Vanishing Act (TV 1986)

Based on the play "Trap for a Single Man" by Robert Thomas, this is the story of a newly married woman who disappears while on holiday. The wife returns but the husband denies it is his ... See full summary »

Director:

David Greene

Writer:

Robert Thomas (based on a play by)

Stars:

Mike Farrell, Margot Kidder, Fred Gwynne

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Mike Farrell	...	Harry Kenyon
Margot Kidder	...	Chris Kenyon
Fred Gwynne	...	Father Macklin
Graham Jarvis	...	Dr. DeMarco
Elliott Gould	...	Lieutenant Rudameyer
Heather Ward Siegel	...	Flute Girl
Wally McSween	...	Banker
John Bluethner	...	First Paramedic
Howard Glassman	...	Second Paramedic
Paul Coeur	...	Pilot (as Paul Jolicoeur)
Grant Lowe	...	Desk Clerk
Linda Mackay	...	Bar Girl
Larry Musser	...	Basketball Referee
Tony Totino	...	Basketball Cop

Storyline

Based on the play "Trap for a Single Man" by Robert Thomas, this is the story of a newly married woman who disappears while on holiday. The wife returns but the husband denies it is his wife. The police inspector tries to discover what has happened.

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Plot Keywords:

lieutenant | police investigation | gambling | missing person | catholic priest | 

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Taglines:

A beautiful stranger is posing as Harry's wife... Someone is lying... And you'll never guess who. Is it a scam or is it murder?

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Genres:

Mystery

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Como en una pesadilla

Filming Locations:

Banff, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Richard Levinson / William Link Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The UK video version was cut by 30 secs for a PG rating by the BBFC to edit a possibly imitable scene where a key is pushed out of a door lock using a wire coat-hanger.

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Connections

Remade as Khoj (1989)

User Reviews

A great story, a watchable film.

Levinson and Link, the Columbo and McCloud guys threw together this modern mystery and it's too bad (that it's thrown together), because the story is quite marvelous, actually.

The film suffers from limited locations and characters. The casting is TV-Movie all the way with Mike Farrell, Margot Kidder, and Eliott Gould getting the bulk of the screen time. Fred Gwynne (don't we all love Fred Gwynne?) does a nice turn in a smaller role..

If you make it through the first 20 minutes of needless expanse, you'll wonder into an interesting little mystery with plenty of surprises.

Well worth watching on a rainy afternoon.