Maybe because I've woke up on my share of park benches--this film hits home. James Garner is perfectly cast as the lost and befuddled gent who cannot recall his name or identity. Some may feel perplexed by his choice of name: Buddwing, taken from an air plane and beer truck. This makes perfect sense to me insofar as he spent the previous evening in a bar drinking and has suffered a shock of some kind. The movie begins with the camera as Buddwing's eyes and moves and walks off into the urban landscape. The technique is groundbreaking and striking. I like how Garner checks his pockets and hands looking for some clues to his name and identity. But when he finds only a Metro-North train schedule, a scrap of paper with a phone number and two pills, the mystery deepens. Acting honors go to Suzanne Pleshette, Jean Simmons and Angela Lansbury. Billy Halop, the original leader of the Dead End Kids, shows up as cab driver #2. He would later gain fame as another cabby, "Munson," on All in the family. TCM shows this movie with a "making of" documentary proceeding it. Someone must have felt they were creating something special. And they did.
Review of Mister Buddwing
