Stolen Innocence (1995 TV Movie) User Reviews

A walk on the wild side

[kapelusznik18 · 6/10 · 28 October 2015]

***SPOILERS*** True story of 17 going on 18 year old Stacy Sapp, Tracey Gold, who ran away from home to find both love and adventure only finding herself kidnapped by her "lover" ex-convict Richard Brown, Thomas Calabro, and held for a $30,000.00 ransom. It was the naive Stacy falling for Brown's sweet talk about eternal love that he had for her that tricked her to go along with him as his flunky of a friend of his Eddie,Matt Letscher, on a crime spree that never really materialized. That in Stacy not wanting to go along with the two knowing where it would lead her to; Jail or an early grave.

With Eddie wimping out and after wetting his pants and ending up in police custody it's up to Stacy's parents Mr.& Mrs. Sapp's, Nick Searcy & Bess Armstrong, the job to get the ransom money and hand it over to Brown who's couped up with a terrified Stacy in a motel room with him armed to the teeth ready to go out in a blaze of glory if the police or FBI interfere. With the head of the FBI unit Jed Harris, Terence Knox, playing it cool and calling the dogs, or FBI snipers, off it kept Brown from going psycho and giving him and his men time to talk some sense into him before he ends up flipping out.

***SPOILERS**** It's at the very last moment after shooting up the near-by diner where the police & FBI are hiding in that Brown sees the light and does the right thing. Releasing Stacey and later, with him in the police cross-hairs, Brone peacefully surrenders and is taken into custody before anyone is killed. Based on a true story the movie shows that both good police work and not going off the handle by fugitive Richard Brown prevented a bad situation from turning into a far worse one. That would have ended up with dozens of innocent people dead and wounded like we've seen over the years since then.

Based on a True Story

[lavatch · 5/10 · 16 September 2019]

Stacy ("Stace") lives in Illinois and is a confused eighteen-year-old with wanderlust. She leaves home with only $200 in her pocket primarily because she is restless and does not get along well with her mom. At a truck stop, she is picked up by a stranger named Richard, who promises her the universe, then lets her down when it clear that he is mentally deranged. He seeks ransom money from her distraught parents to return her to her family, and the longest stretch of the film is a standoff in a motel in Kansas.

"Stolen Innocence" was based on a true story. But the filmmakers take an ambivalent stance on Richard. Was the bizarre relationship between Stace and Richard a "Romeo and Juliet"? Or, was it an example of the Stockholm syndrome where the victim identifies with the captor? The film combines a pseudo love story with a generic hostage film. Predictably, the results are uneven.

The sequence in the motel with a mad dash by the father to simulate a ransom drop, followed by protracted phone negotiations, food sent in with knockout drops, and a stray kitten, is a capsule of the drama with Richard holding Stace in a room that looks like a paramilitary arsenal.

The real hostage scene lasted twenty-two hours, and it feels as if that amount of time elapses in the closing section of the film. Richard's motto (in Latin) was "Don't let the system grind you down." The filmmakers made Richard far too glamorous than he deserved. It was almost as if the "stolen innocence" of the film's title were an expression of sympathy for Richard's hard lot in life. Wow!

The real Richard received a prison sentence of twenty-five years for his shenanigans. Viewers can make up their own minds, based on this film, if the sentence was too long or too short.

GOOD MOVIE

[drgigglesgirl666 · 26 June 2000]

This movie was excellent, its a true story about this girl who can't stand living with her parents any more so she runs away and she hitches up with this trucker and his friend only she's 18 so her parents can't force her to come back and she finds this guy isn't as nice and great as he appeared to be, he has a past of being in jail and in and out of mental institutions. Eventually they need money so they come up with an idea they'll fake a ransom. They call her parents and demand money but eventually the girl sees how he really is and she wants to get away from him but he won't let her go and he becomes violent towards her and his friend and he holds her hostage in a hotel room for 12 hours. The ending is really good and kind of sad in away its a good movie, I recommend it.

Ruined by bad acting & script

[Xapora · 1/10 · 22 November 2004]

In contrast to the other two posts, I'm sorry but I thought this movie was terrible. The acting was dreadful, especially from the two leads (Gold & Calabro). I've never thought of Tracey Gold as that great an actress anyway and she did nothing to change my opinion here.

I couldn't sympathise with her character one bit and Thomas Calabro was just ridiculous. I cringed so many times during this movie, and the real tragedy is, it could've been so darn good -- especially as it was based on a true story.

The only saving grace is Matt Letscher as Rick's "friend" Eddie. He acted well and was far more believable than the other two. Rick was a psycho, Stacy was just plain stupid. Eddie made you feel SOMETHING at least, especially when Rick turns on him and treats him like dirt. Eddie also seems to have a genuine fondness for Stacy and fear of Rick, and portrays this well in the movie.

