Mister Buddwing (1966) User Reviews

Odd film

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 8 April 2009]

James Garner is "Mr. Buddwing," a man who wakes up in Central Park and can't remember who he is in this 1966 film directed by Delbert Mann. Taking the name Buddwing off of a Budweiser truck and the wing of a plane, Garner has a train schedule for a Harlem line, a phone number, and a ring with a crack in it from "GV." Gradually things start to come back to him as he meets various women throughout the day, all of whom he thinks are named Grace. Through them, he relives different stages of his married life: Katharine Ross, a college student; Suzanne Pleshette, an actress; and Jean Simmons, as a drunken blond on a scavenger hunt. Angela Lansbury plays a blowsy woman whose phone number Buddwing finds in his pocket - or thinks he does.

The film is made in an interesting way - one minute, Garner will be talking to Pleshette, for instance, in the present, and then a second later, he's talking to Pleshette as Grace, at some time in the past. The film is like that all the way through, as Buddwing's memories come back. Despite its stylishness and the '60s New York City scenes, "Mr. Buddwing" moves somewhat slowly. Garner does a good job, portraying the man's confusion and frustration well. Both Pleshette and Simmons are excellent; Ross has the least showy role.

A dark movie, worth seeing.

Lost in New York

[johno-21 · 7/10 · 28 February 2009]

I recently saw this on TCM and was surprised that I had never seen this before. Based on the novel by popular novelist/writer Evan Hunter who wrote such classics as The blackboard Jungle and the screenplay for The Birds this was adapted for the screen by Hunter and Dale Wasserman. this is the story of an amnesiac (James Garner) who wakes up on a Central Park park bench with no idea who he is. Dressed in a gray suit he discovers only two possible clues to his identity, a ring with the initials G.V. inscribed and a piece of paper with a telephone number on it. He has the name of Grace in his mind who he assumes must be his wife and so with the lack of a name of his own his creates one on the spur of the moment in Sam Buddwing and begins his search through Manhattan of himself and of Grace. His adventure brings him to several memorable characters in Angela Lansbury as the loose woman with a kind heart Gloria, Suzanne Pleshette as actress Fiddle Corwin, Katherine Ross as the pretty and studious Janet, Jack Gifford as restaurant owner Izzy Schwartz, Joe Mantell as the 1st cab driver, George Voskovec as a shabby old man who calls himself God and Jean Simmons as the high society blonde out on treasure hunt for a party. This film was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Black and White Art direction and Best Black and White Costume. It has a gritty New York location feel and frequently uses hand-held cameras and is photographed by cinematographer Ellsworth Fredricks. Directed by Delbert Mann best known for directing such classics as Marty, Desire Under the elms and Separate Tables this is not one of his best but it's quirky and interesting and hold your interest thanks to great on screen performances by the fine cast. Garner is better served as an actor when he has some light comedic roles and he falls a little short in this straight dramatic role where he only smiles once briefly in the entire film. The ending falls short too but all in all it's a different film and I would give it a 7.5 out of 10.

The Man In The Gray Suit

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 26 February 2009]

Mister Buddwing, a curious made up name for the lead character, finds James Garner as a man who wakes up in Central Park without a clue as to who he is. All he has are a couple of scraps of paper with a phone number on one, an address on another and the name of Grace ringing through his clouded mind. From this he tries to build an identity. He's also given some reason to suspect he's an escaped mental patient.

He also runs into during the course of his day, three women, Suzanne Pleshette, Katharine Ross, and Jean Simmons all of whom as his fevered mind flashes back, play the elusive Grace at some point in his life. And they're three very different Graces. We do find out he was married to Grace.

Some of the issues involving amnesia were done better in Mirage which starred Gregory Peck and Diane Baker and in Garner's own film 36 Hours. In 36 Hours however Garner is made to think he's developed amnesia. Here it's the real deal, the hysterical kind after some kind of mental trauma.

