''Sweet Hostage'' is a 1975 American made-for-television

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

based on the novel ''Welcome to Xanadu'' by

Nathaniel Benchley Nathaniel Goddard Benchley (November 13, 1915 – December 14, 1981) was an American writer from Massachusetts. Early life Born in Newton, Massachusetts to a literary family, he was the son of Robert Benchley (1889–1945), a noted American wri ...

. The film stars

Linda Blair Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. She played Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award. The film ...

and

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

. It was filmed in

Taos County, New Mexico Taos County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 32,937. Its county seat is Taos. The county was formed in 1852 as one of the original nine counties in New Mexico Territory. Taos County comp ...

. It was featured in ABC's Friday Night Movie series. Film and television critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

rated the movie as "Average" in his biennial ratings guide ''TV Movies''. In his capsule review, Maltin said "the performances by Sheen and Blair almost made this talky adaptation of the Nathaniel Benchley novel worthwhile". The film was only a moderate success in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

, and failed to generate the type of provocative press which was then-standard for a Linda Blair movie.

Synopsis

In this made-for-television drama, a 31-year-old fugitive mental patient who quotes poetry kidnaps an illiterate, underage girl from a nearby farm and forces her to go to a lonely mountain cabin. There he teaches her to read and, ultimately, she succumbs to

Stockholm Syndrome Stockholm syndrome is a condition in which hostages develop a psychological bond with their captors. It is supposed to result from a rather specific set of circumstances, namely the power imbalances contained in hostage-taking, kidnapping, and ...

. He eventually kills himself during a shootout raid to save the girl, who reunite with her parents.

Cast

as Doris Mae Withers *

as Leonard Hatch * Jeanne Cooper as Mrs. Withers *

Lee de Broux Lee de Broux (born May 7, 1941) is an American character actor of film and television who is best known for his roles in such films and television series as ''Chinatown'', ''RoboCop'', '' The Gun'', '' Geronimo: An American Legend'', ''Norma Ra ...

as Sheriff Emmet *

Bert Remsen Herbert Birchell "Bert" Remsen (February 25, 1925 – April 22, 1999) was an American actor and casting director. He appeared in numerous films and television series. Biography Remsen was born in Glen Cove, New York, on Long Island, the son of ...

as Mr. Withers *

Dehl Berti Dehl Berti (January 17, 1921 – November 26, 1991) was a Chiricahua ApacheSandy Greer. 1990. "Native Americans Still Battling Stereotyping". Broadcast Weekly. April 21, 1990. accessed a/ref> actor who often appeared in Westerns. One of his mor ...

as Harry Fox * Al Hopson as Mr. Smathers * William Sterchi as Hank Smathers * Roberto Valentino De Leon as Juan * Michael Eiland as Tom Martinez * Mary Michael Carnes as dry goods clerk * Don Hann as liquor store proprietor * Ross Elder as hospital attendant * Chris Williams as man in bungalow

DVD

''Sweet Hostage'' was released to DVD by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

on November 2, 2011, as a Region 1 MOD DVD made available through

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inten ...

References

External links

* {{Lee Philips 1975 television films 1975 films 1975 romantic drama films American romantic drama films American television films Films about kidnapping Films based on works by Nathaniel Benchley Films based on American novels Films directed by Lee Philips Films shot in New Mexico 1970s American films

Synopsis

Cast

DVD

See also

References

External links