Plot
In 1946 Los Angeles Susan Lakely visits private detectives Francis Hogan and Arthur Boyle when her boyfriend Michael Tarlow does not call for four days. Upon visiting his apartment the detectives are attacked by an unknown assailant who flees. They press Susan for more information about her boyfriend's associates but she claims to be unaware of the nature of his business. After questioning further people at the horse track they visit a nightclub and speak with Julius Limeway, who is also searching for Tarlow. Together the detectives must see through Susan's lies and discover the truth behind Tarlow's disappearance.Cast
*Production
Hyams had just made ''T.R. Baskin'', which he produced and had written the script but did not direct. He was finding it difficult to get the chance to direct a feature film so moved into television. "It was at a time when television was considered like a bath of sulfuric acid, and if you stuck your toe in it you'd pull out a stump," he says. He later recalled:The film starred Richard Boone and Michael Dunn. Hyams:Barry Diller Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American businessman. He is Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. Diller was inducted into the Television Hall of ...was head of Movies of the Week at that point over at ABC. Barry green-lit ''Duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...'' forSteven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ..., a movie called ''Binary Binary may refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * Binary number, a representation of numbers using only two digits (0 and 1) * Binary function, a function that takes two arguments * Binary operation, a mathematical operation that t ...'' forMichael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature tech ..., and gave a lot of us our first breaks. I said to Barry 'I've got two ideas. The first is about the U.S. government faking a moon shot, then trying to cover it up.' He said "What's the other one?" I said, 'I'm aRaymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...freak. I want to do a 1940s detective story about a private eye and his dwarf sidekick.' He said "Do that one."Peter Hyams Interview, ''The Hollywood Interview'' January 2014
accessed 27 July 2014
Richard Boone was a terrific actor. He had one of the most amazing faces. He, uh, liked to drink a bit. (laughs) I remember the first shot he did for me; we literally had to prop him up. But when we cut it all together, it worked great ... Michael was one of the most gifted people I ever met, just a remarkable man. He also sang like an angel ... He was in terrible pain constantly. It was a real gift to have made my first movie with him. I wish we could have done more.
Reception
The ''Los Angeles Times'' called the film "marvelously funny ... admirably written and directed by Peter Hyams with just the right touch." The ''New York Times'' called it "delightful". Hyams later said the film was "over-praised. One of the trades called it the ''References
External links
* {{Peter Hyams 1972 television films 1972 films Films directed by Peter Hyams ABC Movie of the Week American detective films Films with screenplays by Peter Hyams Films set in Los Angeles Films set in 1946 1970s American films