- Mirage (1965 film)
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Mirage
Theatrical posterDirected by Edward Dmytryk Produced by Harry Keller Written by Peter Stone
Howard Fast (book)Starring Gregory Peck
Diane Baker
Walter MatthauMusic by Quincy Jones Cinematography Joseph MacDonald Editing by Ted J. Kent Distributed by Universal Pictures Country United States Language English Mirage is a 1965 thriller directed by Edward Dmytryk from a script by Peter Stone (based on a book by Howard Fast), starring Gregory Peck, Diane Baker, Walter Matthau, and Kevin McCarthy, and released by Universal Pictures.
Contents
Plot
After emerging from a blacked-out skyscraper from which a famous humanitarian apparently jumped to his death, cost accountant David Stillwell (Gregory Peck) is stunned to discover that gunmen are chasing him and he has no idea why. Stillwell gradually realizes that he suffers from "unconscious amnesia", and that this illness has caused him to apparently black out the events of the past two years. The problem is that a prickly psychiatrist he consults assures him that it is impossible for unconscious amnesia to last more than a day or two.
As he furiously tries to piece together the puzzle of his life, Stillwell comes across Sheila (Diane Baker), who implies that they have been involved in a relationship. She is vague and evasive, insisting that not remembering is the only thing keeping him alive. He apparently has something a mysterious figure known only as "The Major" wants, but he doesn't know what it is. He recalls working as a "cost accountant" for Unidyne, the company Charles Calvin (Walter Abel), a wealthy (and apparently suicidal) humanitarian whose "nightmare ended just as [Stilwell's] began".
Nothing adds up. Stillwell's life is threatened by mysterious men (George Kennedy and Jack Weston). He engages the private detective Ted Casselle (Walter Matthau), who is more willing than able, this being his first case. The case? Find out who David Stillwell is and why strangers are trying to kill him.
When Stillwell seeks out Calvin's widow to ask what killed him, she replies: "You did."
As his fog lifts, Stillwell comes to realize that he is not at all what he thought himself to be, "Cost Accountant" is a metaphor he used for his real work as a physical chemist. The Garrison Foundation he works for is actually a secret branch of Unidyne, and Stillwell's work is a method to neutralize radiation will allows radiation-free atomic bombs to be made. His amnesia was induced when he tried to burn the only existing copy of his work, with Calvin falling to his death during an attempt to grab it.
This Hitchcockian screenplay is written by Peter Stone as a follow-up to the hugely successful Charade. Matthau and Kennedy are holdovers from Charade.
Cast
- Gregory Peck as Stillwell
- Diane Baker as Sheila
- Walter Matthau as Casselle
- Kevin McCarthy as Josephson
- Leif Erickson as the Major
- George Kennedy as Willard
- Jack Weston as Lester
- Walter Abel as Charles Calvin
- Robert H. Harris as Dr. Braden
Filming
Filming took place on a number of locations in the New York Financial District. The fictitious Unidyne company is headquartered at 2 Broadway. Another key location in the film is the walk with Peck and Baker through Battery Park to City Pier A.
External links
- Mirage at the Internet Movie Database
Films directed by Edward Dmytryk 1930s 1940s Emergency Squad • Golden Gloves • Mystery Sea Raider • Her First Romance • The Devil Commands • Under Age • Sweetheart of the Campus • The Blonde from Singapore • Secrets of the Lone Wolf • Confessions of Boston Blackie • Counter-Espionage • Seven Miles from Alcatraz • Hitler's Children • The Falcon Strikes Back • Captive Wild Woman • Behind the Rising Sun • Tender Comrade • Murder, My Sweet • Back to Bataan • Cornered • Till the End of Time • So Well Remembered • Crossfire • Obsession • Give Us This Day1950s Mutiny • The Sniper • Eight Iron Men • The Juggler • The Caine Mutiny • Broken Lance • The End of the Affair • Soldier of Fortune • The Left Hand of God • The Mountain • Raintree County • The Young Lions • Warlock • The Blue Angel1960s Walk on the Wild Side • The Reluctant Saint • The Carpetbaggers • Where Love Has Gone • Mirage • Alvarez Kelly • Anzio • Shalako1970s Short films Three Lives • Bing Presents Oreste • Not Only StrangersCategories:- English-language films
- 1965 films
- Universal Pictures films
- Films directed by Edward Dmytryk
- Films set in New York City
- Black-and-white films
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