This story concerns a New York television producer, 'William Martin' (played extremely well by Don Murray) who presents classic movies on the local "Late, late, show". Inbetween movies, actors are interviewed and there is the occasional colorful guest. There is a wonderful segment with George Fischbeck (yes, the former LA weatherman) playing the role of cat psychiatrist. Mr. Martin gets the inspiration to interview an actress (named 'Carolyn Porter', played by Gloria Grahame) who will appear in several upcoming old movies. Ms. Porter was famous in the 1950s, but what has she done lately? Where is she now? Of course, any sane person would check IMDb to get the information!! But back in 1974, there was no such thing...
Mr. Martin flies to sunny Los Angeles and visits the studios. He is struck with how 'The Great Carolyn Porter' is so forgotten. He cannot locate her files and nobody knows anything. She stopped making movies in 1954 and then disappeared. No doubt, she is probably married and living a quiet life.
But not everything is as it seems.
It soon becomes clear that Ms. Porter was meant to be forgotten, since people that Mr. Martin contacts are getting murdered. Of course the LA police take interest and provide unusually good assistance. The LA policeman is played by Joe Santos, who is perfect for this role as he is the regular LA policeman in "Rockford Files".
This is a great little mystery. Don Murray is believable as a likable and inquisitive television producer-turned-detective. In this transformation, he becomes more compelled to discover what happened to Ms. Porter even though a killer is on his trail, and mounting obligations are awaiting him in New York. In the course of the story are some wonderful appearances by other notable actors such as Yvonne DeCarlo, Van Johnson, and Walter Pigeon, to name a few. Also, we see the 'Ideal Los Angeles' of the 1970s: Sunset Boulelvard, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, the not so congested freeways, and even Malibu. These places are still there, but don't look the same now. And you can't get away from those big 70s' cars and tacky clothing! Hard to find, but highly recommended!
