Mirage (1965 film)
| Mirage | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Edward Dmytryk |
| Produced by | Harry Keller |
| Written by |
Peter Stone Howard Fast (book) |
| Starring |
Gregory Peck Diane Baker Walter Matthau |
| Music by | Quincy Jones |
| Cinematography | Joseph MacDonald |
| Edited by | Ted J. Kent |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,500,000 |
Mirage is a 1965 thriller directed by Edward Dmytryk from a screenplay by Peter Stone, based on the novel Fallen Angel, written by Howard Fast under the pseudonym Walter Ericson; the novel is not credited by title onscreen. The film stars Gregory Peck, Diane Baker, Walter Matthau, and Kevin McCarthy, and was released by Universal Pictures.
When the electricity cuts out in the New York City skyscraper where he works, cost accountant David Stillwell (Gregory Peck) decides to leave by the darkened stairs rather than wait for power. A young woman (Diane Baker) on the stairs, Shela, greets him as a friend, but he does not know her. Alarmed, she flees into a sub-basement.
On the street is the body of peace activist Charles Calvin (Walter Abel), who apparently jumped from his office. Soon Stillwell returns to the stairwell, but there is no sub-basement. A man in the basement, Willard (George Kennedy), tells him to leave.
At Stillwell's apartment building, a stranger, Lester (Jack Weston), pulls a gun on him. He tells Stillwell to go to Barbados and meet "the Major", and to take his briefcase. Stillwell manages to knock out the gunman and drags his body out of the apartment.
Reporting this to the police, Stillwell is distressed by basic questions about his background. He storms out and finds a psychiatrist, Dr. Broden (Robert H. Harris). There he suddenly realizes he has no memory of anything before the two years of his present job. Broden says it is impossible to have amnesia for two years without being aware of it, and angrily throws him out.
Stillwell finds a private detective, Ted Caselle (Walter Matthau), who admits that this is his first case. Skeptical at first, Caselle becomes convinced his client is not crazy when he spots Willard following them. Stillwell tries to show Caselle his office, close to Calvin's, but there is only a blank wall. They go to the basement; Willard arrives and shoots at Caselle, but they manage to escape.
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