Synopsis
Michael Caine is a down-on-his-luck PI in LA. He’s hired to find the long-lost daughter of a man who is now wealthy, though being hunted by goons. Caine heads off to house of the presumed daughter’s adoptive parents. There are two women the right age here. Which one is he looking for? Could it be Natalie Wood?
And the questions keep coming, such as who thought Wood would be perfectly cast as a femme fatale? Questions unlikely to be answered. The script is full of would-be witty ban…er, but it is arch and forced, which pretty much sums up the entire experience.
Audio
The usual thing here, and regular readers should know the drill. The original mono is here, along with a 2.0 stereo mix that gets the rear speakers in on the fun whether they should be or not. The dialogue is not without a certain harshness as well. Otherwise, the sound is adequate, and the score sounds good, but that’s about it.
Video
The colours are nice, and very rich. The image is sharp, and the blacks are strong, as are the contrasts and flesh tones. There is a bit of flicker, but the grain is minimal. The print is in terrific shape, all in all, which is a relief given how atrocious the condition of the trailer is.
Special Features
Diretor Peter Hyams reminisces about the making of the film in one featurette, and he’s back in the second one, joined by many another speaker, to discuss the film noir phenomenon, which the film has hamfisted fun with. The theatrical trailer is here along with those for the other two Michael Caine releases in this series.
Closing Thoughts
And there you have it: a clean sweep for the Michael Caine movies in the Cinema Classics series. They’re all bad.
Special Features List
- A Conversation with Peter Hyams
- “Peeping in on Film Noir” Featurette
- Theatrical Trailers
