That was an excellent one.

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Absolutely the worst movie.

Blistering performances.

This one was predictable, silly by times and not especially entertaining. However, there are some very good actors here giving fine performances: Laurence Olivier as Superintendent NewhouseKeir Dullea (also in 2001: A Space Odyssey) as Steven LakeCarol Lynley as Ann Lakeand Noël Coward as Wilson the creepy landlord. I really didn't expect this movie to be any better than it is. I decided to watch it because one of my all-time favorite actors Laurence Olivier is in it.

Suspenseful film that will have you on the edge of your seat until an amazing finale . Intriguing film is packed with thrills , suspense , plot twists , and results to be quite entertaining . An American woman (Carol Lynley) and her brother (Keir Dullea) report that her young daughter is missing from a nursery kindergarten , but there seems to be no evidence that she ever existed . As the main trouble the police led by a cunning inspector (Laurence Olivier) and his helper (Clive Revill) soon face is : Does the child really exist? . No one admitted while the clock is ticking! Stirring as well as exciting yarn packs intense drama , thrills , suspense , puzzled events , twists and turns . This is a suspenseful flick that really thrills . The atmosphere and perverse intrigue enhance as well as the relationship among protagonist develops . From start to finish the intrigue and thrilling scenes are continuous till a striking ending . Penélope and John Mortimer's script along with uncredited Ira Levin is plenty of enjoyable incidentals and interesting events . Screenplay does something strange by the end : it actually removes the stakes of everything that came before with its surprising revelation that had been built up by that point about the strange missing . Very good cast gives perfect interpretation such as Laurence Olivier as an obstinate cop , Carol Lynley at her best , as an unsettling mother , though Columbia Pictures wanted Otto Preminger to cast Jane Fonda as Ann Lake, who was eager to play the role, but Preminger insisted upon using Carol Lynley ; furthermore , Keir Dullea as the suspect brother . Very good support cast such as Clive Revill as an intelligent deputy , Noel Coward as a drunken old intellectual with a vast collection of sadistic-looking sculptures d'art , Finlay Currie as a doll maker who undergoes surgery at a macabre dolls' hospital , Anna Massey as a nursery attendant and Martita Hunt as a nutty old mistress who records childhood's fantasies . Plus , other Brit secondaries in brief appearances as Adrienne Corri and Percy Herbert . Evocative and adequate photography in black and white by professional cinematographer Denis Coop . Atmospheric and appropriate musical score by composer Paul Glass . A remake to this film was planned during the period of 2007-2009 , Reese Witherspoon was attached to the project which was ultimately shelved. This engrossing , riveting picture was effective and compellingly directed by Otto Preminger . At the beginning he became a stage director and subsequently a notorious secondary actor . Otto directed several films , nowadays many of them are considered as classic movies . He made ¨Laura¨ that was released in 1944 and Preminger ranked as one of the top directors in the world . He realized all kind of genres as Court drama such as the great success ¨Anatomy of a murder¨, ¨Court martial of Billy Mitchell¨ , Noir film as ¨Laura¨ which made him an A-list director in Hollwyood , ¨Angel Face¨ , ¨Man with a golden arm¨, Religious drama as ¨The Cardinal¨ , Musical as ¨Porgy and Bess¨, ¨Carmen Jones¨ , Western as ¨River with no return¨ and historical as ¨Saint Joan¨, ¨Exodus¨ though also had some flop as ¨Rosebud¨ getting scathing reviews , though with ¨The human factor¨ won him respectful notices . However , his powers began to wane after and by the end of the decade of the 60s he was considered washed-up . ¨Bunny Lake is missing¨ resulted to be one of the his best films . Rating : Better than average . Worthwhile watching .

Maybe I am the first non UK or US person who post a review here about this film. I think the film was for Premminger, a opportunity to show his anxiety about the fragility of the western democracy. The film was made few years after the very terrible years of McCarthy time, where the repression and persecution by political reason typical for a totalitarian state. In "Bunny Lake Is Missing" he try to show how easy the state institution can lose there function and can become a tool for abusive and repressive Ararat. It 's help us to know Otto Premminger background if we want to understand his movies. He is much more sofisticate than the usual Hollywood film maker, maybe that's the reason why he use to make theater in NY.When we watch his movies we can think from the ideological point of view he was a humanist, a kind of left-liberal. He has not really a country, he belong not really to a nation, but he is a great human. Therefore the film "Bunny Lake Is Missing" is more a subversive film than a Hitchcock copy.

In my opinion, after having seen the film, many of the reviewers - who gave it over 4 stars - were far too generous. Maybe they're rabid fans of Olivier's. But, whatever the case, only those devoid of common sense didn't realize, even before his Inspector decided to check, that there would be some record of Lynley's trip to England and that Dullea was the culprit. However, my first guess was that he had some incestuous love for his sister, which would have been more interesting than the over-the-top whacky nut job he turned out to be. The maniacal mess doesn't deserve more than the 4 out of 10 stars, at best, as far as I'm concerned...