Mirage

1965

1 hr. 49 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

100%

5 Reviews

Tomatometer

74%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

After a blackout in his office building, accountant David Stillwell (Gregory Peck) finds he can't remember the past two years of his life. Discovering that a rich humanitarian died after falling from the same building, and that there are shady gunmen out to get him, Stillwell must piece together the missing memories of his life. Enlisting the help of a rookie private eye (Walter Matthau) and a reluctant old flame (Diane Baker), Stillwell uncovers the mystery detail by unexpected detail.

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James B

Convoluted and nonsensical movie that manages to keep the viewer just interested enough to sit through its running time.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/23/23

Full Review

Steve D

All it really has is its cast.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/25/23

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Audience Member

Blobs up, guess Blobbo. Unique and interesting story but slow going at times.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

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Audience Member

Peck must have had déjà vu filming this one, with its similarities to Spellbound twenty years earlier. Manhattan businessman seems to have amnesia while being chased by killers. But is he really a businessman, and are his fragmented memories trustworthy? Production is a bit clunky but has good moments.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Terrific but under appreciated 60s thriller. Is it a coincidence that it was in theaters shortly after the big New England blackout?

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Interesting but not compelling. After an office party, David Stillwell discovers that he has no memory of certain people, people who should be familiar to him, or of anything about his life from more than two years previously. Then he discovers that the same night his boss, the famous businessman and philanthropist Charles Calvin, committed suicide by jumping out of his office window. Now some violent thugs are out to get him. They work for a shadowy figure known simply as The Major. Interesting, but not compelling. The plot has a Hitchcockian feel to it, but the movie lacks a few things to get into Hitchcock's league. The plot isn't watertight and often feels contrived. Things happen rather conveniently and sometimes without much plausibility. Director Edward Dmytryck doesn't really build the suspense well (Hitchcock was superb at this) and the movie seems to just be on auto-pilot at times. This said, it is reasonably intriguing. Gregory Peck puts in a solid performance as Stillwell though at times seems miscast, especially during the tough-guy scenes. Good supporting cast which includes Walter Matthau and George Kennedy.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

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Edward Dmytryk

Director

Gregory Peck

David Stillwell

Diane Baker

Shela

Walter Matthau

Ted Caselle

Kevin McCarthy

Sylvester Josephson

Jack Weston

Lester

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

It's a pleasantly entertaining set-up that makes excellent use of New York exteriors and has an inspired, if subtle, formal approach to the protagonist's memory lapses.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 17, 2022

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Mirage is the type of thriller where viewers only know as much (or as little) as the hero, meaning that the plot remains admirably dense for much of the running time.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 23, 2019

Full Review

Wendy Michener

Maclean's Magazine

Mirage has all the fascination of trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle without any idea of what the picture is going to look like when you're through.

Jun 27, 2019

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

... a well-executed suspenseful exercise in concealment and discovery.

Rated: B+

Aug 10, 2006

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jul 3, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

After a blackout in his office building, accountant David Stillwell (Gregory Peck) finds he can't remember the past two years of his life. Discovering that a rich humanitarian died after falling from the same building, and that there are shady gunmen out to get him, Stillwell must piece together the missing memories of his life. Enlisting the help of a rookie private eye (Walter Matthau) and a reluctant old flame (Diane Baker), Stillwell uncovers the mystery detail by unexpected detail.

Director: Edward Dmytryk
Screenwriter: Peter Stone
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Nov 4, 2008