A search of the school and conversations with teachers and the people in charge reveals that no one remembers even seeing Bunny that day. Since Blanche Lake hasn't been at the school before except just once while dropping off her child Bunny (real name Felicia) earlier that same morning, she doesn't know any of the other mothers waiting there and, while waiting for her own little one, watches as all of the other kids make their way to their parents. A young mother has come to pick up her three year old daughter after her first day at preschool. The newer version never materialized, so for now, the '65 film is what we've got, which is kind of sad since a) the Preminger film has only what I'd say is a tenuous connection to Piper's novel and b) the acting is less than stellar. I just noticed right now while looking at the ISBN on the back cover that at the time this particular edition was published, plans were in the works for a remake of the 1965 Otto Preminger film of the same name.

' If anything's happened it's a judgement, that's what I say!' Drink its Kool-Aid.The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2004 Preminger’s use of the widescreen frame is peerless, as the inky black-and-white photography and the deep dark chasms it creates on the screen manage to heighten Olivier’s character’s suspicion (and the audience’s) that the little girl never existed at all.Įerie as all hell and occasionally blackly comic, BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING is a cult classic still in search of a cult. Keir Dullea ( 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, BLACK CHRISTMAS) is memorable in the role of the woman’s brother, and playwright Noël Coward is even moreso in a more marginal role as a total creep. As Bill Murray and Prince have proven, when something is weird enough, it stands the test of time.ĭirected by Otto Preminger from a script by John and Penelope Mortimer (from a novel by Evelyn Piper), the story of BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING centers on a police inspector (Laurence Olivier) investigating the disappearance of a little girl, the daughter of a distraught single mother (Carol Lynley from THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE).

Even though it feels very much a product of its time and place (1960s London), BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING retains a hipness and a freshness that many of its contemporaries don’t. It’s a great candidate for a more regular repertory revival status. Reese Witherspoon had been mentioned for the lead role in a proposed remake, which is fine casting indeed, but the original film still holds up fine. I was hoping that the Blu-Ray release would stir up some overdue renewed attention for this film, which is way overlooked and under-discussed and supremely cool. I recently wrote about this film when the boutique Blu-Ray label Twilight Time released it back in November.

Bunny Lake Is Missing by Evelyn Piper