A great performance by Martin Landau in a very complex role has him playing a Vietnam war vet who can't remember his past, and going out of his way to hide his identity until he can learn certain details and follow the trail that he's picked up to discover his past. Along the way he falls for nurse Jane Alexander while talking to various people in order to discover his past, something that might be a nightmare for him once all is revealed. Great performances by Brock Peters, Pat O'Brien, Martin Sheen, Jane Elliot, Forrest Tucker and Mona Freeman are aided by a very intelligent script that will keep the viewer in suspense as Landau makes his journey as various places in his memory bank begin to put the pieces together.
While this has less to do with his Vietnam experience and more to do with a secret in his past he has obviously hid for reasons he can't discover, the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together as he talks to various people, most interestingly Peters and nun Elliot (a far cry from her scheming ladies on soaps), while Alexander is quite stunning as the rock of support who just wants him to be well. With veterans Tucker, O'Brien and Freeman popping up in other parts (lengthy cameos) as well as some fascinating minor players including an older woman from his past he encounters in Philadelphia who runs screaming through the streets after he mentions the suppossd New England town that others insist doesn't exist. That town when seen in flashbacks looks a bit like Peyton Place, but is indicated to possibly be Pennsylvania. This is where the film gets a bit sinister as the flashbacks of Landau as a youngster indicates really dark. The young kid playing Landau as a youngster is perfectly cast, looking like what you would expect Landau to have looked like as a kid. The elements of false information Landau creates for himself are a nice red herring, something that doesn't always work but in this case does.
While this has less to do with his Vietnam experience and more to do with a secret in his past he has obviously hid for reasons he can't discover, the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together as he talks to various people, most interestingly Peters and nun Elliot (a far cry from her scheming ladies on soaps), while Alexander is quite stunning as the rock of support who just wants him to be well. With veterans Tucker, O'Brien and Freeman popping up in other parts (lengthy cameos) as well as some fascinating minor players including an older woman from his past he encounters in Philadelphia who runs screaming through the streets after he mentions the suppossd New England town that others insist doesn't exist. That town when seen in flashbacks looks a bit like Peyton Place, but is indicated to possibly be Pennsylvania. This is where the film gets a bit sinister as the flashbacks of Landau as a youngster indicates really dark. The young kid playing Landau as a youngster is perfectly cast, looking like what you would expect Landau to have looked like as a kid. The elements of false information Landau creates for himself are a nice red herring, something that doesn't always work but in this case does.