Stealing Home (1988)

Directors:

Steven Kampmann
William Porter

Writers:

Steven Kampmann (written by) &
William Porter (written by)

Release Date:

26 August 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

Stealing hearts, stealing laughs, stealing memories

Plot:

Mark Harmon is a washed-up baseball player who is called back home to handle the ashes of his childhood...

Plot Keywords:

First Love | Friend | One Night Stand | Baseball | Suicide

Cast

Mark Harmon	...	Billy Wyatt
Blair Brown	...	Ginny Wyatt
Jonathan Silverman	...	Teenage Alan Appleby
Harold Ramis	...	Alan Appleby
William McNamara	...	Teenage Billy Wyatt
Richard Jenkins	...	Hank Chandler
John Shea	...	Sam Wyatt
Jodie Foster	...	Katie Chandler
Christine Jones	...	Grace Chandler
Beth Broderick	...	Lesley
Jane Brucker	...	Sheryl
Ted Ross	...	Bud Scott
Thacher Goodwin	...	Young Billy Wyatt
Yvette Croskey	...	Young Robin Parks
Ollie Davidson	...	Robin Parks
Judith Kahan	...	Laura Appleby
Sam Chew Jr.	...	Nathan Appleby
Miriam Flynn	...	Mrs. Parks
Dani Janssen	...	Hooker
Allison Hedges	...	Robin's Daughter
James Talbot	...	Carlton Coach
Patrick McDade	...	Umpire (as Pat McDade)
Brooke Stacy Mills	...	Tennis Girl (as Brooke Mills)
Peter Bucossi	...	Frank
Katie Kampmann	...	Baby Hope
Rich Dauer	...	Spirits' Coach
Helen Hunt	...	Hope Wyatt (adult and pregnant)

Directed by
Steven Kampmann
William Porter		(as Will Aldis)

Writing credits
Steven Kampmann		(written by) &
William Porter		(written by) (as Will Aldis)

Produced by
Chana Ben-Dov	....	associate producer
Hank Moonjean	....	producer
Thom Mount	....	producer

Original Music by
David Foster

Cinematography by
Bobby Byrne

Film Editing by
Antony Gibbs

Casting by
Bonnie Timmermann

Production Design by
Vaughan Edwards

Set Decoration by
Robert J. Franco		(as Robert Franco)

Costume Design by
Robert De Mora		(as Robert de Mora)

Makeup Department
Sharon Ilson	....	key makeup artist (as Sharon Ilson Reed)
Aaron F. Quarles	....	hair stylist (as Aaron Quarles)

Production Management
Doon Allen	....	assistant production manager
Laura J. Medina	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tom Ellison	....	second assistant director
Betsy Pollock	....	first assistant director
Jeffrey Wetzel	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Martin Bernstein	....	construction coordinator
Gerard J. Furey	....	set builder
Ken Nelson	....	foreman carpenter
Mark Peltzer	....	property master
Thomas Hudson Reeve	....	set dresser
Scott Rosenstock	....	key set dresser
Jefferson Sage	....	assistant art director
Keith Wall	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Gary Alper	....	production sound mixer
Al Gomez	....	foley mixer
Steve Maslow	....	sound re-recording mixer
Andrew Schmetterling	....	boom operator
Clancy T. Troutman	....	supervising sound editor
Elliot Tyson	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
J.C. Brotherhood	....	special effects
William Wiggins	....	special effects assistant

Camera and Electrical Department
Robin Brown	....	second assistant camera
Ken Ferris	....	camera operator
Michael Leonard	....	additional first assistant camera
John Newby	....	gaffer
Jeff Simon	....	aerial photographer
Jeff Simon	....	underwater photographer
Jeffery J. Tufano	....	first assistant camera (as Jeff Tufano)
Paul Wachter	....	best boy grip
Joel David Warren	....	still photographer (as Joel Warren)
Tony Whitman	....	key grip

Casting Department
Elina deSantos	....	location casting (as Elina de Santos)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ingrid Price	....	wardrobe supervisor
Heidi Shulman	....	wardrobe supervisor

Transportation Department
Tom Briggs	....	transportation coordinator: reshoots

Other crew
Larry Banks	....	assistant: Mr. Mount
Thomas 'Doc' Boguski	....	assistant production coordinator
Laura Buckley	....	production aide
Robert C. Campion	....	production accountant
Frank Chille	....	unit publicist
Joan Cunningham	....	production aide
Rick Dallago	....	location manager
Christopher Kampfmann	....	production aide
Mary A. Kelly	....	script supervisor
Tracy King	....	production aide
Richard Liebegott	....	personal assistant: Mr. Moonjean
Richard Liebegott	....	production coordinator
Leslie Mangold	....	location assistant
Scott A. Moonjean	....	production aide
Christopher Redmond	....	production assistant
Eric Sherman	....	technical advisor
Eric P. Steckler	....	assistant production accountant

Production Companies

• The Mount Company
• Warner Bros

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1988) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1993) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Home Video (1989) (Germany) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Sportsrobe  costumes

Also Known As:

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Australia:M | Singapore:M18 | Iceland:L | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Camden, New Jersey, USA

Company:

The Mount Company

Trivia:

Warner Bros. green-lit the movie after Herman Raucher denied them the rights to remake Summer of '42 (1971).

Quotes:

Teenage Billy Wyatt:Goodnight Mrs. Parks!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Parker Lewis Can't Lose: Rent-A-Kube (#1.14)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

And When She Danced (Love theme from 'Stealing Home')

Bravo! (spoilers)

This was a surprisingly good late romantic drama, although given the potential cast, I should've expected good things in the first place. It is a nice little love story, an inspiring one, I suppose, that comes from a story with sad circumstances.

Filmed in Pennsylvania is the story of Billy Wyatt (Mark Harmon), a washed up minor league ballplayer living in some rundown town out West. He gets a call from his mother that a close childhood friend (Kate Chandler played by Jodi Foster) of his committed suicide the previous week and left in her will that he was to be responsible for her cremated remains. Wyatt is understandably reluctant to fulfill the obligation in part because he can't understand why he was the one she left her remains to, and he doesn't want to deal with the loss of a friend. So, the story is told in flashback as Wyatt travels home to deal with the situation and the loss of the slightly flaky, but daring girl he was once in love with.

William MacNamara (hubba! hubba!) is great as young Billy Wyatt, although everyone does a fine job. Jonathan Silverman, as teen Wyatt's best friend Appleby, plays his typical eager virgin role common to many of his mid/late 80s material, and adds a nice comic touch (and Harold Ramis continues the charm as the older Appleby). If you enjoy this cast, you should likely be pleased with the film. It's quite a wonderful, underrated drama, and was one of the few movies that I have rented recently and watched more than once.