Tom Kovack (Leonard Nimoy) is one of the fastest, most reckless race car drivers around until he suddenly spins out of control. It turns out that Kovack is suddenly experiencing psychic visions of a murder. With the help of occult expert Michelle Brent (Susan Hampshire), Kovack is in the race of his life; the race to stop a murder.
Baffled! (1973), as the synopsis above suggests, is a deliriously lurid little slice of pulp. Theodore Apstein’s script combines the paranormal with the classic gumshoe plot with mixed results. Baffled! was directed by veteran filmmaker Philip Leacock (brother of Richard Leacock) who imbues the film with enough somber seriousness to counteract the inherent campiness of the plot.
Baffled! is one of those television pilots that didn’t get picked up but aired as a “movie of the week”. The budgetary restraints are all too apparent throughout, but especially in the racing sequences. Leacock, who transitioned to television work later than most, has a good enough eye to lend the proceedings a cinematic air. However this bit of stylization can only do so much for a script full of cliches and two dimensional characters.
Anyone watching Baffled! today is watching it for the same reason I did: to see Mr. Spock. In terms of the projects that the cast of Star Trek got offered between the series and the first feature film, Baffled! is pretty middle of the road. Nimoy is as good as he ever was and it’s always nice to see him work outside of the Spock mold. Baffled! isn’t going to be much fun though for those of us who have never donned pointed ears and muttered “live long and prosper”.
