Fate is the Hunter

Released: 1964
Grade: B+

Summary

Shortly after takeoff, an airplane crashes onto the beach near Los Angeles. An executive named Sam McBane knew the pilot very well and can’t accept the idea that the crash was due to human error. Because he is unhappy with the direction of the investigation, he proceeds to make his own and help clear his friend’s name.

Commentary

I had never heard of this movie until I came across it the other day. Since I typically like Glenn Ford as both an actor and a director, I thought I’d give it a try. What I found was a nice mystery story, excellent acting, and plenty of interest. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, there were suddenly a couple of interesting twists. In all, this is a very good movie and one that I believe deserves much more attention.

Of Note

Though I used to watch JAG when it originally aired, there was an episode during the first season called “Pilot Error” that referred to this movie. In the episode, Harmon Rabb describes the plot of this film.

In the middle of the film, actress Jane Russell has a song and dance routine. She is credited as a “guest star” and plays herself. She basically came out of retirement in order to appear in this movie as a favor to her friend, Aaron Rosenberg. The last film that she appeared in before signing on with this film was seven years earlier.

Actually, I didn’t even realize it was Jane Russell at first, though I did think to myself that the actress playing the part looked a lot like her.