Stolen Innocence (1995)

Really Surprised!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

***SPOILERS*** True story of 17 going on 18 year old Stacy Sapp, Tracey Gold, who ran away from home to find both love and adventure only finding herself kidnapped by her "lover" ex-convict Richard Brown, Thomas Calabro, and held for a $30,000.00 ransom. It was the naive Stacy falling for Brown's sweet talk about eternal love that he had for her that tricked her to go along with him as his flunky of a friend of his Eddie,Matt Letscher, on a crime spree that never really materialized. That in Stacy not wanting to go along with the two knowing where it would lead her to; Jail or an early grave.With Eddie wimping out and after wetting his pants and ending up in police custody it's up to Stacy's parents Mr.& Mrs. Sapp's, Nick Searcy & Bess Armstrong, the job to get the ransom money and hand it over to Brown who's couped up with a terrified Stacy in a motel room with him armed to the teeth ready to go out in a blaze of glory if the police or FBI interfere. With the head of the FBI unit Jed Harris, Terence Knox, playing it cool and calling the dogs, or FBI snipers, off it kept Brown from going psycho and giving him and his men time to talk some sense into him before he ends up flipping out.***SPOILERS**** It's at the very last moment after shooting up the near-by diner where the police & FBI are hiding in that Brown sees the light and does the right thing. Releasing Stacey and later, with him in the police cross-hairs, Brone peacefully surrenders and is taken into custody before anyone is killed. Based on a true story the movie shows that both good police work and not going off the handle by fugitive Richard Brown prevented a bad situation from turning into a far worse one. That would have ended up with dozens of innocent people dead and wounded like we've seen over the years since then.

I liked the film. Its what it says on the label, a movie made for TV. Its not normally the type of film i would watch, and i only watched it because I'm too poor to afford the Sky Movie channels lol. However, I wasn't displeased and the plot kept me interested, and i felt for each character, and loved watching the love-hate relationship between Richard and Stacy, and i felt that a lot of young girls could empathise with Stacey, falling in love with an older man, who isn't a good guy. And to me, if you can empathise with a character, the actor is doing their job.The film reminded me of Thelma and Louise and Badlands, people who have watched those films, i feel would enjoy this film and vice versa.

In contrast to the other two posts, I'm sorry but I thought this movie was terrible. The acting was dreadful, especially from the two leads (Gold & Calabro). I've never thought of Tracey Gold as that great an actress anyway and she did nothing to change my opinion here.I couldn't sympathise with her character one bit and Thomas Calabro was just ridiculous. I cringed so many times during this movie, and the real tragedy is, it could've been so darn good -- especially as it was based on a true story. The only saving grace is Matt Letscher as Rick's "friend" Eddie. He acted well and was far more believable than the other two. Rick was a psycho, Stacy was just plain stupid. Eddie made you feel SOMETHING at least, especially when Rick turns on him and treats him like dirt. Eddie also seems to have a genuine fondness for Stacy and fear of Rick, and portrays this well in the movie.Final verdict: a woeful account of what was obviously a very serious incident that was turned into something laughable and unbelievable thanks to bad acting and a corny script.

This is a made-for-television film that isn't easily forgotten. It's a psychological drama, memorable more for the excellent character development and acting than the plot. The story might be hard to believe, particularly the ending, were in not based on a real events.Tracey Gold plays an 18-year-old runaway from a lower-middle class home, determined to break out of an contentious relationship with her mother. Basically a good girl but naive, Gold's character, Stacy, ends up in the world of cross-country truckers, where a smooth operator named Richard (expertly played by Thomas Calabro) convinces her to take a ride west with him and his driver partner in an empty rig. Richard comes across immediately as a slick con artist, and Stacy is impressed.Once the pickup is made, the viewer watches as Richard is revealed slowly and methodically to be a criminal, a hustler, and ultimately a violent, paranoid psychopath. A level of suspense is maintained as the viewer sees each change in Richard's demeanor before Stacy herself understands the mess she's gotten herself into.But it's not a simple tale of "madman grabs girl." Richard is a conflicted man, Stacy his perfect prey. The interaction between them shows the complexity of the personalities of all involved, from Richard's dominated and abused accomplice to the vulnerable and guileless Stacy. But Richard is the character that fascinates most. Everything he does suggests a troubled past, a tendency to unpredictable mood swings, and ultimately, when Stacy's fear becomes overwhelming, a compulsion to possess her and control her, even to the point of threats to take her life.Still, a curious bond is formed between them. And that's what makes the story so poignant. This is a well-made film; it has the sort of subtlety that makes it worth watching more than once.