El tercer día

Good performances from both young actresses, Elizabeth Ashley (who was to become the second of Peppard's five wives) and Sally Kellerman (who was to create the iconic Miss Margaret "Hot 👄" Houlihan a few years later). Here, unlike in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," George plays a character not so far removed from his own IRL, i.e. an egotistical, womanizing ingrate maneuvering for control of his disabled father-in-law's company. It's only because almost all the other male characters, played by Roddy McDowell (his lying and conniving rival for the company), Robert Webber (the D.A.), and a supremely creepy (and thoroughly unfunny) Arte Johnson, are freakin' grotesque near-charicatures that Peppard comes out not smelling like a skunk in this one. Or at least, that's how I see it anyway. 😀

... in which the hero (Peppard) escapes from a car wreck and is suffering from the effects of amnesia. He soon realizes that he is a wealthy man who is involved in the possible sale of his company.

His father-in-law handed it over to him. He didn't give it to his son, who is an officer of the company and he has just been stricken with a full-on stroke. Will George Peppard manage to hold on to the company? Everbody seems to regard his amnesia as "a headache" that will go away. And what is the mystery of the car wreck, which has produced a dead female?

This poor excuse for a thriller generates very little suspense or excitement. And the device of weaving the dead woman (Sally Kellerman) into the action in order to fill in story gaps is bizarre, to say the least. Peppard and Ashley were fashioning themselves as a great screen team. But, unfortunately, it did not work out. The magic of their work in "The Carpetbaggers" has eluded them.

I was so surprised to find that other IMDb users admire this film that I had to declare my contempt for it.

Despite the distinguished names in the credits, both in front of and behind the camera, this is a really shoddy movie. Written and directed like a fifth-rate T V show, it spins a totally incredible story of a man who loses his memory after a car crash, and learns that he is widely disliked and despised, and is now suspected of murdering the local slut.

None of the characters behaves in a plausible way. For example, the wife receives a visit from a complete stranger. She goes downstairs to meet him, and although he acts and talks unusually and alarmingly, she nevertheless gets in his car and goes off with him without even knowing where they are going! The film is full of nonsense like that.

Robert Surtees' controlled use of light and Percy Faith's melodic and lushly orchestrated score are welcome, but do not overcome the movie's basic problems.

Steve Mallory (George Peppard) climbs out of the river and stumbles into a bar. He has no memories, not even his name but everybody seems to know him. Apparently, he had a car accident. He has to figure out the family relations and the mysterious situation.

For this to work, one must be compelled by Peppard's character. It certainly starts off with good intrigue but soon, there is an avalanche of confusing connections and relationships. I stop trying to figure out what's going on. It would have been useful for him to be paired with an informative companion. One expected him to start investigating the girl from the crash a lot earlier. I do like the premise but I lost interest over time.

George Peppard plays a man accused of murdering his girlfriend (Sally Kellerman) in a car wreck which has left him unable to remember anything. This film takes his story and shows us flashbacks as well as interactions with his creepy brother Roddy MacDowall (excellent) and wife Elizabeth Ashley.

The film has its moments of suspense and involvement, particularly as the couple struggle to find some way to get past the accident and move on together. Peppard and Ashley are very good in the roles they have, and the movie on the whole is memorable. I'd recommend you see it if you like suspence thrillers with interesting endings, and if you can track it down.