Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Laurence Olivier | ... | ||
Carol Lynley | ... | ||
Keir Dullea | ... | ||
Martita Hunt | ... | ||
Anna Massey | ... |
Elvira
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Clive Revill | ... | ||
Finlay Currie | ... | ||
Lucie Mannheim | ... | ||
The Zombies | ... |
The Zombies
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Noël Coward | ... | ||
Adrienne Corri | ... |
Dorothy
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Megs Jenkins | ... |
Sister
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Delphi Lawrence | ... |
1st Mother
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Jill Melford | ... |
Teacher
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Suzanne Neve | ... |
2nd Mother
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Ann Lake has recently settled in England with her daughter, Bunny. When she goes to retrieve her daughter after the girl's first day at school, no one has any record of Bunny having been registered. When even the police can find no trace that the girl ever existed, they wonder if the child was only a fantasy of Ann's. When Ann's brother backs up the police's suspicions, she appears to be a mentally-disturbed individual. Are they right? Written by Alfred Jingle
Carol Lynley does some fabulous work here as American woman newly arrived in England whose little daughter is apparently kidnapped from school on her first day. The catch is, nobody knows the child and Lynley is having trouble proving she even exists! Terrific mystery from director Otto Preminger, an uneven filmmaker who does strong work just up to the finale (which is somewhat anti-climactic). Laurence Olivier is the police inspector on the case and he's very smooth, cunning and yet sympathetic to Lynley. There are some mod overtures which seem misplaced, and Noël Coward has a gratuitous bit as Carol's drunken landlord (and BBC celebrity!), yet the film does have many sharp bits of minute detail, intriguing and funny supporting characters, terrific cinematography and locations. Does it all add up? No, but it's inscrutable fun nevertheless. *** from ****