Don't be misled by the title of this one. Although advertisements say that "M-G-M presents the mystery of a missing person" there is actually no mystery at all, and everyone is well accounted for. The man with the cloak is Joseph Cotten, a dapper, frustrated poet, who foils a plot on the life and fortune of an old millionaire-actor.

Meeting a pretty girl (Leslie Caron) by accident, Cotten learns that she loves the millionaire's only living relative, who needs the inheritance for some revolutionary movement in France. While captivating Caron persuades the dying old man to write another will, her cohort Cotten deals with the evil contenders for the money--the housekeeper (Barbara Stanwyck), and a sinister side-whiskered butler. Between drinking quantities of liquor (fourteen glasses in all) and trying to break through Stanwyck's overbearing hostility, Cotten manages to appear a humanitarian martyr.

Although the movie's plot is obviously old and painfully slow-moving, at least the dialogue is often witty. The only excitement occurs when Cotten engages in a tumble-downstairs fight over the will with the grisly butler.

The will, by the way, was hidden in a fireplace by the old actor's pet crow. This is obviously a corny gimmick, and Cotten applies equally corny detective logic to find it.

The second feature, "Mr. Imperium," was even more disappointing. Lana Turner turned in one of her most insipid performances as a mid-western showgirl racing after an Italian king. The sound track did no justice to Ezio Pinza's voice and the fake scenery ruined one possible justification for this Technicolor film. Armchair tourists, however, may enjoy a few authentic shots of Italy.