Alicia I love this movie so much

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

bombersflyup Mirage is a good mystery film that falls short of any great heights, because of its poor resolution.The first two thirds of the film is quite fascinating, Peck's character suffering from amnesia, trying to put the puzzle pieces together, enlisting the help of Matthau. Unfortunately the ending is lackluster run of the mill stuff. Peck, Matthau, Baker and Harris were terrific, McCarthy and Kennedy not so much. I didn't like any of the action scenes or the bad guys, except Lester. It needed Matthau not to be killed off so soon and more of Diane Baker, I particularly liked the scene of her with the kid when Stillwell is about to say thanks by giving her money.

Charles Herold (cherold) This wonderfully ingenious mystery is one of the better faux Hitchock films out there. The setup is excellent, the mystery comes quick and keeps deepening, and the cast is solid, especially Matthau.The mystery is clever and the solution is also pretty clever and holds together nicely. So the whole movie *should* be great.But as ingenious as it is, the creators couldn't find a neat way to explain it all, resulting in a bit too much exposition in the last quarter. And once the central mystery is solved, there is still a story to deal with, and the movie really struggles with that, in part because it seems afraid to really deal with the political issues it raises, like some movie from the 40s that tries to follow the plight of an unwed mother without mentioning sex. It's not that I didn't understand the whole story by the end, but that the resolution had a strange, muted feeling to it.Still, overall this is well worth watching.

romanorum1 The Unidyne building in Manhattan sustains a blackout. As folks slowly evacuate the premises, David Stillwell (Gregory Peck) and an elusive woman (Shela = Diane Baker) briefly converse. Their exchange appears awkward as we are in the dark about the situation (excuse the pun). Although Shela knows David he does not know her. Outside a man lies dead on the street; apparently he jumped out of a 27-story window. He was Charles Calvin (Walter Abel), who worked for world peace. Shela departs as David heads for a drink; the bartender tells him that he has not seen him lately. David, apparently a cost accountant at Unidyne, appears confused with a mental blackout. As David enters his apartment building, Lester (Jack Weston) pulls a pistol on him. In the apartment he tells Stillwell to pack some bags as he needs to catch an airplane to Barbados. Stillwell though is soon able to turn the tables against his opponent, who is knocked out. David drags him outside near the elevator. Then when David attempts to prepare his supper, he notes that his refrigerator is as empty as his briefcase. Josephson (Kevin McCarthy), a workplace associate, calls to inquire about his upcoming cruise, of which David knows nothing. When Stillwell goes to the local police station, he cannot remember key facts about himself, like date of birth and telephone number. Frustrated, he leaves. He then calls a consulting psychiatrist by the name of Broden (Robert Harris); on his way he runs into Shela at the Central Park Zoo. Their conversation is still stilted. As they separate, Shela warns him, "Be careful, David." A caged panther growls. Ah, more symbolism: David is in trouble.David tells the abrasive psychiatrist, Doc Broden, that he may be insane because of memory lapse. He feels he has had unconscious amnesia for two years. "Impossible," says Broden, who chides him and kicks him out as unconscious amnesia lasts only for a day or two. David, spotting the AAA Detective Agency, hires Ted Caselle (Walther Matthau). David is his first case. Back in the apartment David's refrigerator is now full although the coat closet is empty. Caselle surmises that David is being manipulated by someone, and reveals that he spotted a man following them on the city streets. Then there is a confrontation in the building basement with maintenance / hit-man Willard (George Kennedy), who shoots at them. But Willard is eventually cold-cocked. Caselle ties the beginning of David's dilemma with Calvin's suicide, as the two events occurred almost simultaneously. When David sees Shela for the third time, she says that they had previously dated. Shela also states that the "major" keeps him alive because he needs information. But she still does not answer all of his questions directly. Halfway into the feature we are still in the dark.Shela leads David to doorman Turtle's apartment building where Lester, the first gunman, awaits. Lester leaves and David finds the doorman dead in the bathtub. Shela returns as police sirens are heard. David is not happy that she set him up. Although she answers to the major, she retorts that the latter calls the shots. Shela also reminds him that she never left him alone. Both escape before further problems ensue. Caselle awaits at David's place. He tells David that he investigated his real employer: It is Garrison Laboratories of Brewster, California. Furthermore, the company is part of the Charles Calvin Peace Foundation, a non-profit organization. Dedicated to world peace, the head of Garrison Labs is Sylvester Josephson, formerly of Unidyne, a nuclear manufacturer. Meanwhile Shela, who obviously knows the apartment well, prepares coffee. After David leaves, the action picks up. Lester and Willard pull weapons on David but he escapes as psychotic Willard inadvertently plugs Lester. However, David is soon chagrined when he finds his confidante Caselle strangled in his office. Still pursued by Willard, David experiences flashback images. In a park tunnel David hears Josephson calling out. But Willard shoots at and almost hits David, who again flees. He bullies his way back to psychiatrist Broden, who reluctantly agrees to consult with him. David tells Broden about one particular flashback, the one with him under a tree in conversation with Calvin at Garrison Labs in California. He begins to remember that he is not a cost accountant, but a physio-chemist who works there. He only returned to NYC two days earlier, but remains uncertain why he traveled in the first place. Broden declares David really does not want to remember although he is really just bruised, not sick. David visits with Calvin's widow, who believes that he killed her husband. While David protests this allegation he discovers the name of the "major," a Unidyne executive named Crawford Gilcuddy (Leif Erickson). David immediately heads for Gilcuddy's quarters, where he confronts cohorts Willard and Josephson, and later even Shela; Willard assaults him before the major interferes, an action that clears David's amnesia. Previously David had discovered the formula for neutralizing radiation, to make a "clean" nuclear bomb. But David, a pacifist, has realized that a "clean" bomb may encourage its use by world powers. Therefore he will not share his secret even though Gilcuddy wants it, as did Calvin (but only for peaceful uses). We learn Calvin had accidentally fallen through the window after briefly struggling with David, who had burned the document containing his formula. The death so traumatized David that he became temporarily amnesiac. Meanwhile Josephson has Willard's gun. Gilcuddy orders Josephson to shield him to safeguard his future. David tells the indecisive Josephson to discount that statement, as Gilcuddy has already ordered the killing of two men ("Dammit ... Commit!"). Tortuously Josephson turns the weapon on Gilcuddy and the police are called. David and Shela are reunited. Although not everything is explained, the NYC setting is always a plus. And the marvelous Walter Matthau steals the picture. Despite a rather weak ending, this is a recommended suspense thriller.

A_Different_Drummer Yeah, OK, the IMDb rating system only goes to 10, but I was trying to make a point. The point is that this film is one of the most unusual, technically perfect, and entertaining suspense thrillers ever made, and deserves to be remembered as such. I also "get" that for the younger generation, the fact that it is B&W, and the fact that it stars a guy who in his later years used to hang around the Oscars a lot, backstage, is not a sterling endorsement. Tough. This little gem, directed by the incomparable Edward Dmytryk, is a thrill ride from the open. Not a thrill ride with CGI, but with acting, and personality. Within moments off the top, you, the viewer, are "sympatico" with Peck, and you begin the voyage of discovery he is on, trying to figure out what is what, and who is who. Walter Matthau in a rare non-comic part, wonderfully menacing, and Diane Baker being feminine and mysterious without disrobing .... this is one not to be missed.