One of my all time favorites.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I am currently watching this movie on television. I am a native of Christchurch, New Zealand, where this movie was made in 1957.I am afraid to say that,despite any positive attributes this film may have, it is completely spoilt for me by the total absence of any detectable NZ accent spoken by the lead characters so far.The accents seem to swing from Jean Simmonds "cut glass" English tones, to the other obvious American accents of the principals, supposedly playing NZ girls.There has been one attempt at our accent so far, by a man, which ended up sounding broad Cockney.I appreciate that back when this film was made,credible New Zealand born actors were in much shorter supply than nowadays, but these voices playing Kiwis must have been as grating to NZers watching then, as they are now.Jean Simmonds speaks the way the Queen does...nothing like a New Zealander!Voice coaches must surely have been in existence back then? We don't talk in English or American accents, and didn't then either.Sloppy work..."if a jobs worth doing, its worth doing well."

It's not exactly a surprise to learn that this movie turned out to be M-G-M's top box-office attraction in New Zealand for 1958, but it's hard to believe that James A. Michener had anything to do with this impossible charade of a story that focuses on unintentionally laughable New Zealanders. A mixed cast cannot overcome the silliness and ineptitude of characters, plot and dialogue. Actual location filming only serves to pinpoint the absolute phoniness of the studio scenes with their ridiculously luxurious sets. In fact, the film is so constricted by Hollywood conventions in sets, make-up and costumes that Robert Wise's direction often seems elephantine, clumsy and heavy-footed.Oddly, New Zealanders themselves didn't seem to mind that all the characters, plus the background and the story-line, were so grossly out of kilter with their real New Zealand. In fact, they took this movie as a great comedy and laughed themselves sick!

When this film was made in the 1950s it was a shocker. Clearly daring for its time, it's now tame, to say the least. Paul Newman is handsome and gives his typical outstanding performance. He's a Marine officer and a gentleman, torn with his desire to have sex with Jean Simmons or not to have sex with her. Simmons wants to have sex because she hasn't seen a man in 30 months. The film paints females of all ages as "ready, willing, and able," to jump in bed with a man in uniform if 30 months go by. The rest of the cast is fair, and some are wooden and over-the-top. Combat deaths are mourned for a minute, and the widows are quick to forget. Until They Sail is out-dated, but if you're a Jean Simmons or Paul Newman fan, it's a good rainy night movie.

Four sisters in New Zealand live in a house with a fantastic view when WW II breaks out and they suddenly find themselves surrounded by American servicemen. The presence of the Americans is foreshadowed by the fact that the character played by Sandra Dee sounds more Yank than she does a native New Zealander. The sister played by Piper Laurie marries a real kiwi lout named Shiner who ends up killing her with a sword. Her demise really comes as no surprise as movie women back then with multiple sex partners never seemed to live happily ever after. Personally I would have been satisfied if they would have had Piper move to a suburb in New Jersey as her screen punishment. My favorite scene is when Paul Newman reaches in the glove compartment of his vehicle and produces a bottle of his salad dressing. "This is all I need," says Newman to Jean Simmons. Of course we the viewer know that Paul needs more than just his salad dressing, and sure enough, by the time "The End" pops up on the screen, he and Jean are committed to spending the rest of their lives together.