Vanishing Act

1986 "A beautiful stranger is posing as Harry's wife... Someone is lying... And you'll never guess who. Is it a scam or is it murder?"
7.1| 1h35m| en
Details

In the Rocky Mountains, Harry Kenyon seeks out his missing wife Chris in the Winter Parade. Harry meets Lieutenant Rudameyer and tells that him he is from San Francisco and has just married Chris, from Philadelphia, in Las Vegas. They traveled to the Rockies on honeymoon and they had an argument the previous day, and Chris left their isolated cabin in her car. Harry also says that he is worried about her disappearance since she is not a good driver. Harry returns to his cabin and receives a phone call from the local priest, Father Macklin, who summons him to go to the church. Father Macklin tells says Chris is in the church waiting for him. When Harry sees Chris, he tells that she is not his wife; but the woman knows details of their lives and Harry is discredited by the evidences. Is a stranger impersonating Chris or is Harry delusional?

Director

Producted By

Richard Levinson / William Link Productions

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Reviews

Mabel Munoz Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.
Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
merklekranz Elliott Gould in "Vanishing Act", reminds me somewhat of his performance in the excellent "The Silent Partner". His character in both films seems to be grossly underestimated. The acting here is totally acceptable, and the Levinson - Link "Columbo" writing influence is fairly obvious. I am not sure if the intricate plot will hold up to close scrutiny, but the movie is enjoyable. The mountainous ski resort location is not taken advantage of at all, and as another reviewer has mentioned, the limited sets smack of the TV budget. All that being said, a non obvious script is the strong point here, and it will not disappoint those looking for the unexpected. - MERK
Chase_Witherspoon Addictive thriller has Mike Farrell as a distraught husband whose wife has gone missing from their holiday house in the mountains after an apparently minor conflict. Newly transferred police chief (Gould) initially spends more time attempting to source his favourite pastrami sandwich, but soon discovers there might be more to the alleged disappearance than meets the eye. When the missing wife miraculously reappears (Kidder) Gould returns to his sandwich priorities except Farrell is insisting that the woman claiming to be his missing spouse, is not his wife.Classic mystery is an engaging remake of the 1976 James Fanciscus telemovie "One of My Wives is Missing" with a capable cast which features Gould as an enigmatic detective with more going on between the ears than he lets on, while Kidder is an almost haunting presence in the role previously played by Elizabeth Ashley. The situations are taut and the dialogue is careful in containing the mystery until the last scene which is a cracker.The only liabilities are the telemovie budget which limits the scope of the production and the casting of, while talented performers, actors who are sometimes difficult to separate from their long time small-screen alter egos (BJ Hunicutt and Herman Munster occasionally remembered in the performances of Farrell and Gwynne). In this respect, although the original Franciscus movie has more credibility as a serious thriller, "Vanishing Act" still leverages a superbly conceived idea with enough potential to please the matinée audience for whom this was intended.
Stephen Bailey This is a truly excellent thriller which never lets up for a moment, racks up the tension wonderfully, and has a MONSTER of a twist at the end (which I won't reveal). Harry Kenyon (Mike Farrell) has a terrible problem. His wife Chris has vanished and suddenly up pops Margot Kidder impersonating her, just before the real Chris is due to inherit a fortune. He's trying desperately to get people to believe him, but no one will, especially the local chief of detectives (Elliott Gould). What the audience doesn't realise is that Harry Kenyon has a very (very) dark secret and the townspeople who refuse to believe him may know far more than they're letting on. This movie was good enough for a cinema release in my opinion and I promise you, it won't disappoint. 9 out of 10.
jaybabb This movie begs us not to depend on appearances-the events in this film are not what they seem to be! Nor are all the people are who they say they are!! And $750.000 is at stake!!I learned a lesson from reading Agatha Christie books-and I think it applies to this movie: If you suspect the person who is least likely to be suspected then he(or she)is likely to be guilty and, take whatever appears to be the truth-believe the opposite-then you are likely to come to the truth!!!