The Slender Thread (Blu-ray)

Sydney Pollack's feature-film debut deals with a woman, played by Anne Bancroft (THE GRADUATE), who takes an overdose of prescription pills and calls a crisis clinic for help. Sidney Poitier (IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT), plays a college volunteer who tries to keep the suicidal woman on the line while asking the police to trace the call. Stirling Silliphant (THE TOWERING INFERNO) wrote the screenplay based upon an actual incident reported in Time Magazine. THE SLENDER THREAD boasts a strong supporting cast featuring Telly Savalas, Steven Hill, Ed Asner and Dabney Coleman, with a rousing score by Quincy Jones (THE GETAWAY) and great black-and-white cinematography by Loyal Griggs (Shane).

Starring: Ed Asner, Sidney Poitier, Anne Bancroft, Telly Savalas, Steven Hill, Edward Asner, H.M. Wynant, Steven Marlo, Indus Arthur, Greg Jarvis, Robert Hoy, John Benson, Paul Newlan, Jason Wingreen, Dabney Coleman, Janet Dudley, Lane Bradford, John Napier, Marjorie Nelson, H. M. Wynant, Thomas Hill, Steve Marlo, Stephen Pellegrini, Jerome R. Brand, Kay Doubleday, Jo Helton, Richard Doorish, Charlotte Stewart, Viola Harris, George Savalas, O. L. Haavik, Nicholas Prebezac, Drew Eskenazi, Erin Almond, Pam Bagby, William R. Rhodes, Charles C. Andrews, Melody Greer, Sons of Adam, Walter Mazlow, Allen Emerson, Lou Clark, David Harris, Phillip Browne, Archie Smith, Joseph R. Denini

Director: Stephen Alexander