Mirage is a much better film however, far more suspenseful. Mister Buddwing is interesting, but really does lack suspense as a whole. Jim Garner does his best with the Buddwing character, but you really don't develop a rooting interest in him.

Best in the film is Angela Lansbury who plays an Adelaide from Guys and Dolls type character, presumably after she finally married Nathan Detroit and settle down somewhat. She only has two scenes, but you really remember her. Especially now since the character is so different from Jessica Fletcher or Mame Dennis roles we know her far better for.

The role must have been thought of as a challenge for James Garner, but I think he was betrayed by a flawed story.

I enjoyed "Mister Buddwing" (1965) and that's what matters !

[Best66! · 11 November 1999]

Other commentators are probably right to say that the plot is totally unlikely, poorly acted and perhaps badly directed. I am no film critic hence do not judge the film from a critical point of view.

Yes, I was aware, while watching the film on TV, that it was completely unlikely, that people just don't act in such a way. Yet I found it compelling, enjoyable, enthralling, haunting. I just had to watch it to the end, and this doesn't happen to me very often these days.

I see the film as an allegory of a man who has lost sight of himself after a personal traumatic drama and is in search of himself through various unlikely encounters, mostly intriguing women. I enjoyed the film as I would enjoy a haunting melody. I guess I see in it an allegory for my own condition.

The movie is about religion, not amnesia.

[Farnsbarns · 6/10 · 14 July 2006]

I saw this movie on TNT after being intrigued by the lackluster comments from reviewers. I typically like James Garner movies. After seeing the movie, I saw it as a religious allegory. James Garner plays Everyman who was searching to answer the question "Who am I?" During the movie, I realized that he asks that question rather than the question "What is my name?" He is asking an ontological question.

Furthermore, there are two scenes where he refers to the deity. In the first scene, where he is youthfully impetuous, he refers to "all the gods of the earth and cosmos" or something. In the latter reference to deity, he soberly and humbly refers to "God." This reference occurs after an intervening scene of a flashback where he tells his young wife that he loves perfection that he finds in music. He then hears Bach's Requiem Mass; they enter a church and stand before an altar. This is an example of how knowledge of nature can lead to God. As the flashbacks bring back more of his life, Garner matures as finally realizes his current, wretched condition.

The final scene is quite touching. He finds life through grace. Of course, Grace is his wife's name but the scene allegorically refers to the "saving grace." The movie is not a typical amnesia movie. It is disjointed and the dialog stilted, but, like a classical painting, many scenes have meaning when viewed from a religious viewpoint. Perhaps seeing this viewpoint requires knowledge of Christian doctrine. I would've ordered it on DVD, but it doesn't seem to be available.

Excellent allegory

[laurraine · 7/10 · 28 June 2006]

Having read the previously posted comments, I can see the reactions range all over the map.

I agree with the people who thought the story was not realistic. I like to think that if I woke up in Central Park not knowing who I was that I'd go to the police or a doctor. But that's never happened to me, so I don't know for sure. "Sam Buddwing" starts his search in what seems to be a sensible way. He calls a phone number he finds written on a piece of paper in his pocket. We later find out where he made his mistake. If the story took place today, when any large city contains multiple area codes and we would not write down a number without the area code, the story would have ended in a much shorter time.

I see the rest of the story as a sort of allegory. It takes place and unfolds much as it might have in a psychiatrist's office, where each session he might have remembered a piece of his prior life. By wandering around he actually, I believe, shortens the length of time that he needs to remember. I found the movie to be a fascinating study of an amnesiac and found it impossible to turn it off as the ending neared its climax.

Each of the women he met in his search reminded him of a piece of his life.

Unlike some of the commentators, I did not find the movie at all confusing and I have not read the book. On the other hand, I am a student of psychology.

I found the acting to be superb all around.

While I wouldn't label this movie a masterpiece, it is definitely one of the better ones I've seen this year.

