Prime Suspect

8 for good to great It does have some very annoying characters like the cop and news anchor but Farrell, Garr, Cartwright et al make up for them and keep this interesting. Good.

A small girl is missing, and an honest working man had bought a box of candy from her before she vanished. Someone had seen him with her, and from her description a phantom picture is made up and spread, and he is recognised as the man who was last seen with the girl. So he becomes the prime suspect. The interesting thing is how all the vultures of the news game immediately get their claws into him, which results in a public execution of him on television. It does not matter that he is later found innocent, as the body of the lost girl was found 90 miles away from where he was at the time, he is still branded and everyone disdains him and avoids him, especially his neighbours, a damage like this takes time to repair, if it can be repaired ever. Mike Farrell as the wrong man makes a great performance, he fights back, and he has his wife by his side, unlike Hitchcock's "Wrong Man" 1956, who lost his wife in the ordeal. It's an important and well made film, stressing its documentary value and character, because this could happen to anyone. Above all, it directs attention to the ruthlessness of the press.

8 for good to great It does have some very annoying characters like the bureaucratic cynical cop and ratings hungry news anchor but Farrell, Garr, Cartwright et al make up for them and keep this interesting.

Some big names in this one... mike farrell, and who doesn't love teri garr?? Amy mccleary is a news reporter in santa luisa. When a girl scout disappears, the last known person to see her is businessman frank staplin, who bought cookies from her. So now his family's home life gets turned upside down and the cops don't seem to be looking for anyone else. The press is now focused on him as well. Keep an eye out for barry corbin; he turns up in quirky films now and then. Here, he's officer austin. Also notice smarmy officer mendoza, played by ron joseph... who happened to appear in two episodes of northern exposure! Which starred... barry corbin. Such a tiny world. Nan martin was mrs. Louder on drew carey. This story feels a bit sensationalist, but i'm sure all this horror could and has happened to many people over the years, when the cops or the press focus on one person, and stop searching. Some similarities to "the wrong man" from 1956. Henry fonda. Directed by noel black. Has directed a mix of television and film. Was nominated for best short film in 1966.

Considering the serious subject matter of the film, it's all the more incongruous that at one point the word "ARSE" appears prominently in several scenes.

For example, one shot has Mike Farrell in an office facing the camera and over his shoulder the street number is visible (in reverse) on a window. The number is "3216", which appears as the word "ARSE" when seen in reverse.

Another example scene is in chapter 3, at 20:14 minutes, as Teri Garr approaches the office door (viewed from inside the office).

I was so surprised by this that I went to the trouble of photographing that particular scene and placing copies online at www.story-lines.com/IMDb. These are large files, but if you feel inclined, take a look and see if you agree. (And that's "imdb" all in lowercase - for some reason, the submission process changes that to IMDb every time. PB)

One shows the scene with "ARSE" visible, the other shows the location on the DVD from which the screenshot was taken.

It's entirely possible that this was an accident, but I would have thought that it would have been picked up early in production.

If it was a deliberate act, one wonders why it was done - was there some issue about behavior during production that resulted in a little passive-aggressive payback? Curious minds would like to know...