vitaleralphlouis
It's 1944 in Christchurch, New Zealand. The men have been absent for three years -- fighting in the trenches against the brutal Japanese invasion. The women are at home and lonely --and also living their lives in generous comfort with no shortage of food, clothing or luxury. Enter the US Marines, on shore leave, waiting for the final push against Japan and anticipating a deadly encounter.....What's troubling now --- as well as when I saw this film decades ago as an inexperienced teen -- is the almost total disregard of these sweet and proper wives for their absent husbands. Their men are NOT talked about, not remembered, not appreciated.Jean Simmons and Paul Newman are the "nice" couples but it takes Simmons about 5 minutes after learning of her husband's death before she's put him out of mind in favor of Newman.If you watch this movie with an active mind, the romance fades away, and you grasp the whole thing with the distaste it deserves.
wes-connors
During World War II, four sisters have romances in Christchurch, New Zealand. The women are: lonely solder's wife Jean Simmons (as Barbara Leslie), straight-laced Joan Fontaine (as Anne Leslie), man-hungry Piper Laurie (as Delia Leslie), and debuting teenager Sandra Dee (as Evelyn Leslie). Serving as our protagonist, Ms. Simmons attracts handsome Paul Newman (as Jack Harding). "Until They Sail" features fine direction from Robert Wise and good performances from a nicely assembled cast. Unfortunately, there is little action and the few effective dramatic highs are not paced well. If you're not fond of sleepy soap operas, watch with a pot of coffee...***** Until They Sail (10/8/57) Robert Wise ~ Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, Paul Newman, Piper Laurie
billyweeds-1
A solid cast including Paul Newman and Jean Simmons directed by Robert Wise in a screenplay by Robert Anderson (Tea and Sympathy) directed by Robert Wise! Sounds like movie heaven, but not quite. Still, a superior chick flick with a terrific performance by Piper Laurie that all but steals the show. She plays a New Zealand woman in 1945 who can't say no. Her sisters include Joan Fontaine, Sandra Dee (young enough to be Fontaine's daughter), and Simmons. Newman is Simmons's vis-a-vis and he's charismatic as can be. Even Sandra Dee, usually the personification of Styrofoam, is somewhat appealing. Wise directs beautifully, and the black and white cinematography is excellent. It's worth catching--if you can, because it's not on DVD yet as far as I know.
Michael_Elliott
Until They Sail (1957) ** (out of 4)WW2 melodrama about four sisters (Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, Piper Laurie, Sandra Dee) living in New Zealand and not having much going on since all the men are fighting in the war. Their one shot at meeting new men is when American soldiers come in and the widow (Simmons) gets another shot at love with one played by Paul Newman. Considering the wonderful cast and great director, I was somewhat surprised to see how rather lame this movie was. Lame might be the wrong word but it's certainly very flat compared with other WW2 films out around this time and in the end the movie has way too much soap for it to be fully entertaining. While the screenplay isn't the greatest that's not the biggest problem I had with the film. The biggest problem for me was that I never believed the settings of the film as in it taking place during WW2. There was never any real atmosphere to the film nor was there any real attempt to make it feel authentic. Another problem is that we're dealing with four different women's love lives and the film never really knows if it wants to center on Simmons or Fontaine and in the end there seems to be a lot of stuff missing. The film would have been much, much worse if it weren't for the incredible cast. The four women really come off as sisters and I loved how the screenplay at least gave them different characters with different problems. Simmons steals the film with her touching and mature performance but Fontaine is just as good as the more hard and bitter sister. Dee, in her film debut, does a very good job at playing the youngest and naive sister. Newman is still a little rough around the edges but he does remain fun to watch and even at this early point in his career he has his smile commented on by one of the women.
AD