A Mystery With Unrealized Potential

[atlasmb · 7/10 · 29 July 2014]

"Mister Buddwing" has an interesting start. Seen from the POV of the protagonist, we find ourselves in Central Park. Searching our pockets for clues to our identity--because already it is clear that we have amnesia--we find a train schedule, 2 pills, a phone number and a ring with an inscription. As a jazz track plays in the background, we make our way out of the park and into a hotel where we see our reflection. We are James Garner!

Already we know this is a very stylish film. Most of the remainder of the film is shot third-person, but the camera does use POV for dramatic effects later.

Garner, now knowing what he looks like, calls the mysterious phone number and a woman answers. He is clever enough to get an invitation to meet the woman. He hopes to find clues to his identity. He stumbles outside the hotel and the New York streets are impossibly uncrowded and quiet, contributing a feeling of loneliness. He cobbles together a temporary name for himself (Sam Buddwing) using pieces of visual clues outside. Up until the naming, the film is dead-on mysterious and interesting. Why does he construct the name? It seems pointless. And his response to his temporary name is not authentic and only distracts.

According to a trivia note on this site, this was James Garner's least favorite among his films. I imagine it was embarrassing for him. What is frustrating is that the film had potential. If only the stylish photography and music were not undercut by useless scenes and bad dialogue.

The cast is fun to watch. Angela Lansbury, Jean Simmons, Suzanne Pheshette, Katharine Ross! And most of the acting is excellent. Garner himself has some dicey moments, but I wonder if that was due to the direction. Angela Lansbury shows her range again, playing a low-class, fading housewife who can still manage a motherly feeling or a tender moment. Katharine Ross is a student at NYU, who is suspicious of Buddwing's intent. Suzanne Pleshette is an adventurous actress who falls for Buddwing's charms almost immediately. Jean Simmons is a well-to-do woman on a scavenger hunt, but willing to change course on a whim or a premonition, in search of thrills.

When Buddwing meets these women, he enters a dream state that seems to have clues to his identity. Are they flashbacks? Eventually, the stories seem to overlap. It should makes things even more confusing, but somehow this conceit is fathomable. By the end of the story, all is clear.

Fans of NYC will probably enjoy the many identifiable locations (e.g. Washington Square and Shubert Alley).

One has the feeling that if some annoying items were excised, this film could be a classic. Some dialogue is inappropriate to the moment in the story. Some scenes were totally without value and, therefore, distracting. There are moments when the background music does not fit the action. Mostly small things.

After all the mystery, the ending is rather flat, a disappointment.

Watch for the actresses

[mls4182 · 7/10 · 22 July 2022]

Th is was a cool offbeat film. The real treat is the actresses. They are all lovely and give good performances. They truly elevate the material.

There are also some really cool shots of mid 60s New York, some of which no longer exist.

Interesting Book, Half-baked film transfer Disastrous failure

[zensixties · 3/10 · 8 July 2002]

The Evan Hunter novel Buddwing is a hauntingly original, if unrealistic story. The author's idea was to take the mid-life identity crisis to the extreme...literal amnesia. Its 1964 release prompted MGM to pick it up for a 1965 film, possibly thinking they'd have another Blackboard Jungle on their hands. Well not quite. Not to say the great talent of the '60s isn't there: Director Delbert Mann (who did Marty and Fitzwilly), Katharine Ross (The Graduate, Butch Cassidy), Angela Landsbury (Manchurian Candidate), Jean Simmons, and James Garner all do their best in one of the less believable of the 7,000,000 tales of NYC. One obvious fault lies in the dialogue (mostly taken directly from the book) as numerous run-ins between Garner (Buddwing) and the other characters result in conversations that simply don't ring true. Another fault is the director seems to intentionally give this the avant-garde treatment, though he's obviously ill-equipped for it. The disjointed confusing scenes would be impossible to follow had one not read the book.

Especially the scenes with Katharine Ross--he thinks she's someone named Grace, they talk (not making any sense) and then it cuts to a flashback where she IS Grace...GOD I feel sorry for someone trying to figure this out who hasn't read the book. And of course the book's sex scenes are not to be found here. Then Ross is gone--poof--maybe she told MGM to shove the script up their as--side their other failures.

