If "Bunny Lake Is Missing" isn't one of Otto Preminger's masterpieces it
is, nevertheless, a terrifically entertaining psychological thriller,
beautifully directed, written and acted. It's about the disappearance of
a little girl in London; the conundrum is, did she exist in the first
place. It was adapted, by the Mortimers, John and Penelope, from a novel
by Evelyn Piper and it allows a number of very fine actors, as well as
Keir Dullea, the opportunity to strut their stuff superbly. There's
Laurence Olivier as a pragmatic policeman, that fine and underrated
actress Carol Lynley as the distraught mother, Noel Coward and Martita
Hunt as eccentrics and Dullea, surprisingly good, as Lynley's
over-possessive brother while there are several very neat cameos from a
host of well-known British character actors. There are enough clues
scattered through the picture to figure it all out long before the
somewhat protracted denouement yet even after several viewings the film
has lost none of its appeal. Special mention should also be given to
Denys Coop's superb black and white cinematography, (it's shot in
Panavision), as well as Paul Glass' wonderfully atmospheric score.
The films reviewed here represent those I have liked or loved over the years. It is not a list of my favourite films but all the films reviewed here are worth seeing and worth seeking out. I know many of you won't agree with me on a lot of these but hopefully you will grant me, and the films that appear here, our place in the sun. Thanks for reading.
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