El amuleto del diablo

Learning that this was intended as a pilot for a tv series actually helps sum up how this movie felt to me. There were hints throughout that the main characters, Spock and his lady interest, either had a prior relationship or were building toward a more involved future one. There are no big surprises here and there is definitely plenty of 70s cheese. But I found myself watching the entire movie and enjoying it. Worth a look if you come across it.

The oddball "Baffled!" got intended as a pilot for a TV show but never got picked up. I don't know whether or not the story would've worked as a series, but as a standalone movie it's fun. Leonard Nimoy (in a role very unlike his most famous one) plays a racecar driver who has strange visions of an estate and decides to find out what it is. Sure enough, some other people have a connection to this place.

It's not a masterpiece but still a clever movie. A red herring here and there help keep the end a surprise. It looks like the sort of movie that they had fun filming. Moreover, it was neat to see Nimoy in a role so unlike the one with which he's most associated. And I also liked Vera Miles's role.

This non_classic, remembered fondly by some, forgotten by most, is likely to be enjoyed the most by fans of 1970s made-for-tv genre movies, Leonard Nimoy or Vera Miles completists, or avid fans of all things psychic. It is in the same vein as The Sixth Sense tv series, AKA Circle of Fear, with Gary Collins, except that where the latter was quite earnest, Baffled is relatively light-hearted and decidedly unintense. It consists largely of Leonard Nimoy driving around a rear-projection landscape, mannequins being tossed off of cliffs, and cheeky flirtation among certain of the adult leads. Baffled is a mellow easy chair in which you might sit as you fold your laundry.

BAFFLED is a mystery whodunit in which the twist is that "it" has not been done yet: due to clairvoyant episodes of the protagonist played by Leonard Nimoy, who then promptly teams up with a psychic expert to prevent "it" from happening, the story takes place before "it" is done.

This is a light entertaining film which was apparently filmed as a pilot to a series that never got off the ground. Though much of it plays like a cinematic movie, the credit sequence and ending allow one to guess as much.

The thing that struck me most about this film was the choice of Leonard Nimoy as the lead character in a role that would have been a much more obvious fit with someone like (ideally) Rock Hudson. Nimoy already has quite a serious face, and his close identification with his role as the ultra-serious Mr Spock in the STAR TREK franchise would not naturally suggest him in scenes of lighthearted banter.

However, he does lighten up in the movie, we see him smile frequently, and the initial feeling of the oddness of the choice of the lead does subside eventually. Who knows, had the series got off the ground, his aura of seriousness might even have faded.

The film has some editing issues (perhaps due to time constraints?), there is a car chase which is pretty lame by today's standards (though FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) and its phenomenal car chase scene were filmed the year prior, so we know people could do better even back then), and the supernatural shtick got a bit much for my taste, but nonetheless it keeps the audience guessing with various red herrings while doing a good job of only gradually revealing the mystery.

This is especially for people who want to see Mr. Spock like they've never seen him before, but fans of old-fashioned light mystery films might also enjoy this.

The plot was pretty straightforward, but I thought that the writing, direction, and the acting were actually quite good.

I particularly liked the dialog between the two leads. There was a good chemistry and considering the time and that it was a Telefilm for a pilot, it COULD have simply been tossed off without much thought put into it. But, I liked the humour and interplay between them.

You could tell that they were sort of shooting for a feel similar to the series The Avengers. Between the two of them, her being British and him being a pretty cool fellow, I felt it worked rather well.

There was a decent Mystery too, and I liked the way the story unfolded where they continued to build a sense of tension as the audience tries to figure out what is going on.

Again, considering the time and type of film, the characters were all portrayed fairly well. Usually during that time and with such a low budget production, you would see a lot of overacting and hammy performances, but not here.

It was really nice to see Leonard Nimoy in such a role and see him smiling freely and using humour, which as we all are well aware for a few years there we almost never got to see... : )

All 'n' all I truly felt it was a fun, entertaining movie. If you have the right mindset for the time and what kind of production it is, and you are not expecting too much, then you may very well find some enjoyment here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MY PARTICULAR WAY OF RATING:

5 - Flawed, but with some entertainment value.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )