Thu 27 Jan 2022
A Movie Review by Mike Tooney: MIRAGE (1965).
Posted by Steve under Mystery movies , Reviews[14] Comments
MIRAGE. Released: July 7, 1965. Running time: 109 minutes. Cast: Gregory Peck (David Stillwell), Diane Baker (Shela), Walter Matthau (Ted Caselle), Kevin McCarthy (Josephson), Jack Weston (Lester), Leif Erickson (Crawford Gilcuddy), George Kennedy (Willard), Robert H. Harris (Dr. Broden), Anne Seymour (Frances Calvin), House B. Jameson (Bo), Hari Rhodes (Lt. Franken), Neil Fitzgerald (Joe Turtle). Producer: Harry Keller. Writers: Peter Stone (screenplay) and Howard Fast (uncredited; based on his 1952 novel Fallen Angel, as by Walter Ericson). Director: Edward Dmytryk.
David Stillwell has managed to do the impossible, at least according to a nervous psychologist who presumably knows about these things: While David has spent the last two years living and working in New York, he has absolutely no memory of any of it. “Impossible!” says the shrink that he has desperately sought out; amnesia can last, at most, maybe two months — not two years!
But when a nervous pro-wrestling-addicted schmo practically kidnaps him in his apartment, and a big plug ugly starts taking shots at him in the park, and people he knows — or thought he knew well — either wind up dead or are plotting to kill him, it occurs to David Stillwell that he will have to retrieve his lost memories — and fast! Unknown to him, buried deeply in his subconscious is the knowledge of something — and this is no exaggeration — that could completely change the world forever . . . .
There are a lot of twists and turns in this movie, too many to detail, but it zips along at a good pace. By telling the story in a nonlinear way with lots of flashbacks that at first don’t make much sense, the viewer is kept as much in the dark as the main character about just what the heck is going on. The writers lean heavily on Gregory Peck’s amiable charisma to keep the audience sympathetically engaged in his nightmare.
The production also makes full use of late autumn scenes in New York’s streets and Central Park, and although the film is a full-length theatrical release, it seems wise for them to shoot it in muted black and white in order to give it a noirish feel.
The aforementioned “nervous psychologist” is played by Robert H. Harris, one of those familiar faces from mainly ’50s and ’60s network TV that you might have trouble attaching a name to. The IMDb awards Harris 130 credits, including a long run in The Goldbergs (51 episodes), Erle Stanley Gardner’s The Court of Last Resort (23 episodes), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (8 episodes), Perry Mason (7 episodes), with sporadic appearances in dozens of shows and movies as late as The Six Million Dollar Man in 1977.
PostScript: The one copy of Fallen Angel currently on AbeBooks has an asking price of $3500.
January 27th, 2022 at 7:32 pm
Me, I thought Walter Matthau was the star of the movie. (Well, almost. Gregory Peck is awfully good.)
My review of the movie is here:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=9573
And Mike Nevins’ review of both the book and the movie is here:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=15682
January 27th, 2022 at 10:31 pm
The director of MURDER, MY SWEET back in form! Harris was also memorable as the made makeup artist in HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER, and the loathsome firebug in THE BIG CAPER.
January 27th, 2022 at 11:40 pm
I am with you, Steve regarding Walter Matthau. Very impressive performance. The weak link, to my mind, was Diane Baker who didn’t know whether to play Shela as a femme fatale or poor-little-girl. Her self-pity was intolerable!
January 28th, 2022 at 9:38 am
Swell review. This is one of my all-time favorite flicks. It’s a corker of a yarn; a doozy of a thriller; and a quintessential “New York movie” with memorable glimpses of the big city.
The summary above aptly picks out the fun aspect in the suspenseful plot, (wherein) much of the time, we’re just as disoriented as Peck’s character is. There’s several bits of playfully existentialist dialogue as Peck tries to figure out who he is.
But yes Matthau practically steals the movie as the dry PI enlisted to help. I’ve previously gone on record stating what I feel about Walter Matthau. I rank him –for his era–as the equivalent of Stewart, Tracy, Fonda or Frederic March in their heyday.
The guy can play any role: slimy villain or hapless stooge, heavy or weakling. Comedy, drama, even romance. Young Matthau’s career is especially studded with gems. ‘Charade’, ‘Mirage’, Fail-Safe’, on and on and on.
January 28th, 2022 at 1:10 pm
Interestingly enough, MIRAGE proved to be timely. If you check the release date of the film (July 7, 1965) against the Great Northeast Blackout (November 9, 1965), you just might have a valid case of life imitating art. Details in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_1965
January 28th, 2022 at 2:51 pm
Nifty, that..
Peck’s character –his predicament –also reminds me a bit of the low-budget cult horror classic, ‘Carnival of Souls’
January 28th, 2022 at 10:53 pm
Though this one fails a bit on the making total sense scale it is so stylishly done it doesn’t matter, and Matthau is superb as the private eye.
It’s notable that Peter Stone, who would shortly write CHARADE, seems to to borrowed some of the atmosphere of this film for that classic and its general air of incomprehensible mystery (ironically Matthau is in the latter too as is George Kennedy and probably not by coincidence).
I love this film. It is stylish, well acted (nods to Leif Ericson and Keven McCarthy too) with a clear Hitchcockian feel to it.
Many of Howard Fast’s E. V. Cunningham novels had something of the feel of this often turning on a protagonist out of their depth and uncertain what comes next.
The novel was slender, taut, and like the film hardly gave you time to worry about some of the more contrived plot elements.
This was closely remade as JIGSAW (made for television I think). I recall Harry Guardino in the cast but not much else.
January 29th, 2022 at 4:25 pm
David,
Regarding Charade — it was already in the past. This project was intended for Cary Grant, but it was a pass.
January 29th, 2022 at 10:28 pm
Then I suppose CHARADE may have contributed to Matthau and Kennedy in this one. It’s a coincidence either way with Stone’s involvement.
January 29th, 2022 at 10:46 pm
I believe by design.
January 29th, 2022 at 10:47 pm
Kevin McCarthy, noted above –a face well known to any film buff –one of those stalwart supporting stars like William Windom or Robert Webber. So often adroit, just as he is here, playing a henchman uncertain of his conscience. Unsure as to where his ideals and loyalties lie. It all comes to the fore at the film’s climax. Which way will he bounce under Peck’s prodding? It’s the crux of the flick, and slickly handled.
Something which adds interest to the movie’s finale (for me, anyway) is the startling, anti-capitalist message latent in the comeuppance of the bad guy. It’s not just the industrialist kingpin who winds up indicted in the film’s dialogue. The screenplay sinks a fang into the whole business-as-usual mindset so characteristic of New York.
It’s icy stuff.
January 29th, 2022 at 11:11 pm
Quite a point.
February 1st, 2022 at 7:05 am
I loved Charade and Arabesque from Peter Stone, so it’s really about time I saw this.
February 2nd, 2022 at 5:15 pm
I can’t wait any longer for someone to leave Comment #14.