The Disappearance (1977)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Stuart Cooper

Writers:

Derek Marlowe (novel)
Paul Mayersberg (writer)

Release Date:

17 September 1977 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

A violent passion held them together. A passion for violence ripped them apart.

Plot:

Thriller about a contract killer whose wife has disappeared. When he is hired by an international organisation to carry out a "shy" or hit, he suspects they are connected with her disappearance.

Plot Keywords:

Disappearance | Montreal | Flashback Sequence | Hitman | Contract Killing

Cast

Donald Sutherland	...	Jay Mallory
Francine Racette	...	Celandine
David Hemmings	...	Edward
John Hurt	...	Atkinson
David Warner	...	Burbank
Peter Bowles	...	Jefferies
Virginia McKenna	...	Catherine
Christopher Plummer	...	Deverell
Michèle Magny	...	Melanie
Dan Howard	...	James (as Duane Howard)
Robin Sachs	...	Young Man
Christina Greatrex	...	Secretary
Robert Korne	...	Dominic
Michael Eric Kramer	...	Peter (as Michael Kramer)
Maureen Beck	...	Maid

Runtime:

100 min | Canada:88 min

Country:

UK | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:14+ (Ontario) | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Clandon Hall, Guildford, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

National Film Trustees

Trivia:

Barbara Parkins was going to be in this project but was replaced before filming began.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Last Embrace

"The Disappointment" is more like it

The Disappearance, to me, is a Hitchcock wannabe that simply isn't. It's a slowly paced, talky thriller that just doesn't cut it. Donald Sutherland and the cast are great, but there are so many British actors in the cast that the term "Canadian-Made" sounds like a cheat. If this is a Canadian movie, wouldn't it have been better if they had put all Canadian actors in the cast? Also, if the movie takes place in Montreal (a mostly French-speaking city), wouldn't it have made more sense to have Sutherland's character do his foreign assignment in somewhere like Paris, France, instead of in England? After all, this is not a British movie, it's Canadian.

It surprised me that Sutherland and Francine Racette were married and had 3 children.

I recommend this only for fans of deep psychological thrillers. As for me, I think I will be putting a "Previously Viewed" label on this one and dropping it in the drop-off slot at my local video store.

Rating: **