Leofwine_draca THE HOSTAGE is a low budget, gritty drama of 1967 put out by Crown International Pictures. It's worth watching to see some quiet but engaging performances from the principal cast members, although the plot is long-winded which makes this feel more of a mood piece than anything else. The story has an annoying kid accidentally stowing himself away in a removal truck being driven by a psychopath. He becomes a hostage while his parents act frantically and the police pursue. There's really not too much here of interest, if I'm honest, but Don Kelly is an effectively sweaty, on-the-edge psycho, and Harry Dean Stanton is as likable as ever he was.

Red-Barracuda A young boy accidentally stows away in a van driven by a couple of killers moonlighting as removal men. When the criminals stop off at a remote location to dispose of the body of a man they murdered, they discover the kid who flees. This results in the killers, the boy and his pursuing parents all in a race against each other.This one is notable particularly for an early screen appearance from acting legend Harry Dean Stanton. He plays Eddie, the more sympathetic and sensitive of the criminal duo. He's joined on screen by veteran actor John Carradine, who appears as a vagrant; by this stage in his career, Carradine was appearing in basically anything that offered a pay check meaning that he is one of the best known faces from bad movies. I wouldn't necessarily say this one is terrible mind you but it is definitely very mediocre and doesn't make the most of its potential. The plot-line is pretty basic and events don't really generate very much suspense. Interestingly, it was photographed by Ted V. Mikels, who would go on to forge a career directing schlock movies, including the very enjoyable The Doll Squad (1973). The Hostage could certainly have done with an injection of the sort of psychotronic entertainment value found in that one.

lemon_magic I never read the novel this movie was based on, but I'd be willing to bet that the author wasn't all that happy with the cinematic results.There's a germ of an interesting idea here, and it seems as if the director and cast are trying very hard to make it work as a movie, but the plot is just too thin and the sets, props, costumes, scenery and dialog are just too threadbare. And the soundtrack, especially the introductory song on the credits is laughably overwrought and weepy.A word about the child actor who has to carry the film...you can't criticize a little kid for an poor performance in a role like this. Either they have the charisma, talent and maturity to give the director what he wants or they don't, and it's not their fault if the performance fails...it's the fault of the director and the people who cast the child in the first place. Danny What's-his-name is OK in some scenes, stiff and affected in others, but he's not actively annoying the way some child actors can be, and he doesn't try too hard. But this movie needed a real prodigy in the central role to work, and Danny ain't it. And he never (apparently) got another chance, which probably was better for him anyway.Harry Dean Stanton and John Carradine are in this is fairly prominent roles, but they play weak characters with no inherently interesting qualities, and the movie wouldn't have been any better (or worse) if the producers had just cast non-entities in their places.I wouldn't bother with this one unless you really want to see every last drama ever made. It's not awful by any means...it just isn't very interesting.

Woodyanders Pesky little boy Davey Cleaves (a capable performance by Danny Martins) stows away on a moving truck being driven by fearsome, brutish, volatile psychopath Bull (a pleasingly nasty and robust portrayal by Don O'Kelly) and his meek weakling partner Eddie (excellently played to the sniveling hilt by the always fine Harry Dean Stanton). Naturally, Davey finds himself in considerable peril when the two no-count criminals discover him. Director Russell S. Doughton, Jr. relates the gripping story at a steady pace, develops a reasonable amount of tension, maintains a serious tone throughout, and makes good use of the dry and desolate Des Moines, Iowa locations. This picture further benefits from sound acting by a sturdy cast: Stanton and O'Kelly work off each other well as the radically contrasting hoodlums, John Carradine impresses in a colorful secondary part as crotchety, sarcastic bum Otis Lovelace, plus there are solid turns by Ron Hagerthy as Davey's concerned father Steve, Jennifer Lea as Davey's equally worried mother Carol, Ann Doran as snoopy neighbor Miss Mabry, Nora Marlowe as kindly, helpful old lady Selma Morton, and Raymond Guth as Selma's mean husband Sam. While the competent color by Ted V. Mikels and Jaime Mendoza-Nava's shivery score are both up to speed, the sappy theme song on the other hand is pretty dire. A nifty little B-flick.