The only interesting aspect to the film is that it's set in Manhattan in the '60s, and it was the last "major" film shot in black and white. Finally the film fails because the director and screenwriter Wasserman simply didn't put any real effort into making this a film of substance...it ends up as a bunch of poorly editted "scenes". As another reviewer said this could be a great remake...if they rewrite the whole thing, have good direction, etc. Anyway, read the book and then watch the film for laughs.

Style and Pacing Over Plot and Dialogue

[trusgift · 7/10 · 18 February 2013]

Whether you interpret the plot line as a vehicle for allegory or an ultimately flawed exercise in suspense, the highly successful photography, editing and musical scoring in "Mister Buddwing" deserves an audience. It is difficult to imagine a more urgent, dread-tinged, unsettling adrenaline rush as that brought on by the Jean Simmons sequence culminating in the Harlem craps game, even if the climax following is a bit of a pedestrian let-down. Sam Buddwing's grown-up Holden Caufield-like exile in urban wilderness - a bleak mid-1960s Manhattan where he encounters memorable, goodish Samaritans tainted by their own agendas(Jack Gilford as a cafeteria owner preoccupied with Judaism and Angela Lansbury in one of her trampish roles, but distinguishable from, say, "The World of Henry Orient" by her lower social class) and a park vagrant claiming to be God make for a very rich cinematic experience, and the final camera shots, essentially the opening ones in reverse, provide a strikingly satisfying coda.

Notable for its time are a couple of overt homosexual references which don't seem to be significant to the plot, but contribute a degree of realism probably intended to be grittily alienating. In the most poorly-handled scene in the film, where Buddwing is accosted by a beat cop and a crowd, unlikely in its sheer numbers, quickly forms around them, an out gay man makes an appearance which is pretty significant considering the pre-Stonewall setting.

Moody, curious, but ultimately unenthralling melodrama

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 8 April 2006]

Amnesiac James Garner tries to sort out his apparently complicated past. This adaptation of Evan Hunter's book "Buddwing" (and retitled "Woman Without a Face" for its overseas release) looks terrific but is a distressingly unsatisfying soaper. Photographed by the great Ellsworth Fredericks in crystalline black-and-white on autumnal New York City locations, the movie is saddled with an annoying plot which never comes together. Full of top talent, but only Suzanne Pleshette gives off some heat as a savvy actress. The film attempts to be modern and risqué, but the writing is so ham-handed and the direction so self-consciously arty that the final result just seems alienating and unabsorbing. *1/2 from ****

Jazz Noir

[mgtbltp · 9/10 · 16 July 2013]

Oscar-winning film director Delbert Mann ( The Outsider (1961), Marty (1955) - TV, Playhouse 90, Goodyear Playhouse, Omnibus, Producers Showcase, Playwrights '56, Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, Schlitz Playhouse, Masterpiece Playhouse) adapts Evan Hunter's novel "Buddwing" and with the cinematography of Ellsworth Fredericks (Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Seven Days in May (1964)) and a great original jazzy score by Kenyon Hopkins (composer for Baby Doll (1956), 12 Angry Men (1957), The Fugitive Kind (1959), The Hustler (1961), to create a stylized "Jazz Noir".

Filming in 1965, Mister Buddwing is one of those lost films that are on the cusp between Film Noir and Neo Noir. Sort of a psychological noir rather than a "crime" noir. A melancholy film that plays with time, space and your mind as the various vignettes overlap it's eerie and noirishly suspenseful, but at times darkly comic. It requires multiple viewings to fully comprehend.

