Abduction (1975)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Joseph Zito

Writers:

Kent E. Carroll (writer)
Harrison James (novel)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

They turned her body and her mind against her!

Plot:

Daughter of a wealthy family is kidnapped by left wing terrorists.

Plot Keywords:

Kidnapping | Rape Scene | Stockholm Syndrome | Graphic Rape | Lesbian Scene

Cast

Judith-Marie Bergan	...	Patricia
David Pendleton	...	Dory
Gregory Rozakis	...	Frank
Leif Erickson	...	Prescott
Dorothy Malone	...	Mrs. Prescott
Lawrence Tierney	...	FBI Agent
Presley Caton	...	Angie
Catherine Lacy	...	Carol
Andrew Rohrer	...	Michael
Andrew Bloch	...	Jake
Pat Hernon	...	Newscaster
Dan Daniel	...	Newscaster
John Bartholomew Tucker	...	Newscaster
David Carroll	...	Cop

Also Known As:

Patricia (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | USA:R | Iceland:16

Company:

Blackpool Partnership

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 9 (2002) (V)

Mostly successful thriller with an interesting backstory

I'm not really surprised that this film has been banished into obscurity - the kidnap plot doesn't contain all that much in the way of the excitement that mainstream crowd craves, and it doesn't contain much in the way of exploitation, which a lot of the cult crowd craves. That being said, this is a surprisingly decent little film, directed by Joseph Zito; the director who would go on to direct the strangely popular slasher flick 'The Prowler' as well as an entry in the Friday the 13th series. The film is based on a book named Black Abductor written by Harrison James. Black Abductor is a book about a political kidnapping; and it's interesting that a year after the novel was released, the story actually happened as Patricia Hearst was abducted for political reasons. The plot follows a political group who kidnap the daughter of a politician and want the destruction of a building for the ransom. At first the girl is afraid of her kidnappers, but soon she warms to them and even decides to dedicate herself to their cause.

The film is not very ambitious and I would have assumed it was a TV movie had I not known otherwise. Most of it takes place in a single location and the director keeps the focus on the main characters. This enforces the abduction plot line well as we are constantly reminded that the girl is being forcibly held captive; or at least for a short while after she is abducted. The idea of Stockholm Syndrome - that being where a victim falls in love with their kidnapper is very interesting and the film plays up to the offbeat kidnapping story well. The acting is generally very good with Judith-Marie Bergan convincing in the lead role and receiving good support from a rugged cast of abductors. The plot moves rather slowly and clearly the main point of the film is to focus on the interplay between the main characters and this is always interesting and keeps the film going. It boils down to a fitting and suitable shocking twist ending and overall I have to say that this is a very good film from Joseph Zito and I certainly prefer it to his slasher films that I saw previously. Recommended if you can find it.