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To Save the Children (1994) (TV)
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Overview
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Director:
Writers (WGA):
Hartt Wixom (nonfiction book "When Angels Intervene") and
Judene Wixom (nonfiction book "When Angels Intervene") ...
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Judene Wixom (nonfiction book "When Angels Intervene") ...
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Release Date:
5 April 1994 (USA)
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Plot:
Teacher Jake Downey has relocated to a small town in Wyoming hoping to escape the urban problems of his last assignment...
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David's „Biggie" – sensible account of a true drama
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Richard Thomas | ... | David Young |
 | Wendy Crewson | ... | Dorsie Young |
 | Jessica Steen | ... | Kathi Davidson |
 | Joanne Vannicola | ... | Melanie Young |
| James Purcell | ... | Cal Fredericks |
| Robert Bednarski | ... | Cody Little |
| Cecilley Carroll | ... | Tracy Little |
| Michael Copeman | ... | Sheriff Wolfley |
 | Robert Urich | ... | Jake Downey |
 | Barclay Hope | ... | Tom Little |
| Elizabeth Lennie | ... | Emma Little |
| Joseph Ziegler | ... | Matt Eckhardt |
 | Shannon Lawson | ... | Jane Michaels |
| Jenny Parsons | ... | Lisa Burns |
| Goldie Semple | ... | Nadene |
Additional Details
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Runtime:
Germany:90 min | USA:92 min
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Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
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*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
The main protagonist of these true events, David Young, is a mixture of Charlie Manson and Sonny Wortzig, the bank robber in Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon. One of the most quoted lines of that movie is Wortzig's partner Sal's answer to his question in which country he would like to flee. It's Wyoming.
The drama in this movie actually takes place in Wyoming. The plot does bear a certain resemblance to Dog Day Afternoon. David Young assembles a small gang for his surefire plan to get rich. Only on the big day, referred to by David as „the biggie", do the others learn, what the plan is – get hold of a grammar school and ask the president of the United States a ransom of 2 million US dollars for each kid. He not only wants to transport a huge amount of firearms into the building but also a bomb with a dead man's switch he had already tested on an (empty) school bus. Although his two partners are quick to refuse to take part in this mad scheme and his daughter after some hesitation decides to follow them, Young puts his plans into action together with his wife – with the foreseeable tragic results.
This movie really works very well, the whole cast is outstanding, all the children's performances really are terrific, too, which makes it all the more believable and moving. David Young clearly is at the center of the narrative. He is played by Richard Thomas whom I remembered as the sweet teenager in the Waltons TV series. His is a great and convincingly scary performance of a weird, funny, dangerous and also strangely pitiable man. Young clearly is a man who should have been in medical treatment or institutionalized. He has developed a weird philosophy and is given to long ramblings which do not loose their effect on weak, impressionable characters. This results in his being a kind of a feverish guru with the appeal of a Charles Manson. The movie takes account of the comic as well as the tragic aspect of the situation with excellent pacing and also with respect for all the characters.
Women take an important part in the story. The teachers face Young with remarkable coolness, consoling and disciplining the kids, trying to prevent disaster. On the other side there is Young's loyal wife who is probably not very intelligent but in her way tries to do the same as the teachers. Outstanding for me was the part of Young's daughter, Joanne Vannicola is excellent in that role. The teenage girl is in a coming of age phase and is clearly torn between the loyalty toward her father and the insight that he is simply mad. The scene where she stands in the school corridor with an armful of rifles, looking truly miserable and finally deciding to stand up to her father was for me the highlight of this very watchable movie.