Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris are looking for the long-lost nephew of an old rich lady. That's because during a phony séance orchestrated by Harris, the lady revealed that she was feeling very guilty about forcing her sister to put up her illegitimate child for adoption and she'd be willing to pay $10,000 to find him. At the same time, there is a seemingly unrelated plot about master thieves who kidnap rich folks and seem to make no mistakes at all. How the two plots eventually converged and the trip along the way was rather pleasant--and a bit light-hearted from time to time. But, still there was no magic and the performances, at times, were pretty broad and overly silly.
Aside from a lot of cursing (far more than I would have expected from the usually classy Hitchcock), this movie looked a lot like a made for TV movie. That's because the usual Hitchcock polish and plot just aren't to be found in this film. While it's a pleasant little mystery, Bruce Dern, William Devane, Barbara Harris and Karen Black seem to lack the class and quality of old-time Hitchcock actors such as Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Robert Donat, Joan Fontaine, etc. Because of this, it was a sad ending to the director's long and distinguished career. Now this ISN'T to say this is a bad film--I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. It just showed no evidence of greatness--something most people come to expect from this director.
By the way, for those looking for the "hidden Hitchcock", you see his silhouette relatively early on in the film.
Aside from a lot of cursing (far more than I would have expected from the usually classy Hitchcock), this movie looked a lot like a made for TV movie. That's because the usual Hitchcock polish and plot just aren't to be found in this film. While it's a pleasant little mystery, Bruce Dern, William Devane, Barbara Harris and Karen Black seem to lack the class and quality of old-time Hitchcock actors such as Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Robert Donat, Joan Fontaine, etc. Because of this, it was a sad ending to the director's long and distinguished career. Now this ISN'T to say this is a bad film--I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. It just showed no evidence of greatness--something most people come to expect from this director.
By the way, for those looking for the "hidden Hitchcock", you see his silhouette relatively early on in the film.