So much average

Excellent but underrated film

Best movie of this year hands down!

Best movie ever!

After vacationing newlyweds squabble and the wife drives off, her husband calls the resort police and reports her missing; she turns up two days later--accompanied by the local priest!--but may be an impostor. Mystery writer Peter Stone is unable to make Robert Thomas' play "Trap for a Single Man" into a convincing, satisfying movie, much less a TV-movie. Characters enter and exit the honeymoon house with stagy flourish, while the dialogue is heightened to reach bored viewers raised on "Columbo". Jack Klugman plays the police inspector with tongue-in-cheek, but hack director Glenn Jordan has Klugman and the other players shouting and waving their arms, like stage performers desperate to rouse an audience. Stone used the pseudonym "Pierre Marton"; it's a pretty silly movie, I don't blame him for not wanting credit.

When a man calls the police to report his wife missing, nobody is overly concerned. Even when a reluctant Inspector Levine (Jack Klugman) finally drives out to get Daniel Corban's (James Franciscus) statement about how his wife drove off after an argument and hasn't returned since, Levine still maintains that Corban shouldn't worry, she'll probably reappear soon enough. And he appears to be proved right when the local priest, Father Kelleher (Joel Fabiani) visits Corban and tells him his wife wants to come back - but as soon as Elizabeth (Elizabeth Ashley) walks through the door, Corban insists that this woman is NOT his wife! And that's just the very beginning of the movie.Now Corban tries to prove to Levine and Kelleher that the woman is an impostor, while Elizabeth tries to convince them that her husband is disturbed and potentially in need of psychiatric help. It is up to Levine to find out the truth.The mystery is extremely well crafted and full of plot twists, until the viewer can no longer be sure as to who is doing what to whom and why. At the same time, it has a great sense of humor, exploring the absurdly comical side of the situation as well as the mystery. Especially Levine has a lot of funny lines, and it is hilarious to watch the couple arguing over whether she is or isn't his wife in front of a rather puzzled-looking Kelleher and Levine as spectators to the domestic drama.Adapted from a stage play, the teleplay is excellent. The casting is great, and so is the acting. A true masterpiece of television entertainment. If you get a chance, you should definitely watch it! Every once in a while you might catch it on TV. It's around on VHS, and it's also on youtube.10 out of 10

I saw this movie several years ago and I never forgot it. It will keep you on the edge of your seat. The actors are wonderful. As soon as you think you have it figured out, something will happen to prove you wrong. When it ends you'll want to watch it all over again. I have never seen a movie like it since. It is so smart and creative, I wish more movies were as imaginative. It's a favorite of mine. I'd love to buy the video or DVD, but it's nowhere to be found. I wish it would play on T.V. again, so I could tape it. If you get the chance to see it, don't miss it. Tape it if you can, they hardly ever show it. If you love unpredictable endings this is the movie for you! Engoy! I did.

This is a well crafted mystery/suspense film based on Robert Thomas' play TRAP FOR A LONELY MAN. The cast is rock solid and the clever script will keep you guessing until the very end (unless you already know the final twist ahead of time).Viewers who enjoyed this telemovie (or its inferior 1986 remake VANISHING ACT) should also track down the 1958 Michael Anderson movie CHASE A CROOKED SHADOW (starring Anne Baxter), which boasts a similar concept but with a slightly different premise (a woman is forcibly reunited with a man who claims to be her deceased brother, but only she seems to know that it's not really him).