Cbs Sunday Movie the Disappearance of Nora

Veronica Hamel stars in "The Disappearance of Nora" as an amnesia victim who finds herself accused of murder. The story is good for the most part, but vidpic has too much filler, which only takes away from the effect.

Veronica Hamel stars in “The Disappearance of Nora” as an amnesia victim who finds herself accused of murder. The story is good for the most part, but vidpic has too much filler, which only takes away from the effect.

After waking in the desert badly beaten, Nora Freemont (Hamel) makes her way to a Reno casino, where she meets hotel security chief Denton (Dennis Farina). He takes her into his care for what are severely undefined motives; Farina, a fine character actor, looks awkward as he shifts motives from sexual to financial to concern.

Hamel refuses to admit to anyone that she has amnesia — a little implausible that she is able to hide this fact — and starts working as a waitress in a casino. Farina, suspecting something is amiss, decides to do some clever detective work.

He discovers that Freemont is actually a high-powered attorney reviled by the police for the cases she takes on. It also turns out she’s married. Despite her apparent high profile and being pursued by the police, nobody notices her working in the casino.

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Farina picks up reward money. He then decides he loves her although he never seems sure of anything.

After being reunited with her husband (played adequately by Stephen Collins), it is revealed that her boss is missing, yet no body has been found and Hamel becomes the prime suspect.

Hamel is never arrested, so she decides to solve the case herself — probably a good idea, as the cops are portrayed as bumbling idiots.

Jim Glennon’s cinematography is better than OK, as is Joyce Chopra’s direction; despite occasional lapses, the acting is good and Hamel performs very well.

The vidpic has many positives, especially on the technical side, but could have been much better if the script had been examined more closely: The discrepancies could and should have been corrected.