The film stars James Garner in a role that really displays his acting chops in a performance far removed from his wisecracking Bret Maverick (disregard his contention that this is his worst film, he sells himself way too short). Garner plays one of Film Noir's touchstone tropes the amnesiac. The film opens with an unfocused shot of the sky sliced diced and fragmented by bare branches . As the frame focuses and our view pans we see the branches are trees, we see buildings, and Central Park at the corner of 59th and 5th. In an homage to Robert Montgomery's "The Lady In The Lake" and the beginning of "Dark Passage", the film displays an intriguing POV sequence that begins when hands "rub" the eye of the camera, it also begins a faint jazz heartbeat increasing in tempo and volume as "we" the character sitting on a park bench search frantically through out suit pockets (for identification) combing out a train timetable, a scrap of paper with a name Gloria and phone number and some pills. A ring on his finger has an inscription "from G.V.". The POV sequence continues until we stumble into a mirror at the Plaza Hotel when Garner is revealed. He has neither money or ID but he does remember the name of a woman, a woman named Grace.

Using a lobby phone and giving a fictitious room number he calls Gloria (Angela Lansbury) to try and discover his identity. Gloria a divorced floozy with a heart of gold, takes pity on him and gives him money so that he can find himself. So begins his jazz odyssey through the streets of New York.

In his quest for Grace, Garner meets three women, Janet (Katherine Ross), Fiddle (Susanne Pleshette), and The Blonde (Jean Simmons), each of the women he at first mistakens for Grace. So at first we see Garner interact with each woman in their true identities and at some point they become a vivid flashback to his relationship with Grace at different stages of his life with Grace, the starry eyed young love stage, the struggle with real life, and the consequences of wrong decisions made. All this makes the viewer a little disoriented, a little lost, exactly how James Garner's character feels throughout the movie.

The film features the neighborhoods of midtown Manhattan, Times Square, and the Queensboro Bridge as its backdrop creating a cinematic memory link to classic Noirs, The Sweet Smell Of Success, Kiss Of Death, Killers Kiss, The Unsuspected. Wonderful melancholy jazz compositions accompany Garner as he wanders the streets.

All the three actresses are outstanding in their dual rolls.

Watch for Joe Mantell's cab driver character's hilarious monologue then pay attention for its echo with the 2nd cab driver Billy Halop, the original leader of the Dead End Kids. Watch for Nichelle Nichols appearance as a dice player, and Jack Gilford's interaction with Garner in a lunch counter.

Available on DVD from the Warner Brothers Archive Collection. 9/10

True stream-of-consciousness film-making!

[steve83-1 · 7/10 · 8 August 2004]

With a story as confusing as the situation described by it, Mr. Buddwing ranks among the few movies made the way the lead character is really experiencing the story. Characters shift from confused recollections to reality and back as an amnesiac tries to piece together his few memories, his location, and an obscure scrap of paper with a phone number on it. As bits of memory resurface, "Mr. Buddwing" (as he has arbitrarily named himself) wonders if he could be the killer described in the news, but also feels a compulsion to rescue the women he encounters: a lonely socialite, a suicidal divorcée, and a captivating student.

Although not the best performances by any of the actors, the engaging story and rare style make this movie a must-see for any fans of the genre or the performers. Anyone who appreciates the song "D.O.A." by Bloodrock will appreciate the style of this story.

Trading Bars.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 2 August 2006]

Sometimes jazz musicians trade bars. The drummer solos for a bar or two, then back to the tenor man who takes another, back to the drummer, and so on. The listener doesn't really get lost, because it's not a complicated arrangement. And it gives the soloists a chance to take some real chances because his piece is so short that he doesn't have to build anything out of it.

This film is something like that. There's a kind of central theme that we can follow without too much trouble. Garner wakes up nameless and bereft of memory in Central Park, invents a name for himself after seeing a beer truck and an airplane, and wanders around the city running into people who take some kind of interest in him, friendly or hostile, as he goes through flashbacks.

