Am I Missing Something?

A Brilliant Conflict

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Robert Wagner and Kate Jackson play Mr. and Mrs. Gregory, a couple who are writing a biography of a famous silent film star, Lorna Love. Apparently decades before, Mr. Gregory's father had an affair with Love but ended up leaving her....and the son is really fascinated with the lady. However, during their research they find some contradictory things--some folks thought she was practically the Devil herself and another said she was terrific! In addition, they find various Satanic paraphernalia about the Love mansion as they stay there as well as learning about Lorna's guru, Father Eternal Fire. What also is there is a weird glass coffin in which the dead Ms. Love resides! Weird, huh? Well, also weird are an attempt on the life of Mrs. Gregory as well as her husband becoming bizarrely infatuated with the dead woman! What's going on here?This film suffers from a bad cliché, as Robert Wagner plays the son as well as the father in flashback scenes. The notion of a father and son who are identical is something you see in some TV shows or films, but it's rather ridiculous. Also ridiculous is much of the movie and the plot is just strange in so many ways. It also didn't help that Lorna looked nothing like a silent film star but like a woman right out of the 1970s...SOME effort to make her look like a silent era lady would have made sense. Overall, it's a very, very strange and goofy film...one that left me confused and annoyed because it sure could have been better.

NYC writers Joel Gregory and his pregnant wife, Donna, move into the estate of long dead Hollywood sex goddess Lorna Love to research their latest book. Years before, Lorna had had an affair with Joel's artist father and when he left her she turned to witchcraft to ensure he'd come back to her one day... This low budget Aaron Spelling ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK has future boob tube icons Robert Wagner and Kate Jackson in the leads as writers who's marriage and lives are in jeopardy when it looks like Lorna's returned from the grave to pick up where she left off in her love life. It was filmed almost entirely on the old Harold Lloyd estate and has the late Miss Love's preserved body under glass in the garden tended by her sinister housekeeper (old-time Hollywood star Sylvia Sidney). 1960s starlet Marianna Hill is the lovely Lorna in flashback with cameo appearances by John Carradine as the movie queen's former director, Dorothy Lamour as her one-time cinematic rival, and Joan Blondell as her adoring fan club president. The story itself is more mystery than horror and nostalgia for Hollywood -and the "Golden Age Of TV Movies"- is the main reason for tuning in.

An incredibly dumb young couple move into the gorgeous mansion of long dead movie queen. They soon find that her legend is more powerful than they ever imagined, possibly more powerful than their own love. To be blunt it plays like an extended Fantasy Island segment, which is no surprise since the movie and the show are from the same creators. But it's worth a look for some clever stunt casting of Hollywood legends. And it's filmed at the Harold Lloyd estate which alone is worth the time. TV fans might find some interest in a young Kate Jackson who is really quite attractive with a mid 70s natural look and Robert Wagner who either is trying to play extremely cool or is just plain bored.

Aaron Spelling attempted to dabble in horror with this flick, concerning two married journalists doing research on a long-dead Hollywood star. Lorna Love was the top star of her time, and it seems that she employed more than charm and talent to get to the top, namely, witchcraft, and seems to be employing it from beyond the grave on the husband(Robert Wagner), who is the son of Lorna's former love. Will Lorna prevail? Or will the wife(Kate Jackson)save her husband? It's a surprise. It's a decent film, but if Dan Curtis HAD been doing this, it might have been much, much better.