Julie (1956 film)

Plot

A former stewardess, widow Julie Benton is terrorized by her insanely jealous second husband, Lyle. It becomes a life-or-death matter after friend Cliff Henderson relays his suspicions to Julie that her first husband's death might not have been a suicide.

She pretends that she would have fallen for Lyle even if her first husband had still been alive, and Lyle confesses the murder to her. Julie flees with Cliff's help, but police are unable to arrest Lyle without proof.

Julie instead changes her identity, moves north and returns to her former job with the airline. Lyle has a confrontation with Cliff, shoots him and learns where Julie can be found.

With police in pursuit, Julie is warned that Lyle might be on her flight. She spots him, but Lyle pulls a gun on her, then kills the pilot before being shot himself. Julie must be instructed on how to land the aircraft. She does so successfully, and her nightmare comes to an end.

Cast

Background

It is also notable as potentially the first film to feature the subplot of a stewardess piloting a plane to safety, later used in Airport 1975 (1975) and parodied in Airplane! (1980). It is further notable for being technically accurate.

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $1,415,000 in the US and Canada and $1,185,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $604,000.

Critical response

Film critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a mixed review, writing, "Improbable crime thriller about a woman-in-peril, that is too uneven to be effective; the banal dialogue is the final killer. ... Doris Day, to her credit, gives it her best shot and tries to take it seriously even when the melodrama moves way past the point of just being ridiculous. Later disaster movies stole some of those airplane landing scenes."

The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.

Accolades

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Best Song ("Julie" by Leith Stevens and Tom Adair, which Doris Day sings during the opening credits).