Five Came Back

This article is about the film. For the 2017 television series, see Five Came Back (TV series).
Five Came Back
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Farrow
Written by
Based onstory by Richard Carroll
Produced byRobert Sisk
Starring
CinematographyNicholas Musuraca
Edited byHarry Marker
Music byRoy Webb
Production
company
RKO Radio Pictures
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • June 23, 1939 (1939-06-23)
Running time
73 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$225,000[1]
Box office$721,000[1]

Five Came Back is a 1939 American black-and-white melodrama from RKO Radio Pictures produced by Robert Sisk, directed by John Farrow, written by Jerry Cady, Dalton Trumbo, and Nathanael West, and starring Chester Morris and Lucille Ball. The film was photographed by cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca. Although considered a B movie, the positive notices received by Ball helped launch her career as an A-list actress.[2] Five Came Back is considered a precursor of the disaster film genre.[3] The supporting cast features Wendy Barrie, John Carradine, C. Aubrey Smith, Kent Taylor, and Patric Knowles.

In 1948 Five Came Back was remade (differing only in minor details) as the Mexican film Los que volvieron and again in 1956 by producer-director Farrow as Back from Eternity, starring Robert Ryan, Anita Ekberg and Rod Steiger.

  1. ^ a b Trevlin, C. J. "Richard B. Jewell's RKO film grosses, 1929–51: The C. J. Trevlin Ledger: A comment." Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Volume 14, Issue 1, 1994.
  2. ^ Ball 1997, p. 92.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference De la Hoz p. 189 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).