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Bunny Lake Is Missing

Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Release Date: 2005-01-25
Publisher:Sony Pictures
ISBN:1404971467
Actors: Keir Dullea; Carol Lynley; Laurence Olivier; Martita Hunt; Anna Massey
Aspect ratio:2.35:1
Audience rating:Unrated
Format: Black & White; Closed-captioned; DVD; Subtitled; Widescreen; NTSC
Language:Unknown: English; Subtitled: English; Subtitled: French; Original Language: English;
Cinematographer Denys N. Coop
Producer Otto Preminger
Editor Peter Thornton
Producer Martin C. Schute
Writer John Mortimer; Marryam Modell; Penelope Mortimer
Weight:0.25 pounds

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Product description

 

A woman reports her four-year-old daughter missing, but the police investigating the disappearance find no evidence the child ever existed.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: UN
Release Date: 13-SEP-2005
Media Type: DVD

Customer reviews


« Interesting little psychological thriller »
After making masterpieces such as 'Laura', one would wonder what Otto Preminger would have thought by accepting this 1965 thriller. Carol Lynley is a recent arrival to London after the death of her husband. She and her daughter Bunny are moved into a flat with the help of her brother Steven (Keir Dullea), and she begins Bunny at a day school. But after dropping her off, when she goes to pick her up, no one can remember her at all. It's as if Bunny never existed. Even the Scotland Yard
detective (Laurence Olivier) starts to believe that Bunny is the figment of a young woman's delusions.

This film does have a lot of excellent points: Carol Lynley is excellent as Ann Lake, showing a toughness that most actresses would go over the top with. She remains justifiable and sure footed in her search for the missing Bunny. Keir Dullea works well with Ms. Lynley, possessing a certain creepiness about him through the entire picture. Martita Hunt, Lucie Mannheim, and Anna Massey are excellent in supporting roles, and Noel Coward is his bitchy, acerbic self as the Lake's new landlord.

Two question marks remain for me about this movie: Otto Preminger and Laurence Olivier. Both are stars of the silver screen, winning accolades for complex and powerful performances and direction. This movie seems ill suited for either one of them, a psychological thriller that works on one level, but on others, seems convoluted and confusing. Why would anyone just leave their child alone in a daycare without a teacher around? And, seriously, would you leave your child in a school that had more than a few missing children THAT THEY ADMIT TO LOSING without checking into their background first????

Olivier's performance isn't hammy (as it became in latter years..'The Jazz Singer' is a true howler), but it seems ill suited to him. He shows a depth of sympathy for the young woman, but also appears disinterested. Preminger's direction, while sharp, strays close to horror schlock, especially towards the climax.

This film upon it's initial release in 1965 was not a hit, and many dismissed it as a blemish upon Preminger's stellar career. While it holds up today as a creepy little thriller with some fine performances, it isn't the classic that it might have been.
Rating: (4 out of 5) @ 2010-07-03
« Memorable yet interminable »
The story's premise is interesting. I wanted to know what happened to the missing little girl. I thought I had the ending figured out, but I was wrong. Olivier was fantastic, as was the female star, but the male star was icky and uncompelling. The movie was about twice as long as it needed to be. At times, it dragged painfully (I kept thinking haven't I seen this scene before...in this very same movie?) I expect to remember it because it was so unique, but I can't say I would ever sit through it again. I would recommend it only to fans of really old thrillers as long as their expectations were properly set.
Rating: (4 out of 5) @ 2009-12-14
« The ONLY THING missing here is the ending... »
I don't really understand the `camp' references here, since there is NOTHING campy about `Bunny Lake is Missing'. Even the ending, which could (I guess) be considered `camp' is not rendered as such on the screen. Despite its illogical conclusion, `Bunny Lake is Missing' never once falters from its intensity, creating a thriller that is nearly all aces. In fact, up until the last few minutes, when all is revealed, I actually thought it was about as perfect as a thriller could get.

The film opens with a very hurried mother leaving her daughter (who we never see) in the care of a cook at a local school. She has just moved to England with her daughter and needs to rush home to meet with the movers. When she returns to the school to pick up her daughter though, it appears that her daughter has never even been at the school. After her and her brother (whom she moved to live with) do some investigating of their own, the local detective comes in and begins his investigation. What seems odd is that no one seems to have any recollection of young `Bunny' and all of her things are strangely (and very inconveniently) missing from her apartment.

