The Last Strand

Earnest to a fault, and unfortunately dull, this gimmicky "inspirational" story from the Crossroads TV series is sort of Christmas-themed, but phony. The title refers to strands dangling from a Christmas decoration near her hospital bed as suicide survivor Mala Powers counts down the days till Xmas when she expects to die.

Conrad Nagel stars as the protestant chaplain who becomes amateur detective to track down Mala's true identity in hopes of finding something in her life to restore her will to live. The religious emphasis here is foregrounded, but the talkative segment drums up very little sentiment or suspense en route to a hokey happy ending.

Director Ralph Francis Murphy made one classic movie: "The Man in Half Moon Street" but his script here is poor.