One of My Wives Is Missing (1976)

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

A wealthy man is honeymooning in a small town when his new bride goes missing. The police are dragging their feet, but not to worry, the lady turns up, or does she? She says she is his wife, and everyone else is convinced, including the local priest, but heck, he recognises his own wife, doesn't he? It soon becomes clear the impostor and the (fake) priest are in cahoots to drive him mad, but can he convince the local detective of that? A plot of this nature would not work in the cyber-age, of course, nor probably would it have worked in the 1970s. Everything about this film stinks: the wise-cracking former big city detective, the script, the ridiculous twists and turns, the one thing that holds it together is the apparent plot. Alas, the final twist is so ridiculous it beggars belief and then some. A much better alternative ending would be the obvious one in which although his wife has indeed been murdered, the chickens come home to roost for the villains. Alas, the way it actually plays out is too silly for words.

I saw this movie several years ago and I never forgot it. It will keep you on the edge of your seat. The actors are wonderful. As soon as you think you have it figured out, something will happen to prove you wrong. When it ends you'll want to watch it all over again. I have never seen a movie like it since. It is so smart and creative, I wish more movies were as imaginative. It's a favorite of mine. I'd love to buy the video or DVD, but it's nowhere to be found. I wish it would play on T.V. again, so I could tape it. If you get the chance to see it, don't miss it. Tape it if you can, they hardly ever show it. If you love unpredictable endings this is the movie for you! Engoy! I did.

This is a well crafted mystery/suspense film based on Robert Thomas' play TRAP FOR A LONELY MAN. The cast is rock solid and the clever script will keep you guessing until the very end (unless you already know the final twist ahead of time).Viewers who enjoyed this telemovie (or its inferior 1986 remake VANISHING ACT) should also track down the 1958 Michael Anderson movie CHASE A CROOKED SHADOW (starring Anne Baxter), which boasts a similar concept but with a slightly different premise (a woman is forcibly reunited with a man who claims to be her deceased brother, but only she seems to know that it's not really him).

At first glance, this looks like another here today, gone tomorrow made for TV thriller, but this is one that will stay with you. There are twists and turns that you'd never expect, and the denouement is very clever. There's a terrific atmosphere of mystery and terror throughout, and the cast is perfect. Jack Klugman never solved a mystery this good as Quincy, that's for sure.