Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)

A woman reports that her young daughter is missing, but there seems to be no evidence that she ever existed.

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

John Mortimer (screenplay), Penelope Mortimer (screenplay)

Stars:

Keir Dullea, Carol Lynley, Laurence Olivier

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Laurence Olivier	...	Superintendent Newhouse
Carol Lynley	...	Ann Lake
Keir Dullea	...	Steven Lake
Martita Hunt	...	Ada Ford
Anna Massey	...	Elvira Smollett
Clive Revill	...	Police Sgt. Andrews
Finlay Currie	...	Doll Maker
Lucie Mannheim	...	Cook
The Zombies	...	The Zombies
Noël Coward	...	Horacio Wilson
Adrienne Corri	...	Dorothy
Megs Jenkins	...	Sister
Delphi Lawrence	...	1st Mother
Jill Melford	...	Teacher
Suzanne Neve	...	2nd Mother

Storyline

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?

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Plot Keywords:

mother searches for missing daughter | female protagonist | 4 year old girl | missing girl | missing daughter | 

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Taglines:

No one admitted while the clock is ticking!

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Noël Coward didn't think much of Dullea as an actor. Reportedly he walked up to him on the set one day and whispered in his ear, "Keir Dullea, gone tomorrow."

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Goofs

The doll-maker lights a lamp which brightens up the whole room and casts a shadow of itself. This error is repeated when the lamp is brought into the next dark scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Steven: She may be a few minutes late. Will you please wait for her?
Mover: Yes sir.
Mover: Thank you.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits begin with a cutout of Bunny's doll, before a hand replaces the cutout with black paper, and the credits begin to roll.

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Connections

Referenced in Flightplan (2005)

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Soundtracks

Just Out of Reach
Written by Colin Blunstone
Performed by The Zombies
Played on the television in the pub and later on the radio

User Reviews

Great British movie

Stuffed with wonderful character actors and recognisably shabby locations - like the little school in an old house where the cook is making junket (whatever happened to junket?). Her accent is familiar: she once played a beautiful spy in 39 Steps, warning of leaking "secrets vital to your air defence". After many viewings, it's easy to forget that it's a mystery and everyone is a suspect. Has Bunny been abducted by sinister Martita Hunt (the slightly dotty founder of the school)? Or creepy Noel Coward (the landlord)? The Zombies song "Just Out of Reach" keeps being reprised.

They were more famous, though, for a song called "She's Not There". How's that for intertextuality? The script is by John and Penelope Mortimer. John is famous for the Rumpole series, and Laurence Olivier's detective has echoes of Rumpole, muttering that bus conductors never notice anything - they are dreamers and philosophers. Noel Coward's character too is very Mortimerian: "There are many at the BBC who bear bruises left by the love of Horatio Wilson." Mortimer reveres Shakespeare and Conan Doyle and sometimes it shows.

The plot is stuffed, sometimes clunkily, with issues that were only just beginning to be spoken about: perversion (in the person of whip-wielding Horatio), teen pregnancy (Anne Lake seems about 20), unmarried motherhood and abortion. Anne chose to have her baby and raise it on her own. This is still a difficult course of action, but in 1965 it was groundbreaking, especially if you were - as she is - middle class.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 February 1966 (UK)

Also Known As:

Bunny Lake Is Missing

Filming Locations:

Warwick House Street, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wheel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1