Final verdict: a woeful account of what was obviously a very serious incident that was turned into something laughable and unbelievable thanks to bad acting and a corny script.

I thought it was good.

[petunapeacock · 7/10 · 19 September 2007]

I liked the film. Its what it says on the label, a movie made for TV. Its not normally the type of film i would watch, and i only watched it because I'm too poor to afford the Sky Movie channels lol. However, I wasn't displeased and the plot kept me interested, and i felt for each character, and loved watching the love-hate relationship between Richard and Stacy, and i felt that a lot of young girls could empathise with Stacey, falling in love with an older man, who isn't a good guy. And to me, if you can empathise with a character, the actor is doing their job.

The film reminded me of Thelma and Louise and Badlands, people who have watched those films, i feel would enjoy this film and vice versa.

Seriously?????

[msava8807 · 1/10 · 14 October 2020]

I'm only 51 minutes into this movie, and I want to turn it off. The only reason I'm not is because I'm pretty sure I've seen this before back when it first was released when I was younger and I'm just curious. But reading the other reviews on this, "the acting was superb"????? This is what people consider great acting? What the actual f*#k?!?!?! The acting in this is atrocious. The dialogue is so cringey and I know that this is inspired by true events, but I feel like this movie is an absolute slap in the face of said events. It may have been made for tv but that does not excuse this poor excuse of a travesty masquerading as a movie. And I haven't even finished it yet!!!

A Memorable Story

[mesocricetus_squatus · 9/10 · 5 January 2004]

This is a made-for-television film that isn't easily forgotten. It's a psychological drama, memorable more for the excellent character development and acting than the plot. The story might be hard to believe, particularly the ending, were in not based on a real events.

Tracey Gold plays an 18-year-old runaway from a lower-middle class home, determined to break out of an contentious relationship with her mother. Basically a good girl but naive, Gold's character, Stacy, ends up in the world of cross-country truckers, where a smooth operator named Richard (expertly played by Thomas Calabro) convinces her to take a ride west with him and his driver partner in an empty rig. Richard comes across immediately as a slick con artist, and Stacy is impressed.

Once the pickup is made, the viewer watches as Richard is revealed slowly and methodically to be a criminal, a hustler, and ultimately a violent, paranoid psychopath. A level of suspense is maintained as the viewer sees each change in Richard's demeanor before Stacy herself understands the mess she's gotten herself into.

But it's not a simple tale of "madman grabs girl." Richard is a conflicted man, Stacy his perfect prey. The interaction between them shows the complexity of the personalities of all involved, from Richard's dominated and abused accomplice to the vulnerable and guileless Stacy. But Richard is the character that fascinates most. Everything he does suggests a troubled past, a tendency to unpredictable mood swings, and ultimately, when Stacy's fear becomes overwhelming, a compulsion to possess her and control her, even to the point of threats to take her life.

Still, a curious bond is formed between them. And that's what makes the story so poignant. This is a well-made film; it has the sort of subtlety that makes it worth watching more than once.

One Of The Best TV Movie's Ever Made

[darryl-jason · 10/10 · 12 May 2015]

Having Been a fan of Tracey Gold now for about 20 years, I do have to say that this is one of the best movies she has ever made. I thoroughly enjoy watching these sort of films (made-for-television) and it's just a real shame that they don't make movies like this anymore. I get so wrapped up in them and often find myself on the edge of my seat. Gold's film credits during the 90s were extensive and very similar in the way that she is always typecast into playing similar roles. I can think of 2 films of hers that tell the same sort of story and she more or less plays the same character in both films. Look out for "Stolen From The Heart" and "Sleep, Baby, Sleep" (both starring Tracey Gold).

Back to this movie STOLEN INNOCENCE; the acting is just superb, not to mention riveting with suspense and nail-biting scenes. Again, Gold's performance is just mind-blowing, the emotional state she gets in towards the end of the film is just pure quality acting. I guess it can be classed as a TV Movie but if they remade this today, I'm pretty sure it would do well at the cinemas. I'm mostly impressed with the DVD Cover, just looking at it makes you want to watch the movie. With guns blazing and action-packed scenes, even a TV movie shows it all in just an amazing way.

Tracey Gold (Stacy Sapp) and Thomas Calabro (Richard Brown) both work exceptionally well on-screen. You can feel that have a connection but cannot truly be together due to Richard's mental disturbance but with that, Stacy still loves him. The severity of the film does get better, and some scenes more tense than others. I do enjoy the climax - does he or doesn't he kill her? That is the question. But to bring a movie like this to our screens, based on a true story, it does make you wonder how people can do the things they do. This one is definitely one to watch, especially if you're a Tracey Gold fan, she's incredibly awesome and it's just a shame she doesn't win any awards for these movies considering she's named a TV Movie Princess. I only hope she continues to make more of these films and I hope we can see a lot more of her in the near future. This movie definitely a 10/10