The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Ambition earns the room.”
The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.
Back to trending 
The Slender Thread
Drama · 1965
Alan is a Seattle college student volunteering at a crisis center. During a lonely night shift, a woman calls up and tells Alan that she needs to talk to someone. She informs him she's taken an overdose of pills; he tries desperately to get help to her, while keeping her on the line. As crucial minutes tick by, Alan learns more about the woman, her family life, and why she wants to die.
Movie details
The Slender Thread
“When a woman's emotions sway on a slender thread, expect anything…”
1965 Drama 1h 38m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
7.0 / 10
2.5K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
71 %
Tomatometer
TMDB
7.1 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
Alan is a Seattle college student volunteering at a crisis center. During a lonely night shift, a woman calls up and tells Alan that she needs to talk to someone. She informs him she's taken an overdose of pills; he tries desperately to get help to her, while keeping her on the line. As crucial minutes tick by, Alan learns more about the woman, her family life, and why she wants to die.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Slender Thread?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Sydney Pollack
Written by
Stirling Silliphant
Sidney Poitier
Alan Newell
Anne Bancroft
Inga Dyson
Telly Savalas
Dr. Joe Coburn
Steven Hill
Mark Dyson
Ed Asner
Det. Judd Ridley
Indus Arthur
Marian
Paul Newlan
Sgt. Harry Ward
Court is in session
Put The Slender Thread on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Importance has entered the chat.”
The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.