Despite the seemingly self-explanatory title, there's a little quirk behind this mystery.
A mild but reasonably enjoyable TVM in the Perry Mason series, this features a couple of famous faces from the 80s era in which it was filmed, including David Hassellhoff (between Knight Rider and Baywatch days) and John Beck (fomerly of Dallas and Santa Barbera, and more recently of Walker:Texas Ranger fame) in addition to the late Raymond Burr in his role of Perry Mason.
15 years earlier, twin sisters Sarah and Amy Wingate were kidnapped and boated out onto a lake near the mining federation headquarters owned by their father, and thrown into the lake by their kidnapper... The kidnapper was killed in a gun battle with the Sheriff's posse soon after, a posse which included former reserve deputy sheriff-turned-mining company president Doug Vickers (played by John Beck), and old friend of Sarah's father who took over the operations management side of the company following Sarah's father's death with the company ownership itself having been inherited by Sarah (who, unlike her sister, survived the kidnapping ordeal). After some pains as she tries to fully come to terms with the tragedy, life returns to normal for Sarah, largely thanks to her new husband, Billy Travis (Hassellhoff), a retired tennis pro now trying to set up a new ski resort, a development which sees Sarah considering the possibility of closing the mining company down, and going into partnership with Billy.
Then Sarah disappears, and the Sheriff receives an anonymous call telling him that she has been murdered and that she is lying dead in the lake. All the clues point to Billy Travis, and he is subsequently arrested and put on trial for his wife's murder - having himself received an anonymous phone call, he is found rowing a boat out of the lake with Sarah's blood and clothing in it and a napkin with his name on it inside the boat. The town, all of whom believed that Billy only married Sarah for her money in the first place, are quick to point the finger of blame at him, mainly out of convenience and dislike towards Billy, but also having seen him publicly argue with Sarah the night before.
But Billy knows that he did not murder Sarah. And and along with Perry (defending him at the trial) and sidekick Paul Drake (played for the last time by William Katt in this film) he tries to find out who really committed the crime.
There are a number of suspicious questions left unanswered following Sarah's disappearance. If Sarah really was murdered and dumped in the lake, then why is her body not there now? Why has Billy's brother Frank done a runner, and who is he running from? What was Billy's former lover, Lisa Blake, doing back in town on the night of the murder, and why has she now disappeared? Why are Doug Vickers, Sarah's cousin Skip Wingate, and Sarah's personal attendant Ms. Constance Chainey all so quick to blame Billy, and yet at the same time so reluctant to testify at Billy's trial? And is it just a horrible coincidence that Sarah has been murdered in the same waters as her twin sister was 15 years before, or is someone deliberately trying to repeat history?
As the case progresses, it soon becomes apparent to all involved that there's far more to the case than had initially met the eye. As Mason and Drake get closer to the truth, they realise that the real murderer is only not working in tandem with an accomplice, but that, as they close in, the two culprits will go to all lengths to stop them unearthing the real truth - with shocking results...
Good performances from David Hassellhoff, the very under-rated John Beck and Raymond Burr make this a watchable movie that starts off very well prior falling into mediocrity in places due to weak script and lack of plot before the film eventually reaches an intense and intriguing climax towards the end.
A mild but reasonably enjoyable TVM in the Perry Mason series, this features a couple of famous faces from the 80s era in which it was filmed, including David Hassellhoff (between Knight Rider and Baywatch days) and John Beck (fomerly of Dallas and Santa Barbera, and more recently of Walker:Texas Ranger fame) in addition to the late Raymond Burr in his role of Perry Mason.
15 years earlier, twin sisters Sarah and Amy Wingate were kidnapped and boated out onto a lake near the mining federation headquarters owned by their father, and thrown into the lake by their kidnapper... The kidnapper was killed in a gun battle with the Sheriff's posse soon after, a posse which included former reserve deputy sheriff-turned-mining company president Doug Vickers (played by John Beck), and old friend of Sarah's father who took over the operations management side of the company following Sarah's father's death with the company ownership itself having been inherited by Sarah (who, unlike her sister, survived the kidnapping ordeal). After some pains as she tries to fully come to terms with the tragedy, life returns to normal for Sarah, largely thanks to her new husband, Billy Travis (Hassellhoff), a retired tennis pro now trying to set up a new ski resort, a development which sees Sarah considering the possibility of closing the mining company down, and going into partnership with Billy.
Then Sarah disappears, and the Sheriff receives an anonymous call telling him that she has been murdered and that she is lying dead in the lake. All the clues point to Billy Travis, and he is subsequently arrested and put on trial for his wife's murder - having himself received an anonymous phone call, he is found rowing a boat out of the lake with Sarah's blood and clothing in it and a napkin with his name on it inside the boat. The town, all of whom believed that Billy only married Sarah for her money in the first place, are quick to point the finger of blame at him, mainly out of convenience and dislike towards Billy, but also having seen him publicly argue with Sarah the night before.
But Billy knows that he did not murder Sarah. And and along with Perry (defending him at the trial) and sidekick Paul Drake (played for the last time by William Katt in this film) he tries to find out who really committed the crime.
There are a number of suspicious questions left unanswered following Sarah's disappearance. If Sarah really was murdered and dumped in the lake, then why is her body not there now? Why has Billy's brother Frank done a runner, and who is he running from? What was Billy's former lover, Lisa Blake, doing back in town on the night of the murder, and why has she now disappeared? Why are Doug Vickers, Sarah's cousin Skip Wingate, and Sarah's personal attendant Ms. Constance Chainey all so quick to blame Billy, and yet at the same time so reluctant to testify at Billy's trial? And is it just a horrible coincidence that Sarah has been murdered in the same waters as her twin sister was 15 years before, or is someone deliberately trying to repeat history?
As the case progresses, it soon becomes apparent to all involved that there's far more to the case than had initially met the eye. As Mason and Drake get closer to the truth, they realise that the real murderer is only not working in tandem with an accomplice, but that, as they close in, the two culprits will go to all lengths to stop them unearthing the real truth - with shocking results...
Good performances from David Hassellhoff, the very under-rated John Beck and Raymond Burr make this a watchable movie that starts off very well prior falling into mediocrity in places due to weak script and lack of plot before the film eventually reaches an intense and intriguing climax towards the end.