Dead Silence (1997)

A veteran FBI agent negotiates the release of a bus-load of hearing-impaired school-children taken hostage by 3 desperate escaped convicts.

Director:

Daniel Petrie Jr.

Writers:

Jeffery Deaver (novel), Donald E. Stewart (teleplay) (as Donald Stewart)

Stars:

James Garner, Kim Coates, Marlee Matlin

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Garner	...	John Potter
Kim Coates	...	Theodore 'Ted' Handy
Marlee Matlin	...	Melanie Charrol
Lolita Davidovich	...	Det. Sharon Foster
Charles Martin Smith	...	Roland W. Marks
Kenneth Welsh	...	Sheriff Lenny Budd
James Villemaire	...	Ray 'Sonny' Bonner
Gary Basaraba	...	Shephard Wilcox
Barclay Hope	...	Sheriff Gene Stillwell
Vanessa Vaughan	...	Susan
Blu Mankuma	...	Special Agent Henry Lebow
Mimi Kuzyk	...	Donna Harkstrawn
Scott Speedman	...	Officer Stevie Cardy
John Bourgeois	...	Major Daniel Tremaine
Neil Crone	...	Airport Security Officer

Storyline

Three escaped convicts from prison take a group of deaf students hostage and hold them captive to keep the authorities at bay. FBI agent John Potter (James Garner) leads the FBIs hostage rescue team in their efforts to get the kids released without harm and also to capture the escapees. The children's teacher Melanie (Marlee Matlin), uses sign language to assist the agents in expediting surrender of the convicts.

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Plot Keywords:

police officer | police officer killed | police officer shot in the chest | police officer shot in the back | police officer killed by female | 

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Taglines:

Three escaped convicts. Seven young hostages. Once chance for survival.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English American Sign Language

Release Date:

11 January 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dead Silence - Flammen in der Stille

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alliance Communications Corporation,Home Box Office (HBO),Interscope Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although filmed in Ontario, Canada and British Columbia, Canada, the story ostensibly takes place in or near a place called "Beaumont, New York," which is not a real town, city, or county in the State of New York.

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Goofs

When Ted gets into the disabled red van, the hood is closed. After it fails to start and he gets out of the van, the hood is open.

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Crazy Credits

The F.B.I. and the Coast Guard were not involved in the production of and did not endorse or approve the making of this film, or any part of it.

User Reviews

A basic crime/action film with guts. James Garner makes it work.

"Dead Silence" was something of an unexpected pleasure for me. As far as TV movies go, this is pretty impressive. James Garner offers up an exceptionally engaging characterization, and it was a pleasure to see actors like Charles Martin Smith and Lolita Davidovich. Kim Coates is appropriately menacing as the bad guy.

The story is fairly standard, sure, but it doesn't quite get ridiculous until the final act. It was as if a more hands-off crime story wasn't enough for the screenwriters and they decided that it needed a good deal more action to spice things up. That move was largely a mistake. Daniel Petrie Jr. does good enough as director. I like the general look and feel of the film.

I enjoyed "Dead Silence". It's a hard film to dislike, one of the rare sort of action films that are neither especially challenging nor insultingly bad. Anyone should be able to get some entertainment out of this.