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

Good start, but then it gets ruined

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

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

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.

Completely forgotten and overlooked, this is a murder-mystery par excellence.Not generally a favourite genre of mine, I stumbled across this movie on TV late one night years ago and never forgot it. I then managed to track it down on an ancient VHS quite recently and watched it again. It was every bit as good as I remembered.No special effects, no overblown budgets. Just a cracking script, superb performances, tight and efficient direction and one of the best twists ever.An absolute masterclass in small budget movie-making.

In 1976 Jack Klugman, James Franciscus, and Elizabeth Ashley made a clever television mystery, ONE OF MY WIVES IS MISSING, which is about a weird extortion scheme by an impostor. It was remade (in my opinion slightly better) in 1986 with Elliot Gould, Mike Farrell, and Margot Kidder in the lead roles. I say better because, while the supporting cast of ONE OF MY WIVES IS MISSING, was good, this remake had Fred Gwynne in a pivotal role as a somewhat shady clergyman - an ally of Kidder's in her scheme. There was also a nice bit by that underrated supporting actor Graham Jarvis (MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN) as a holistic doctor who gets dragged into the mystery. Finally the writer/producers in this were the creators of Lt. Columbo, William Link and Richard Levinson. They improved the script a bit, particularly with Gwynne's role.The story is the same - Farrell is the newlywed husband who had an argument with his wife, and she left their cabin in high dudgeon. When he reports this to officer Elliot Gould, suddenly the door opens and Kidder comes in begging Farrell's forgiveness for the argument and her snit. But Farrell insists she is a fake. Gould, thinking he's been the victim of a joke, leaves disgusted. And then Kidder reveals her larcenous demands on Farrell unless he wishes to have serious problems with the law. Farrell, forced to go along with her demands, keeps looking for a chance to get Gould to come back and investigate a bit more. But when Gould reappears a "witness" shows up to support Kidder - a Catholic clergyman played by Gwynne. Of course once Gould leaves again, Farrell faces now two extortionists working some badger game on him.Again the tension is maintained by a good cast and the improved dialog of the script. What is going on? Where is Farrell's wife, and what have Kidder and Gwynne done with her? Will Jarvis, who has stumbled into the mystery accidentally, help Farrell overcome these villains? And what is Gould up to...for he to begins acting oddly after awhile?Again the ending catches the viewer by surprise (unless they saw the original television film). Certainly worth catching if it is shown again as one of the best television mystery films.