Ann Lake has recently settled in England with her daughter, Bunny. When she goes to retrieve her daughter after the girl's first day at school, no one has any record of Bunny having been registered. When even the police can find no trace that the girl ever existed, they wonder if the child was only a fantasy of Ann's. When Ann's brother backs up the police's suspicions, she appears to be a mentally-disturbed individual. Are they right?
viewer's comments:
- a lost classic
This film is a lost classic. It is the story of a child who vanishes and soon seems to have never existed at all. It is beautifully shot, beautifully written and wonderfully acted. Olivier is wonderful (so what else is new?) as a cop who missed his calling as a poet, Linley, who's performance is highly underrated, is not out shined or out classed by the amazing British supporting cast. Just a great film to watch.
- More surprising than the outcome is how well Carol Lynley holds her own against Laurence Olivier!
Carol Lynley does some fabulous work here as American woman newly arrived in England whose little daughter is apparently kidnapped from school on her first day. The catch is, nobody knows the child and Lynley is having trouble proving she even exists! Terrific mystery from director Otto Preminger, an uneven filmmaker who does strong work just up to the finale(which is somewhat anti-climactic). Laurence Oliver is the police inspector on the case, and he is very smooth, cunning and yet sympathetic to Lynley. The subtle 'mod' undertones are used to great advantage, and the picture looks terrific. Leonard Maltin's review makes absolutely NO SENSE, leading me to believe that he or his underlings failed to even watch the picture. *** from ****
- This movie has haunted me since childhood
I don't remember how old I was when I saw "Bunny Lake is Missing" - I was only 5 years old when it was released in theaters, and I know that I saw it on television, so I must have been around 10 or 12. All I know is that I have remembered it to this day, and when even the title of a movie, seen only once at such a young age, is etched forever in your memory, you know it's something worth seeing again. I can't remember every detail of the plot, but I remember the haunting feeling I had after seeing this movie, the realization for the first time, being so young, that things truly are not always as they seem. I have often thought about this movie over the years, and have always watched for it among late-night television, and among video titles, and this is the first place I have ever found mention of it - I was beginning to think it was one of those childhood memories that came from a vivid dream rather then from reality. I am happy to know that my memory was real, and that there are those who feel this movie was truly as great as I remember it being. I hope that someday it is made available - I look forward to the day when I can see it again.
- A gem...
This gem of a movie directed with uncharacteristic subtlety by Otto Preminger and based on the novel by Evelyn Piper is really a clever and very involving movie. Set in England, Carol Lynley plays a young American single mother who drops her daughter off at school and finds that she's no where to be found when she comes back to collect her. Does the child exist? Nobody seems to recall her and as Lynley searches all over London looking for her the tension becomes palpable. Laurence Olivier gives an un-showy performance as the police inspector who seems to be the only person who believes Lynley. Preminger assembles one of his typically eclectic supporting casts: Noel Coward, Keir Dullea, Martita Hunt, and, on TV in one scene, The Zombies. Seeing oddballs Lynley & Dullea share the screen is a treat.
BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING isn't available on tape or DVD but does pop up on cable from time to time... The excellent titles are by Saul Bass.
- a lost classic
This film is a lost classic. It is the story of a child who vanishes and soon seems to have never existed at all. It is beautifully shot, beautifully written and wonderfully acted. Olivier is wonderful (so what else is new?) as a cop who missed his calling as a poet, Linley, who's performance is highly underrated, is not out shined or out classed by the amazing British supporting cast. Just a great film to watch.
- Riveting, Dark, Mysterious, Eerie, Master Thriller from Preminger
I am one of the lucky FEW that have seen BUNNY LAKE. It is nearly tragic that movies such as these somehow find themselves hidden and unavailable after all these years.
If you have a chance to see it, DO NOT HESITATE if you are, like me, always in the market to make new and wonderful discoveries.
It's the same old Hollywood syndrome: market something enough and you can create a legend from practically nothing; put it on the shelf and no one remembers it even if it is worth it's weight it gold.
BUNNY LAKE has more than a few eerie moments. When the finale ensues, you will be riveted but not in a glossy '90's way. But in the old fashioned way: your imagination.
"10 stars" just doesn't tell the whole story. See it. Enjoy.
- oh so underappreciated
I was fortunate enough to catch a screening of this wonderful film for a film class at the University of Connecticut. It was on a very old and deteriorating 16mm print, but it was still great. Preminger keeps you on your toes throughout the entire 107 minutes of the film. Lynley is good as the frantic mother whose illegitimate child is lost, or perhaps nonexistent. But it's 2001: A Space Odyssey's Keir Dullea who truly shines in this masterpiece.
At all costs, SEE THIS MOVIE. It is very hard to find, try your hardest to get a copy and study it well.
- Preminger's great lost film
Under-rated really isn't the word. When "Bunny Lake is Missing" first came out in 1965 it was universally panned, or simply ignored and has since all but disappeared from circulation -- you can't find it on video or laser-disc anywhere, so if you've seen it, you're one of the lucky few.
I first saw "Bunny Lake" as part of an Alfred Hitchcock class, which Jeanine Basinger was teaching at Wesleyan University. No-one who hadn't taken the class seemed to have heard of it, so when I first screened it with three friends we had absolutely no idea what we were in for. Within ten minutes, we were hooked -- when the film's truly shocking turning point came, we were standing up in our seats and screaming. By the end of the film I felt genuinely and curiously moved by it. Since then I have gone out of my way to see it wherever and whenever possible, chasing it through video stores on both sides of the Atlantic.
Although it may sound like a cliche, "Bunny Lake" is truly a film that you should know as little as possible about going into -- if you possibly can, seek it out, petition the Preminger estate and the studio to release it on video or DVD. You may hate it (obviously some of the voters in this poll did) but from my experience, you will be in the overwhelming minority if you do. This film is truly (and entertainingly) a work of art: haunting, beautiful and strangely compassionate.
Cast overview, first billed only:
Keir Dullea .... Stephen Lake
Carol Lynley .... Ann Lake
Lucie Mannheim .... Cook
Noel Coward .... Wilson
Martita Hunt .... Ada Ford
Delphi Lawrence .... First Mother at School
Anna Massey .... Elvira
Jill Melford .... Teacher
Victor Maddern .... Taxi Driver
Laurence Olivier .... Supt. Newhouse
Clive Revill .... Andrews
Damaris Hayman .... Daphne
Suzanne Neve .... Second Mother at School
Adrienne Corri .... Dorothy
Jane Evers .... Policewoman
Runtime: 107 min
Country: UK
Language: English
Color: Black and White
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