Angela Lansbury gets the first couple of bars as a lead to his identity that turns out to be a dead end. There are a few briefer encounters, including one with Jack Gifford, who is convinced Garner is a Jew who has changed his name and forgotten his original name because he is ashamed of it. (It's a bizarre scene but a very funny one. Anyway, all the scenes have an element of the surreal in them.) If you have to be nearly broke and an amnesiac in a big American city, New York isn't the worst place. The fact that people constantly engage you, kvetching about their mothers-in-law or something, is reassuring. At least when you're arguing with someone or flirting with them you know you're alive. In La-La Land, Home of the Purple Taj Mahal Motels, you can't even make eye contact with strangers. You're not only amnesiac, you're invisible too.

I don't think I'll let New York off the hook so easily though. Almost every city gains in comparison to L.A. In the mid-60s when this film was shot, New York's streets were safe to stumble aimlessly around in. Within a few years you could still easily get attention from others but the nature of the attention had changed.

Come to think of it, this is the second time that James Garner has played an amnesiac, except that in the other case ("36 Hours") he wasn't a real amnesiac and had to be fooled into believing he was one.

The first half hour swung. The rest of it jumped around a lot without really showing us much that's gripping. A good deal of time is spent with Garner and his wife arguing about where they will get the money to provide for the baby that she wants and he does not. The dialog is thin and the scene seems pointless. The final realization comes to Garner at the end of the movie and it seems arbitrary.

Let's call it an interesting experiment. Maybe the novel was better organized.

WONDERFUL

[ivan-22 · 8 September 2002]

Great jazz score. Memorable dialogue. Fascinating characters. Even small parts are interesting. Vulnerable male lead (unlike cardboard cutouts). Ladies with personality. Wonderful performances even by bit players. Gorgeous black and white photography. New York streets. Camera that isn't afraid to dare. Pure gold performance by Pleshette as an ever-aspiring thespian. This movie IS a jazz score. It is about life, midlife and city life. It's suspenseful, but the suspense isn't its central element. Mood is. This movie is perfect from every angle, in every department. Not much more can be expected from images on a screen. A movie with an attitude that presents life as style. Voila.

Plentiful suspense, gripping acting, ultimately disappointing

[aromatic-2 · 6/10 · 2 December 2000]

Mister Buddwing has two-thirds of the recipe down pat: a terrific cast and suspenseful direction. Ironically, for a movie about an amnesiac, it forgets where it wanted to go and winds up bailing out on unsatisfying cliches. This is a shame because Garner is excellent, Simmons has never been better, and Peters is particularly good.

Was This a Good Movie? I Don't Know. I Don't Remember!

[chauge-73253 · 6/10 · 28 February 2018]

Mister Buddwing is the name James Garner's character gives himself when he wakes up on a New York City parkbench and starts asking people who he is and what he is doing there because he can't remember anything that has happened in his life, including his own name. The one name that seems stuck in his head is Grace, and as you watch the movie you start to realize that this is the woman in his life he is desperate to find. He runs across three women who remind him of the early, middle, and late stages of his relationship with her. Katherine Ross plays early Grace, Suzanne Pleshette plays middle Grace, and Jean Simmons plays late stage Grace. Each women play versions of their real selves as well when Buddwing first meets them. The movie goes back and forth between the real versions and the Grace versions in the middle of the scenes, which can be quite confusing. I had to press the rewind button more than a few times to get a handle on which is which, because the director, Delbert Mann, doesn't make it easy for you. By the end of the movie you figure out what happened to the real Grace and why Buddwing has his amnesia, but it doesn't really lead to a satisfying experience for this viewer. It's kind of an interesting psychological study of what a traumatic experience can do to a person, but not necessarily all that entertaining.

A 60s mind-bender

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 27 June 2022]

Tall, handsome James Garner was quickly typecast as a slick character, and his fate was pretty much sealed after playing "the scrounger" in The Great Escape. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that he was able to thumb his nose at Hollywood and use the Hallmark channel as an avenue to show off his acting chops. However, if you dig deep enough, you'll be able to find a couple of movies in the 1960s where he was allowed to act: 36 Hours and Mister Buddwing.

