Five Days One Summer [DVD]

Sean Connery stars in this haunting tale of love and obsession directed by Fred Zinnemann. Arriving at a Swiss chalet for a mountain-climbing vacation, middle-aged doctor, Douglas Meredith (Connery), is accompanied by Kate (Betsy Brantley), a young woman posing as his wife. Although he's married to another, Douglas refuses to break it off with Kate, even though the affair would bring them shame if exposed. Things come to a head, however, when their guide (Lambert Wilson) finds himself attracted to Kate, and the dark secret she and Douglas share is finally revealed. Shot on location in the Alps without visual tricks or stand-ins, Five Days One Summer marked the final film by Fred Zinnemann, a European emigre who came to America in 1929 and would go on to win four Academy Awards, including two for Best Director (From Here to Eternity, 1953; A Man for All Seasons, 1966).