Bump in the Night (1991)

An ex-New York reporter fights alcoholism as she and her ex- husband search for their kidnapped son.

Director:

Karen Arthur

Writers:

Isabelle Holland (novel), Christopher Lofton (teleplay)

Stars:

Meredith Baxter, Christopher Reeve, Wings Hauser

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meredith Baxter	...	Martha Tierney (as Meredith Baxter-Birney)
Christopher Reeve	...	Lawrence Muller
Wings Hauser	...	Patrick Tierney
Richard Bradford	...	Sgt. Pete Mooney
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Mrs. Beauchamps
Shirley Knight	...	Katie Leonard
Terrence Mann	...	Ben Nicolaides
Richard Joseph Paul	...	Jeff Donner
Anne Twomey	...	Sarah Jennings (as Ann Twomey)
Leslie Gail	...	Cheryl Mason
Travis Swords	...	Barry Weller
Corey Carrier	...	Jonathan Tierney
Audra Blaser	...	Marguerite
Etta Cox	...	Julia (as Etta L. Cox)
William Cameron	...	Roger Freemantle

Storyline

Martha "Red" Tierney used to be a hot-shot reporter, but that was before alcohol took over her life. One morning Martha's son Jonathan leaves for school, stopping first to meet his father for breakfast. But Jonathan never meets his dad. Instead he is picked up by Lawrence a pedophile who has been watching him. Now Martha must overcome her alcoholism and her bitterness towards her ex-husband and use her old investigative skills to find her son before it's too late.

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Plot Keywords:

alcoholism | pedophile | f rated | kidnapping | child abuse | 

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Taglines:

Based on a true story...a tale of two evils

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 January 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

A gyerekrablás

Filming Locations:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RHI Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last film role of Geraldine Fitzgerald.

User Reviews

Reeve shines

A separated, former New York Newsreporter is passed out drunk on her sofa, when her 8 year old son gets himself ready and leaves for school. She is woken by the telephone saying he has not arrived. He has been abducted by an impostor posing as a friend of his Dad's.

In a very difficult role as a paedophile who abducts the boy, Christopher Reeve is absolutely superb as creepy Lawrence Muller.

Don't be put off by the made for TV tag, Reeve brings his A-Game and Meredith Baxter put in a shift too.

The first half of this movie is the best, the second act where a drunk friend of Baxter's draws an incredible likeness to Reeve in under 60 seconds after seeing him for a couple of seconds, the Police allowing Baxter to interrogate witness's, check registration plates, and have her own police escort without cautioning her for interfering with a police investigation gets a bit implausible, as does the fact that Social Services are never called, and at the happy ending Baxter is allowed to take the boy home without any repercussions for her gross neglect.

But Reeve's performance more than makes up for any other short comings, and it will stay with you long after the move has finished.

I can only guess there must have been some seriously strong contenders for male performances that year, as the fact that Reeve did not even garner a nomination of any kind for this movie is ridiculous.

It's a shame Reeve's performances as Superman (still the best Man Of Steel/Clark Kent for me) over shadowed everything else he did. As he is a damn fine actor.