The story is mysterious and actually interesting, if you can stick with it long enough to understand what's happening. James wakes up with no memory of anything, not even his name. He finds a phone number in his coat pocket and telephones, hoping it'll give him a clue of his identity, and a loose woman invites him up to her place. It's Angela Lansbury, in a negligee, smeared makeup, and a low-class New York accent! But she can't help him figure out who he is, and he weeps in her arms. As the movie progresses, he meets different women (Katherine Ross, Jean Simmons, and Suzanne Pleshette) and has seemingly disjointed interactions with them. But certain things start to repeat themselves, like two women saying, "That gave me goosebumps," or the same argument repeating with different outcomes. I won't spoil the movie for you, but if you like mind-benders like Vanilla Sky or Seconds, you might like this one. It's definitely unusual, so don't expect your typical James Garner flick.

Surrounded everywhere by Mr. and Mrs. Nutjob and family.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 3 August 2022]

If there ever was a script that warned people to stay away from a big metropolis, it's this film that deals with amnesia James Garner who while trying to find out his identity roams around Manhattan and meets some of the artist and nosiest and unpleasant characters in the movies. He's in Central Park where he wakes up and searches his pocket for some sort of identity. When he calls the number that he finds, he gets confused by the recipient (Angela Lansbury) so he takes that on as his name, creating a fictitious last name out of the air based on signs and situations at that moment.

Cab drivers, pesky diners, crazy people in the park, an overzealous cop and several beautiful women come into play during his search, with the blowzy Lansbury unforgettable as the initially cynical but caring dame, Jack Gilford annoyingly nosy and presumptuous as the supposed diner owner, Joe Mantell and Billy Halop as world weary cab drivers, and George Voskovec as a grizzled man in Washington Square who claims to be God and threatens to turn Garner in for being an escaped mental patient. There's quite an intense scene with the Washington Square cop harassed by an interesting group of Park visitors for demanding to see Garner's identification.

The three women are an eclectic group of New York City types: college student Katherine Ross who takes no guff, Suzanne Pleshette as a gregarious actress who utilizes every encounter as if it was an acting opportunity, and Jean Simmons as an aging glamour girl desperately searching for one last thrill. The dialogue definitely screams 60's counterculture with each character trying to be something other than who they really are, as if they'd love to have amnesia themselves. Then there's the New York City photography, obviously filmed on a Sunday morning based on the vacant streets with only cast and extras in view. It's fascinating to watch the city in this light. Director Delbert Mann creates a world that will be fascinating for some and depressing for others. I'm fascinated by it, although I'm not blinded by the film's flaws.

Stylish, polished, and a little confusing

[marcslope · 6/10 · 22 August 2018]

A grim black-and-white allegory from an Evan Hunter novel, this mood piece has James Garner waking up in Central Park with no memory whatever and piecing together his past through a series of memories, hallucinations, and casting changes. Why he wouldn't have any ID on him, first of all, isn't explained, and the use of three different actors to portray the same woman in his life becomes quite confusing, good as Katherine Ross, Suzanne Pleshette, and Jean Simmons are. We're never sure how literally to take anything. Garner's excellent, as is the high-contrast photography of a dusty-looking mid-'60s Manhattan, and as the story slowly builds to a kind-of-sort-of resolution, we're intrigued. It's an interesting artifact and very much worth seeing, but one can sense how the twisted storytelling and overall bleakness didn't help the box office.

Reminds me of "The Swimmer"

[sharona_x007 · 2/10 · 2 August 2006]

I like the film for its New York mid-60s esthetic, but I agree with others who liken the film to a religious allegory.

The use of the name "Grace" and the frequent mentions of God....allegorical. But instead of reminding me of other amnesia films, instead it somewhat reminds me of The Swimmer with its conversations that begin as if we already know all the characters involved and the circumstances therein.

Jean Simmons and Suzanne Pleshette give performances that are called for in this type of production (what fun to see Correges white fashion boots on Pleshette, just like the ones I wore in high school in 1966!). And I do love James Garner, but as someone else has stated, Anthony Perkins would have owned this film.

