There's hardly a more powerful force than a mother's love for her child. But what if there isn't a real child and the supposedly mother is somewhat cuckoo? This corker of a premise serves as the backbone for director Otto Preminger's 1965 suspense drama Bunny Lake Is Missing. The story, starring Carol Lynley as an unstable mother and Laurence Olivier as a suspicious cop, is no stranger to anyone who saw the Jodie Foster vehicle Flightplan. Bunny Lake Is Missing is much less action-oriented, and though it's not a stellar mystery, there are enough quirky elements to ensure that the premise is intriguing.

Laurence Olivier & Carol Lynley

Lynley plays Ann Lake, a single mother starting life anew in England with her journalist brother, Stephen (Keir Dullea). After running some errands, she goes to pick up Bunny, her daughter, from school, only to find that she's nowhere in sight. The woman charged with watching her took off, and none of the teachers can even recall seeing her. Needless to say, this raises Ann and Stephen's ire, as they quickly enlist the help of the no-nonsense Superintendent Newhouse (Olivier) to investigate the disappearance.

But considering how no one seems to have seen the little girl, not to mention Ann's increasingly fragile mental state, Newhouse devises a new possibility: Bunny Lake may not be real. Ann refuses to believe this theory and continues her frantic search for Bunny, unaware that the solution to this bizarre mystery is more shocking than she can imagine.

Carol Lynley

Bunny Lake Is Missing is genius in its simplicity. Other films try too hard to be complex, conjuring labyrinthine stories that only confuse rather than absorb viewers. But here, Preminger has opted to introduce a very basic concept and let the chips fall where they may. In theory, this bare-bones approach should've worked like a charm, but Preminger ends up distancing viewers from the central mystery as often as he envelopes them.

Preminger seems too hesitant to stir up the thematic pot, focusing heavily on Ann's fragile mental state without providing much evidence to the contrary. As a result, the story quickly becomes a one-sided affair, one in which there's little suspense to speak of, since astute viewers will have long since figured things out. Adding further confusion to the mix are a handful of interludes with bizarre supporting characters, which are fun to watch but add nothing to the central mystery.

Keir Dullea

Bunny Lake's no-frills story leaves it upon the cast to serve as its greatest asset. Unfortunately, this troupe of performers meets with mixed success; some fare well, but some send the story sailing off the tracks. Though the material is small potatoes compared to his other works, Olivier exhibits experience and authority in his role without turning into a walking cliche. The grizzled cop is no stranger to cinema, but Olivier's presence gives the character of Newhouse an air of intelligence that helps as he tries to figure out just what in the world is going on. Dullea (2001: A Space Odyssey) pitched in a performance just odd enough to keep some guessing about his motivations, and playwright Noel Coward puts in a subtle yet sinister turn as a lecherous landlord.

But for someone who should serve as the film's emotional anchor, Lynley drops the ball in the biggest of ways. Not once was I convinced of her character's torment, the anguish she endures as she searches for a daughter that some claim does not exist. Lynley wasn't so much wounded as she was utterly spacey, flailing around unconvincingly while her fellow actors rush to pick up the pieces.

Despite appearing negative with my comments, I didn't think Bunny Lake Is Missing was all that bad of a film. The story's core remained suspenseful enough to keep me interested until the end, and Lynley aside, the performances suited the overall tone just fine. But the movie  still lugs around its share of flaws, which I certainly hope the upcoming rumored remake will be wise enough to sidestep.

Director: Otto Preminger

Writers: John Mortimer and Penelope Mortimer (based on novel by Evelyn Piper)

Cast: Laurence Olivier, Carol Lynley, Keir Dullea, Martita Hunt, Anna Massey, Noel Coward, Finlay Currie

Rating: No MPAA Rating (some creepiness)

Classic Movie Guide Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Run Time: 107 minutes

Studio: Columbia Pictures

Format: Black-and-white, widescreen

Photo credit: Columbia Pictures