This comedy thriller needs to be seen to be believed. It's half mystery/half Three Stooges, and a stunning look at Central Park in the mid 1960's. Rock Hudson is a noted psychiatrist, approached by Jack Warden in the middle of the park, and asked to assist him with a former patient. But there's more to it than meets the patient's closed file, as we find out when the former patient (Alejandro Rey) tries to strangle him, and later when a hot tempered dancer (Claudia Cardinale) arranges for a rather abrupt encounter with him along the Central Park bridal path, overlooked by the Dakota.The encounter reveals to Hudson that more is going on than he was initially lead to believe, but Hudson manages to keep one step ahead of her, eventually breaking the ice until Warden demands that he breaks it off with her. But there's no way that's going to happen, leading to twice as much intrigue, verbal humor and physical pratfalls, and enough trips through Central Park to keep a pedicab in business for six months. The many paths and bridges of Central Park almost become like characters, and much of it remains unchanged. But a good movie set in a popular city needs much more than just location to make a good film, and much of that involves not only the scenery but the farce as well. One sequence in the middle of a long gone storage house near the reservoir actually has Hudson swinging around with a canoe over his shoulders, ultimately spraying his enemies with paint. It's all very finny, but this makes it seem closer to a Bugs Bunny cartoon than a 60's thriller. There's some fun supporting performances by well known character players, especially Anne Seymour as an Eve Arden like secretary who obviously tells boss Hudson how to run his office. I guarantee that you won't be bored, but you'll be laughing at it, not just with it.

The original poster of this film read in big characters: "Behind the blindfold is the greatest security trap ever devised!" These formulaic promotional campaigns can kill a movie, as in this case, an above average comedy drama that today is almost forgotten. Better than one could expect, considering that Philip Dunne as a filmmaker was not among the best visual stylists from New York, "Blindfold" benefits from his talent for words and structure. He was a very good scriptwriter and for this comedy he wrote a fine script with clever dialogue (with the collaboration of theater instructor and writer W.H. Menger) for an above average mystery thriller based on a novel by Lucille Fletcher, the author of the famous radio plays "Sorry, Wrong Number" and "The Hitch Hiker". Rock Hudson might not have been as solid an actor as others who in the early 60s were in similar films (as Cary Grant in "Charade" or Gregory Peck in "Arabesque" and "Mirage"), but he excelled in romantic comedies and there's a good amount of elements from this sub-genre in "Blindfold", sharing screen time and space with Claudia Cardinale, who also knew how to be very funny. As a matter of fact I prefer Hudson paired with beautiful brunette leading ladies of European origin (Gina Lollobrigida, Paula Prentiss, Leslie Caron, Elizabeth Taylor, Jean Simmons and Claudia) than with Doris Day or Julie Andrews. Recommended.

Channel 5 TV in Britain showed this film today 09/12/05 and I was very taken and surprised what a delightful and deftly made film it was/is. It was entertaining and though not deep you always sensed that all was not what it appeared to be and there would be a sting in the "tale".Being blindfolded would never seem to portend a good omen a would always be an indication of undergoing a pretty serious experience though it's a way of you not seeing too much so that it may possibly portend eventual survival .Seeing blindfolded men these days seem to be a prelude for having your head sawn off whilst still alive, a la Iraq, so there is always in this situation which carries a serious thread even it is interwoven with a comic touch and a dry sense of humour as is this film and the film is a success: an accomplished weave of dynamic and contrasting interplay of humour and seriousness: walking that particular tightrope is an act were you can easily fall off long before you reach the finish at the other end: too much rope for some films but this one skips there easily.

I saw this movie many years ago and yet I have never forgot it. If it comes out on DVD I will probably buy it since Rock Hudson, Claudia Cardinale, and Jack Warden did good characterizations. The sets and music add to the suspense. The movie moves along and has some interesting moments like when Rock Hudson tries to relocate the place he was taken blindfolded. Interesting how geese and people laughing sound similar. This one is rarely on TV so rent it if you can or buy it.