One of Garner's best films ever was another B&W called "The Americanization of Emily."

"Memento" of the 60's

[katesullivan1 · 8/10 · 31 January 2007]

A quirky, moody, sleight of reality. As this movie progresses it becomes more an altered chronology of remembered events rather than a series of hallucinations. The city of New York is more than a geographical location, it is an artistic "set". The use of black and white rather than color gives this particular "set" a role in establishing the mood and tone. ALL the shots are for dramatic effect, not a wasted inch. High contrast but in a muted way. A perfect example is the black iron walkway leading to the bridge against a NY skyline and Suzanne Pleshette in a white coat and boots (ala '60"s). This composition has great dark lines and light forms but almost in an early evening haze.

Then, I also must comment on Jean Simmons like I've hardly ever seen her. She was so coquettish, lush, lively and degenerate at the same time that I thought I was seeing Vivien Leigh as a young flapper. I was quite mesmerized trying to reconcile this Jean Simmons with "Young Bess". I thought she was the spark of the whole movie.

The cutting and arranging of the sequences lent themselves to dramatically unfolding the story in non-chronological order. This is what made me think of "Memento".

Like "Memento"'s Guy Pearce, James Garner mostly stumbles through "Mr. Buddwing" fairly stupefied. This behavior seems about right to me if someone were truly experiencing this altered reality.

I recommend this movie for a dark, hushed evening, especially if you have friends willing to "suspend dis-belief" and careen around New York and James Garner's head.

Another amnesia theme...nice beginning, but it doesn't work...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 26 June 2006]

In a vulnerable role that would have been perfect for either Montgomery Clift or Anthony Perkins, big, hulking JAMES GARNER is supposed to be afraid of who he is and why he can't remember anything. Somehow, it just doesn't work.

Not all of the fault his his. The script is a muddled thing, and has him going from woman to woman trying to find himself. He thinks each woman is Grace--someone from his past that he hasn't forgotten. A low point is a rather embarrassingly written scene with ANGELA LANSBURY as a warm-hearted, boozy type who slobbers all over him when she realizes his predicament is really too much. A little less risible is the sequence with SUZANNE PLESHETTE, but it too is poorly conceived and written. Most of the characters he comes into touch with are either obnoxious or stupid. So much for the screenplay...and the film itself has to be regarded as a complete misfire.

That this is directed by Delbert Mann is surprising. He's usually so tight and forceful in his direction--whereas MR. BUDDWING is a series of vignettes that don't ever seem real, however unpredictable they are.

Nice try--and maybe Evan Hunter's novel got it right--but the only redeeming feature of the film is some nice location shots in New York City's Greenwich Village area.

As for JAMES GARNER, he's much more suited to the cocky sort of roles that he played later on in films like THE GREAT ESCAPE. Vulnerability is not his forte.

A showcase of Garner's limitations

[seanmaher · 12 July 2004]

There is something deeply touching and oddly disarming about this wonderful film, but as the above poster comments, the film does not quite fulfill its remit.

I have watched this film on a number of occasions because of its sombre dream-like quality - the juxtaposition of slap-in-the-face reality and those almost womb-like immersions into Buddwing's memories.

The score is brilliant, the lighting dramatic and memorable.

The cast - brilliant, but it pains me to say this as a massive, massive fan of James Garner - he shows his limitations as an actor in this one.

Note the self-naming scene. "Bud.....wing.... I..have a name" too dozy, and that crying scene after he faced off with the madman who claimed he was god. Poor Jimmy looked like he'd be pepper-spayed.

However, because of Garner's form, I like this film even more. Garner's character should be vulnerable, extremely so, because of his predicament. To see Garner himself vulnerable and out of his league in the role works almost better than great acting would. And what was that look on his faced when Grace-2 asked him if was "one of those AC/DC types" ??

There's still something magical about Garner's presence. He's a winner.

The film comes across as a stage play adapted for film - a piece of beat poetry acted out by conservatives. Strange, half realized, surreal, and finally a flawed gem.