I saw this movie as a young college student and it shaped my outlook on life. Sometimes, regardless of skill, experience, and motivation, luck or fate will intervene to alter life. This movie explored that concept in an enjoyable and plausible manner. Sometimes when things go terribly wrong, there is no root cause, no person to whom blame can be assigned. Sometimes life is just a jumble of facts inextricably bound by fate.

Glenn Ford stars in "Fate is the Hunter," a 1964 film directed by Ralph Nelson. The film also stars Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshette, Nancy Kwan, Wally Cox, Nehemiah Persoff, Mark Stevens, Constance Towers, and Max Showalter.Ford is Sam McBane, who is called in to determine the cause of a plane crash; a flight attendant, Martha Webster (Pleshette) is the sole survivor of the flight, piloted by Jack Savage (Rod Taylor). The airline is content to call the cause pilot error, but Ford refuses to accept that. He talks to Savage's friends, the women in his life, and finally actually reconstructs the flight in order to find the answer.Ford shows more emotion than usual and gives a strong performance - he actually dominates the film. The other characters have smaller roles. Jane Russell plays herself, and is all glamor as she sings "No Love, No Nothing'"; Wally Cox has a nice role, as does Mark Stevens, who plays an alcoholic friend of Savage's. Pleshette is excellent as the survivor.Good cast, good direction, and you, too, will wonder what actually caused this crash. Was it, as Nancy Kwan, who plays Savage's girlfriend says, fate? A perfect storm? Or something else? Engrossing.

I'm afraid that I am not as enthusiastic about this film as so many other reviewers seem, bewilderingly, to be. The writing is dreadful, painting comic-book characters with no depth or subtlety. Glenn Ford does his best to make his central character interesting but nearly all of the main characters in the film are middle-aged men who spend most of their screen time shouting and snarling at each other. This is especially true of Rod Taylor's character who is absolutely ridiculous and as likable as a sticky doorknob.The basic premise of the story is silly, too. While commercial air crash investigations have certainly become more systematic and sophisticated since the 1960's, they were never such shallow, personal journeys as this story would depict. One man's journey to vindicate an old war buddy...who he really didn't even like. Oh please.And what the heck is with that utterly irrelevant cameo by Jane Russell?! If you're on a mission to see every Glenn Ford film and you've missed this one, then by all means sit in front of it once. But I really doubt you'll want to sit through it a second time. It's just too painful.

Sam McBane and Jack Savage have been associated for quite a long time. Their friendship started during the days both were pilots in the Army in WWII. Now, at the start of the story, they are working for the same commercial airline. As Jack is preparing for a flight to Seattle, Sam, the head of operations happens to pass by. Although friendly, they are probably not as close anymore.As the flight prepares to take off, Savage, who seems to have a roving eye, spots a new stewardess. He asks for a cup of coffee, that Martha, the other attendant brings to him, but as he is about to grab it, the hot liquid spills into some of the panel. The flight takes off and soon after they are in the air, the right engine catches fire. They request to go back. They are finally cleared, but unfortunately, as they come for a crash landing, the plane strikes a pier and everyone dies, except Martha, the stewardess, who miraculously is spared.As the investigation proceeds, we are taken in flashbacks to the days of WWII when Sam and Jack were serving together. They had a big scare when they were on a mission. Sam, and the rest of the crew bail out because the plane is on a dangerous course of probably crashing into a mountain. When Sam and the men are rescued and returned to base, they are aghast in finding Jack and his plane on the airfield."Fate Is the Hunter" is a 1964 Twenty Century Fox feature we recently caught on a cable channel. Not having seen it in a while, it took us by surprise the excellent condition of the print. Ralph Nelson, its director, worked extensively in television during most of his career. It is to his credit how he draws the viewer into the story, involving us in ways we didn't expect. The film is based on a book by Ernest Gann.Glenn Ford, a man that usually underplayed in most of his films, makes an excellent Sam McBean. He is a decent man who wants to clear his buddy's name, and at the same time, spare his employer of bad publicity. Rod Taylor, who is made to look older as Jack in the first scenes, does also a good job of this fearless pilot. Susanne Pleshette appears as Martha, the surviving stewardesses. Nancy Kwan is a scientist with a theory about why things happened on the plane. Wally Cox, Mark Stevens, Harold St. John, Constance Towers, and the wonderful Mary Wickes are seen in supporting roles. An uncredited Dorothy Malone is fun to watch as Jack's girlfriend who decides to throw a party at an inappropriate time.Milton Krasher's cinematography deserves a nod for what he was able to capture with the film, that was basically shot inside the studio. Jerry Goldsmith's musical score serves the film well. Ralph Nelson deserves the credit for the way he handled his large cast.