JANE DOE

US, 1983, 100 minutes, Colour.
William Devane, David Huffman, Eva Marie Saint, Karen Valentine.
Directed by Ivan Nagy.

Jane Doe is a thriller set in Vancouver. It involves a killer, details of police work, a victim who is suffering from amnesia.

William Devane is competent in this kind of role as the police investigator. There is support from Eva Marie Saint as a doctor.

The film was directed by Ivan Nagy, Hungarian-born director who worked in Hollywood mainly in television.

1. Entertaining thriller? Realistic? Murder story and investigation?

2. The use of the city of Vancouver, buildings and streets, police precincts? Atmosphere? The musical score and its mood?

3. The title, the anonymous woman, the feminist touches? The experience of amnesia?

4. The situation, the grave, the police, the recovery of the woman, the hospital and reviving the victim?

5. The character of Quinn, his skill at his police work? Meeting the press? Interaction with the doctors? The situation of Jane Doe? His superiors? The questions, the husband, protection, the shock, the grave, the suspect and the line-up? The build-up to the finale? His character and idiosyncrasies?

6. Jane and her situation, in the hospital? The questions? Her amnesia? The interaction with Quinn? The doctor, hard, wanting trust? Her wandering around, seeing the paper? Consciousness, amnesia? Her husband, home, the bonds? Her continued puzzle, the nightmares and memory? Attempts to kill her? The other murder, the grave, the shooting? The line-up? Leaving with David? The confrontation and the ending?

7. Jane Doe, the anonymous woman, her life, her life gone, the puzzle, the attempts to recover it, therapy, shock?

8. The killer, type, loner, violence? Home? Reacting to the mistake? Killing the jogger? The shooting, the arrest, the line-up? The first-rate mind – and police work? Madness?

9. David, sympathetic, helping, going to the grave, the end – and the murder twist?

10. The details of police work, the limits of the police and their abilities, failures? The authorities?

11. The doctor, sympathetic, the therapy?

12. A television-style story, smooth storytelling, reality, memory, the devices for memory – and the twists in the plot?