So, the question is raised; does Bunny even exist?

I am not a huge fan of Keir Dullea, and I did feel that he overacted a lot here (so maybe that was a tad campy) but he pulls it together towards the end to make his performance a little more credible (even if it takes the films loss of credibility to do it). Aside from his missteps though, the acting here is nothing short of amazing. Carol Lynley is superb as the worried Ann Lake, completely believable as a young mother going stir crazy trying to prove that she is NOT crazy. Laurence Olivier is also beyond amazing as Supt. Newhouse; the detective trying to put the pieces together. He has a very collected calmness about him that always relays the undercurrent of worry. Noel Coward is also sublime as the very nosey and creepy landlord, Horatio Wilson. Martita Hunt is devilishly good as the spinster founder of the school, Ada Ford, obsessed with the fears of young children. She seems to feed off of Ann's desperation, which makes her all the more suspect in the eyes of the viewer.

I'd have handed out Oscar nominations to all four of them; seriously.

As I mentioned; the end is a bit of a disappointment. I was so invested in this film; ready to label it utter perfection, and then `BAM', it hits me with the ludicrous `surprise' ending that was so clichéd and so unbelievable (there are so many questions left unanswered) and completely unrewarding. I was really hoping for something credible, but seriously, this ending is so ridiculous it makes me angry the more I think about it. It is carried out in a consistent way, thanks to director Otto Preminger, so the film never loses its intensity and drive despite the absurdity of the ending. Even though I was instantly irritated with the route it decided to go, I was still glued to my seat, eyes wide in terror. It is nothing short of thrilling, despite the huge flaw.

I don't want to `give it away', even though I feel like my review is incomplete with totally dissecting the ending. I mean, it is so preposterous it renders the characters (especially Ann) basically retarded; beings that she clearly could have guessed who was behind the whole thing and should have raised flags immediately when her daughter turned up missing.

But she didn't, so she's stupid.

UGH, well, whatever; the movie is still exciting and a real nail biter. I'd recommend it, with that one warning. The ending is horrible; but it's handled with bravado so it's `almost' forgivable. It is still a worthy film that I'd watch again, so sit back and enjoy.
Rating: (4 out of 5) @ 2009-09-29
« Excellent thriller from the 60's »
I wont rehash the story fot the umpteenth time but simply wish to say that this movie very effectively builds tension for the viewer. My wife had to leave the room toward the end as she was frightened. Thats the sign of a good movie. When your audience bolts from tension.james e. Vigiletti
Rating: (4 out of 5) @ 2009-06-29
« Very Good Indeed Until..... »
The "Bunny" is Carol Lynley's daughter. The little girl was dropped off at her new London school one morning. When mom arrives to pick her up, she has vanished without a trace! A frantic Lynley receives no help form the stodgy school staff. Are they merely inept, truly uncaring or protecting their jobs? Something serious has obviously happened! Laurence Olivier is perfect as the polite, calm and suitably skeptical police inspector. LO maintains that mien though the film. Keir Dullea is over the top, at least early on, as Lynley's protective brother, demanding investigative action. The "exact nature" of the Dullea/Lynley relationship is never explained. The key difference is that she maintains credibility throughout while he decidedly does not. This reviewer was reminded of 2 similar cinematic situations: 1) "The Third Man" where Joseph Cotton searches postwar Vienna for his friend Harry Lime/Orson Welles while dealing with a skeptical British officer played by Trevor Howard. 2) The lesser known and highly recommended "Dangerous Crossing" where Jeanne Crain hunts about an ocean liner for hubby Carl Betz, receiving similar skepticism from the ship's crew. The problem from this viewer's perspective is that "Bunny Lake" virtually derails late in the film. Some of the final scenes are almost surreal; greatly muddling what had been a serious, solid investigative movie. Does Bunny turn up? A good review won't divulge resolutions! This reviewer thought the ultimate "resolution" was made anticlimactic by the film's late twist. Others reviewers will disagree. Nearly all should agree that BLM showcases a campy mid-60s London when the "British Invasion" was at full throttle.
Rating: (3 out of 5) @ 2009-06-02
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