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.

Although considered a B movie, the positive notices received by Ball helped launch her career as an A-list actress.

[3] The supporting cast features Wendy Barrie, John Carradine, C. Aubrey Smith, Kent Taylor, and Patric Knowles.

Nine passengers board a commercial flight from Los Angeles to Panama City: wealthy Judson Ellis and Alice Melhorne, eloping because their parents disapprove; an elderly couple, Professor Henry Spengler and his wife Martha; Tommy Mulvaney, the young son of a gangster, and his escort, gunman Pete; Peggy Nolan, a woman with a shady past; and Vasquez, an anarchist being extradited and facing a death sentence for killing a high-ranking politician, and his guard, Crimp.

In the morning, the professor recognizes plants of the Amazon rainforest: the aircraft has been blown far south of where rescuers will search; the nearest civilization is across the mountains.

[6] Eventually, John Carradine was borrowed from 20th Century Fox and Allen Jenkins from Warner Bros. C. Aubrey Smith and Joseph Calleia were also cast.

[3][11] When two black widow spiders dropped out of a tree onto Ball's head, she became extremely upset and left the set screaming.

The Capelis XC-12 featured an unusual construction method with the main wing spar bolted together, and much of the metal skin attached with P-K self-tapping screws rather than rivets.

The transport ended its career as a non-flying film prop, appearing in ground roles (in the 1942 Flying Tigers, starring John Wayne, and in other features) before reportedly being scrapped around 1950, after having slowly become a back lot relic.

[14] In his July 5, 1939, review in The New York Times, Frank Nugent praised Five Came Back as "a rousing salute to melodrama, suspenseful as a slow-burning fuse, exciting as a pinwheel, spectacularly explosive as an aerial bomb".

[15] "Out of the enterprise comes a fine piece of work by Joseph Calleia", wrote critic Wood Soanes, "an actor who was taken from the stage after several excellent characterizations and who has been given little chance to show his stuff on the screen.

Because Five Came Back was obviously not viewed as an epic while in the making and was, consequently, not subjected to high-powered studio supervision, Calleia managed to get in a splendid character study".

Both Cady and West were later to be nominated for Academy Awards in future projects, while Trumbo became one of Hollywood's most acclaimed screenwriters with two Oscars to his credit.

[17] Even though the studio had planned it as a standard "B" movie, Five Came Back became a surprise hit that "quickly amassed an enthusiastic word-of-mouth campaign among moviegoers".

Five Came Back was admired by Buddy De Sylva at Paramount, who later put Farrow under contract and gave him A-picture assignments.