Tall, handsome James Garner was quickly typecast as a slick character, and his fate was pretty much sealed after playing "the scrounger" in The Great Escape. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that he was able to thumb his nose at Hollywood and use the Hallmark channel as an avenue to show off his acting chops. However, if you dig deep enough, you'll be able to find a couple of movies in the 1960s where he was allowed to act: 36 Hours and Mister Buddwing.
The story is mysterious and actually interesting, if you can stick with it long enough to understand what's happening. James wakes up with no memory of anything, not even his name. He finds a phone number in his coat pocket and telephones, hoping it'll give him a clue of his identity, and a loose woman invites him up to her place. It's Angela Lansbury, in a negligee, smeared makeup, and a low-class New York accent! But she can't help him figure out who he is, and he weeps in her arms. As the movie progresses, he meets different women (Katherine Ross, Jean Simmons, and Suzanne Pleshette) and has seemingly disjointed interactions with them. But certain things start to repeat themselves, like two women saying, "That gave me goosebumps," or the same argument repeating with different outcomes. I won't spoil the movie for you, but if you like mind-benders like Vanilla Sky or Seconds, you might like this one. It's definitely unusual, so don't expect your typical James Garner flick.
The story is mysterious and actually interesting, if you can stick with it long enough to understand what's happening. James wakes up with no memory of anything, not even his name. He finds a phone number in his coat pocket and telephones, hoping it'll give him a clue of his identity, and a loose woman invites him up to her place. It's Angela Lansbury, in a negligee, smeared makeup, and a low-class New York accent! But she can't help him figure out who he is, and he weeps in her arms. As the movie progresses, he meets different women (Katherine Ross, Jean Simmons, and Suzanne Pleshette) and has seemingly disjointed interactions with them. But certain things start to repeat themselves, like two women saying, "That gave me goosebumps," or the same argument repeating with different outcomes. I won't spoil the movie for you, but if you like mind-benders like Vanilla Sky or Seconds, you might like this one. It's definitely unusual, so don't expect your typical James Garner flick.