The Forgotten (TV 1989)

Held captive by their own army, six American POW's, released from Vietnam seventeen years after the war, escape to the streets of Bonn in WestGermany (1989) to unlock the political secrets ... See full summary »

Director:

James Keach

Writers:

Paul Staples (story), James Keach (teleplay),

Stars:

Keith Carradine, Steve Railsback, Pepe Serna

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keith Carradine	...	Captain Tom Watkins
Steve Railsback	...	Lieutenant Jesse Brady
Pepe Serna	...	Sergeant Pepe Gutierrez
Richard Lawson	...	Sergeant Frank 'Doc' McDermott
Don Keith Opper	...	Sergeant Peter Lowell
Michael Champion	...	Sergeant Elmer J. Miller
Tzi Ma	...	Premier
Bruce Boa	...	Pearse
Mimi Maynard	...	Claudia Feldhaus
Sandra Will	...	Major White
William Lucking	...	Colonel Jack Westford
Kai Wulff	...	Feldhaus
Stacy Keach	...	Adam Roth
Louise Lombard	...	Kristina
Erin Donovan	...	Reporter #1

Storyline

Held captive by their own army, six American POW's, released from Vietnam seventeen years after the war, escape to the streets of Bonn in WestGermany (1989) to unlock the political secrets that mark them for death.

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Plot Keywords:

prisoner of war | torture

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 April 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Commando oublié

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

The Pentagon computer displays the name of Lt. Jesse Brady as Lt. Alex Brady.

User Reviews

How can I torture you? Let me count the ways.

There's usually something a bit distasteful about movies which exploit the notion that American POWs were (and perhaps still are) being held in Vietnam after the end of American involvement there. This movie is no exception though it has a good cast and its earnest quality tends to soften the edges of its questionable material.

And like most POW movies, this one feels compelled to include some torture scenes. In fact, there's a whole smorgasbord of them. We see Keith Carradine, stripped to the waist, tied in a chair where he's threatened with a gun and slapped around by an Vietnamese interrogator. Then we see Michael Champion's head pushed backward over a tub of water while a flowing water-hose is forced into his mouth. Next Richard Lawson gets bamboo shoved under his fingernails followed by Steven Railsback being whipped across his bare torso while hanging upside-down. It's as if the Vietnamese had a separate torture for each POW!(Apparently they forgot about the sack containing a hungry rat which was tied over Chuck Norris' head in "Missing in Action" or the electric generator whose wires were attached to David Anthony Smith's nipples in "The Hanoi Hilton." Watching Smith writhe in agony with each turn of the generator's crank while his tormentors giggled in delight is perhaps the ultimate in these scenes.)

Most of the actors give a better effort than the script deserves but top honors go to William Lucking.