Afouotos
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Anoushka Slater
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Zandra
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
HotToastyRag
If you liked Mirage, rent The Long Wait. It came ten years earlier, but it feels like a poor man's Mirage. Anthony Quinn stars in the film adaptation of Mickey Spillane's novel. He survives a terrible car accident, with amnesia and burned hands as his souvenirs. He has no memory of his past, but when he finds out he's wanted for murder, he has to work quickly to prove his innocence. This is actually a pretty entertaining flick, with plenty of eye candy and good acting from Tony. The only detriments were the leading ladies in the film. They looked so much alike, I kept getting them confused, and their collective talent was maybe one tenth that of a normal actress. The only way I was able to excuse it was to believe they were all cast as favors to producers, and in the story, they all were supposed to look similar. Tony is trying to find a girl from his past, and he-and the audience-can't tell if she's Peggie Castle, Shirley Patterson, Dolores Donlon, or Mary Ellen Kay. I didn't really like being confused, but that was the point.Charles Coburn adds a bit of class to the movie and somewhat makes up for the lousy acting of the four women. Really, though, it's Tony's show. Without him, it would be a terrible B-picture with low energy and bad pacing. Tony's incapable of giving a low energy performance, and he adds a fantastic spice to the tension-filled scenes with the ladies. And if you're wondering how many of the girls he romances, the answer is all of them. Want to rent it now?
melvelvit-1
Girls, guns, fists, and fedoras abound in Mickey Spillane's hard-boiled yarn about an amnesiac (Anthony Quinn) who can't remember if he stole a quarter mil from his boss (a doddering Charles Coburn) or killed the town's D.A. ...not to mention the fact that his girl went and got plastic surgery, so he doesn't know who she is, either. Could it be Venus (a smoking hot Peggie Castle) or one of the other babes who swarm around the craggy Quinn like moths to a flame when he's not dodging bullets? Far-fetched fun for fans of obscure fifties noir with as much sex & violence as the Code allowed -and some of it is quite surreal, especially a bound & gagged Castle crawling across the floor as if in an S&M fever dream.Director Saville and leading lady Castle filmed Mickey Spillane's I, THE JURY the year before (in 3D, no less) but that "Mike Hammer" mystery was more of a sucker punch thanks to Biff Elliot's powder puff PI. It's too bad he and Tony hadn't traded films...
Martin Teller
I've had about enough of amnesia stories. It's just a goofy premise and is rarely satisfying, unfortunately it pops up in noir far too often. This one doesn't do anything that original with the concept, and is riddled with plot holes and unanswered questions, but at least it's done with some panache. Thanks to an excellent cast of pulpy characters and terrific cinematography by Franz Planer, it carries the feel of classic hard-boiled noir. There is one fantastic sequence where a tied-up Peggy Castle crawls across a warehouse floor at gunpoint to lay a steamy smooch on our hero, Anthony Quinn. However, I don't care much for Spillane's brand of misogynistic maschismo. This isn't Mike Hammer, but it might as well be, with him throwing punches at every guy he meets, and every gal throwing themselves at him. So while it's probably a real treat for Spillane fans, it's not my cup of tea (or glass of bourbon).
joeparkson
I see by the credits that this gem of a noir was filmed by Franz Planer, who did many classics. I've seen most of the Mickey Spillane movies, and this one has the most distinctive photography. The director Victor Saville seems to have been a better producer than a director. he also had an affinity for Mickey Spillane; he produced nearly all the Mike Hammer movies in the 1950s.The cast is outstanding; besides the great Anthony Quinn, there are several lovely girls, the best being Peggie Castle. Even the trampy woman at the beginning who gets a rude kiss-off from Quinn plays her small part to perfection.The doctor who treats Quinn's hands at the beginning has a familiar face. I've seen him in many TV shows as well as movies.It's impossible to make a bad movie when you have Charles Coburn and Gene Evans backing you up.
