Five Came Back

directed by John Farrow
Category: "Action/Adventure"
Year of Release:1939
Date Added:05/01/2026
Date Watched:05/01/2026
Description:A plane takes off from the U.S. to Panama with three crew members and nine passengers. Bill, the pilot, is forced to put the plane down in the jungle. One of the crew members dies when a door flies open in the storm. Stranded, they make camp, assign roles, and try to fix the plane. On board are:
Joe — copilot
Peggy (Lucille Ball) a prostitute looking to make a fresh start
Judson — a millionaire who is eloping with his secretary
Alice (Wendy Barrie) — the secretary
Crimp (John Carradine) — a pushy cop who is escorting an anarchist who is being transported to his home country to be executed
Vasquez — the anarchist
Prof. and Mrs. Spengler — an elderly couple
Pete (Allen Jenkins) — a gangster's gunman who is taking care of the gangster's young son until trouble blows over
Tommy — the kid

When the plane is almost fixed, Crimp and Pete are killed by natives. Bill realizes the plane can only carry four adults and a child because of the jury-rigged engines, the short runway, and the mountains. Vasquez insists on staying, knowing that death awaits him either way. The Spengler's also decide to stay, knowing that their lives are short. Judson, the millionaire, has proven himself a jerk, not helping and staying drunk all the time. The others decide he will stay behind too. He tries to force his way onboard and is killed by Vasquez. Alice had long before decided not to marry him and had struck up a friendship with Joe. Bill and Peggy had also gotten close. Those four board the plane along with Tommy. At the professor's request, Vasquez kills him and his wife so they won't be tortured by the natives. But Vasquez doesn't have a bullet for himself. The movie ends with the natives closing in on him while the plane flies off.
My Rating:7

Reviews for Five Came Back

Review - Five Came Back

Considered the forerunner of all stranded society movies, and it's a good one, although some deeper character development and a hint of what happened to those on the plane would have been nice. Some think it's a Depression-era statement on society, with the millionaire and the cop being jerks who don't fit in and the prostitute, anarchist, and gunman turning out to be fully-functional members of this small society, which puts the blame for their previous failure on society. As it life was really that simple.

Reviewed by Roger on 2026-05-01 17:42:29

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