I wanted to comment on BACK FROM ETERNITY. I don't think the remake, as fine as it is, was really justified. Unless I am missing something, it does not seem an improvement over FIVE CAME BACK in any way and is virtually a shot-for-shot reproduction. Usually, a studio (in this case, RKO) will remake a property to take advantage of newer technologies-- here they could have filmed it in Technicolor but did not. Or something is re-filmed, because there might be a way to get around the production code and push the story in a slightly new direction. But Farrow, who directed both films, plays it safe. He is no Otto Preminger, and he keeps his actors rather restrained. I think the remake could have included more horror in the second half, when they are stranded in the jungle. And even a bit of science fiction might have been added, giving us a slightly different reason why their plane was forced down and who put them on that island. RKO could have ensured the remake turned out to be something a bit different, something a lot more daring, and something that was even more of a masterpiece than the original.

The premise has inbuilt suspense—a passenger plane crash lands in a head-hunter infested jungle, leading to who will survive and how. This version, however, fails to generate the suspense of the 1939 original. For one, the 100-minute screenplay here is not as tight as the 75-minute Five Came Back (1939). The extra 25-minutes flattens out in too many places. Plus, the many relationship threads do not coordinate well. At the same time, the jungle photography is muddy in the extreme, probably to disguise the sets. Then there's a significant lapse in the narrative when the boy wanders off into the jungle and we're shown a headhunter observing him. Yet the boy returns to camp unharmed, without explanation. That's not to say this version is without merits. The lightning storm, for one, including Adele Mara's quick exit without a ladder, for another. It's also thought provoking to see how conditions affect character. Specifically, the outcasts from larger society (Ekberg & Steiger) redeem themselves in crisis, while establishment types (Clark & Barry) diminish without their usual supporting conditions. There seems to be a societal allegory here of some significance, (check my review of Five Came Back for an extended discussion).Anyway, thanks reviewer bkoganbing for the background info. Too bad this remake doesn't improve on the original. But then the original didn't have to compete with TV by offering a longer run time, two girls mud wrestling, and a top-heavy non-actress.

I've been waiting for years for "Back from Eternity" to come out on DVD. It, along with many other older movies, is on my Website King Spud's Movie & TV Pages on my Up to the Minute Page. For a time many films on my List were coming out on DVD, but of late nothing, save The African Queen has been released. Back from Eternity is an absolutely terrific little film, albeit a B movie. It has an excellent cast led by Robert Ryan and Rod Steiger in an early role. The rest of the cast are doing some of their best work, Beulah Bondi, Cameron PrudHomme, Jesse White, Phyllis Kirk, Gene Barry, Fred Clark, little Jon Provost and especially Keith Andes, who makes one wonder why he wasn't a bigger star. This is an edge of your seat film, a real nail-biter. The tension builds as the pilots and passengers scuttle to repair the downed plane's engine while the danger of an attack by Jivaro headhunters increases. A fine score by the great Franz Waxman also helps elevate this film to almost classic stature. I saw it as a kid and never forgot it. After all these years it was great to see it has held up to all my expectations of its thrills.

This is one of my favorite "little" movies. It is better than the original "Five Came Back" and is a curiosity because of John Farrow's having directed both versions. The fact that it IS all done on a sound stage fits it perfectly, as well as the black and white. It reminds me of another of my favorites: "The Thing (From Another World)" with Kenneth Tobey. Great ensemble acting and not a word of dialog wasted. I think Robert Ryan's height helps him here; Chester Morris is on the short side. The story? Plane goes up, plane comes down. In jungle. People must get out of jungle to safety. However, there are problems with the plane and with the very unfriendly folds who live in the jungle. Kind of like an early version of "Lost."