panic-stricken when he realizes that his money can't buy him everything; as Vasquez tells him that he's, together with himself and the Spengler's who volunteered to stay, to be one of those left behind.
the rest of the stranded passengers and crew which includes Alice and the planes pilot Bill Brooks, Chester Morris, and co-pilot Joe (Kent Taylor), whom Alice fell in love with. Together with young five-year-old Tommy Mulvaney, Casey Johson, who's dad, Pat O'Malley, was just the victim of a mob rub-out in San Francisco together. There's also a 28 year-old pre-"I Love Lucy" Lucille Ball as the tough-talking dame with the heart of gold Peggy Noland. The now ready to fly plane is to take take off as soon the jungle drums stop beating and the head-hunters slowly move in to finish the survivor's off one by one. Tommy's guardian and his dad's best friend Pete, Allen Jenkins, was also one of those passengers who didn't make it back when he was shot and killed by a poison dart from a head-hunter's blow gun.
Vasquez telling Professor Spengler that he has three bullets left in his revolver, to do them and himself in before the head-hunters get a hold of them, really has only two and uses them on the elderly couple. We then see the plane, with the five who came back, fly off over the jungle sky and into the safety of modern 20th century civilization.
With Vasquez himself feeling in some strange sort of way a sense of freedom and redemption due to the unique turn of events that he finds himself in. By outliving his captor Mr. Chimp and denying his life to his Panamanian executioners, Vasquez now faces death at the hands of the jungle head-hunters. Whom to them the only crime that he committed was not being a member of their tribe.