The Hostage

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Audience Member The actual story The Hostage is based on is not bad - not bad at all, in fact. The manifold plot twists show a lot of promise. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t live up to this promise - not in the least. One has to make allowances for older movies, but this one is not so old. Back in 1967, the Americans were capable of making way better movies than this one. The closing credits say it was filmed in Iowa, but I suppose quite a bit was filmed in studio settings. This is not unusual, but it really shows here. The quality of this décor look matches the cheapish atmosphere of the rest of the film. The acting is wooden and sometimes clumsy, the music is melodramatic and old-fashioned up to the point of silliness, some elements in the story are not logical (the kid is clever, but not clever enough to keep out of the hands of the thieves, even though he had ample opportunities for this; how on earth could the parents trace the tramp – far too coincidental; how did they know what road the thug would take; how did they manage to figure this out so quickly whereas it took them ages to realize the kid might be in the movers’ truck, etc., etc.). This is a movie that just doesn’t engage the viewer. There are many thrilling and emotional moments in the movie, but one just sits there, watches it all go by without even caring. I didn’t feel really sorry for the boy, nor for the parents, grieving about their missing child. Even the creepy alcoholic on a killing spree left me cold, which is a pretty bad sign. The Hostage is a B-movie that doesn’t deliver. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member wow umn just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n think that this is a good movie 2 watch.....its got a good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie....i think that harry dean stanton, john carradine, james almanzar play good roles/parts throughout this movie....i think that the director of this classics/drama/thriller movie had done a good job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throguhout this movie...i think that this is a great thriller movie its really suspenseful its got a good cast throughout this movie n this is a great thriller movie 2 watch Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Can't quite decide if it's in the 50s or the 60s, nonetheless quite tense. In some ways a bit of a precursor to Duel. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Hostage

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