The Little Kidnappers Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
Loosely based on a '50's movie of the same name, it tells the story of two young orphan boys who travel by themselves from the Old country to join their father's family in Canada. There they encounter their stern disciplinarian grandfather who has alienated himself from some of his neighbors. There is particularly no love lost between the grandfather and his Dutch neighbors, who he generalizes as being responsible for his son's death in the Boor War. A side product of this animosity is that it is keeping apart the boy's aunt and her Dutch doctor suitor. The two boys change everything though when they find a young baby on the beach...
| Charlton Heston | James MacKenzie |
| Bruce Greenwood | Willem Hooft |
| Patricia Gage | Mrs. MacKenzie |
| Dan MacDonald | Tom Cameron |
| Leah Pinsent | Kirsten MacKenzie |
| Charles Miller | Davy MacKenzie |
| Leo Wheatley | Harry MacKenzie |
| Richard Donat | Hans Hooft |
| Amos Crawley | Jan Hooft |
| Eileen Pedde | Mrs. Hooft |
| Deborah Allen | Mrs. Cameron |
| Erin Kuttner | Jean Cameron |
| Nicola Lipman | Mrs. MacNeill |
| Gay Hauser | Mrs. Thompson |
| Sten Eirik | Mr. Sinclair |
| Donald Shebib |
5.00 out of 10 (113 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Terrible WASTE of time!!!!
posted on 30 Aug 2009The plot is so manipulative, counting completely on the most uncredible and unthinkable decisions of the adults in each and every parenting decision. The children are super as far as charm and delivery of the lines but as I say, the whole plot depends on each and every adult being complete idiots, and therefore in THAT case, making more sense out of their actions (and at the same time being the only way to explain the boys actions of total mistrust). Why would sweey charming little boys take a baby from the shore? How did the baby get to the shore and at the same time account for it being the LAST place to be searched? Why would the 2 boys NEVER be informed an instead at the same time a baby is missing nobody gives a fig about them running around with food and diapers with all that commotion going on and literally every other place it searched? There is just no possible justification to ask the audience to believe this. Asking to believe it would then do to trial (even the informal setting) is too insulting to bare.
Full of culture, not action
posted on 30 Aug 2009I turned my TV onto channel 20 and saw this movie on the "UPN Saturday Cinema." The only reason I didn't change the channel was because it had Charlton Heston in it. As I watched, I found that the movie was composed mostly of the antics of two chubby Scottish kids and the romantic struggle of Mackenzie's daughter and the doctor guy, who wanted to be accepted by Mackenzie (Heston) so's they can get married. Mackenzie softened up at the end after the kids were tried for secretly keeping a baby they found on the shore. I noticed a lot of culture, as the movie took place in the Scottish-Dutch settlements of Canada in the early 20th century. As far as action, there was none, and as the movie ended, I was only confused. I only stayed 'till the end 'cause Indiana Jones came on next anyways.
Good family film
posted on 30 Aug 2009After spending time in a London orphanage, Harry and Davy arrive in 1903 Nova Scotia on a boat and are soon met by their grandfather James MacKenzie. He takes the boys to live with him, their grandmother and their Aunt Kirsten. James hates Boers because his son, the boys' father, died in the Boer Wars. He will not let Boers farm the land he and his son cleared. And his prejudices lead to Harry getting in trouble at school. Another possible complication: Kirsten is attracted to Willem, the doctor, who is a Boer.James was not educated because he had to help out on the family farm. He is very religious--he won't allow pictures in the house and he opposes dancing.
Though he thinks nothing of pulling a gun on his enemies.The movie's title comes from the fact that the boys find a baby abandoned on the beach and decide to take care of it themselves, afraid of what would happen if they tell anyone, because they know what it is like to live in an orphanage. This is a good family film but nothing spectacular. It focuses on traditional values and has a 'Little House on the Prairie' quality to it.
James is stern but loving, though not as easygoing as Pa Ingalls. He expects much from his grandchildren and believes in corporal punishment.
The boys' grandmother provides an appropriate balance, showing sympathy for the boys when it is needed but still faithful. Kirsten is quite appealing and somewhat attractive though not beautiful. And the boys are the center of the film.All the acting performances were just fine, right down to the child playing the baby. I was surprised to see that Charlton Heston played James, because while he was good, he wasn't THAT good.We need more family films like this.
Sweet and Charming
posted on 30 Aug 2009Charlton Heston may have won an Oscar, but after seeing Heston's performance in this film I wonder for what. Best Ham Performance by an actor perhaps?Otherwise, aside from a slightly uneven script and some odd camera shots, this a sweet and charming film ideal for family viewing. The scenery is wonderful and the musical score is perfect. Leah Pinsent as the MacKenzie daughter Kirsten is very appealing, and Bruce Greenwood, as her Dutch suitor Dr. Wilhem Hooft,is quietly sexy and sincere. He also has affected the best accent of the bunch, having reportedly researched it so that it is convincing if not necessarily authentic. The best reason to see this film are the two sweet young ones playing the little MacKenzie brothers. They are wonderful actors and carry the film well. Everyone should watch and see for themselves.
A really wonderful film
posted on 30 Aug 2009Gosh, we must have been watching a different movie.My family and I absolutely love this story. A nudge to an earlier poster - the plot seemed perfectly clear to me, the baby was on the shore because his brother, who was supposed to be baby-sitting him at home, took him there. Then when the child thought something awful must have happened to the baby, he didn't dare tell his mum and dad. It wasn't until the searchers had looked everywhere that he finally confessed he'd taken the baby to the seashore.We really liked the performances, especially the kids and Bruce Greenwood. Incredibly charming and completely believable, I thought. The Canadian setting was very beautiful, too.It's a Disney movie, I thought, although IMDb says some other company made it.