Prime Suspect

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.

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...

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.

This film was recently re-shown on TV; its'interesting that by just looking at the clothes and hairstyles a viewer can get a reasonable guesstimate of the date the film was made....I was proud to discover my guess of 1980 was not far off the mark!! However I digress....this is an excellent film with a brilliant performance by the lead actor....this movie attempts to portray the effect on a person and his family when accused of a hideous crime and how the media,the public and his work colleagues and neighbours react to it. It is also an inspirational film and a lesson for many on the "victims" response to such a serious 'accusation'.... From start to finish this film seems to be wholly realistic and credible...the writer/director/producers ought to be congratulated....those who make films nowadays ought to learn that it is possible to make a compelling drama based on actuality without resorting to ludicrous unrealistic plots....

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.