Light hearted family friendly films seem to be a
disappearing breed these days. Certainly kid movies are being made but these
days they all seem filled with innuendo and subtle adult references in an
effort to placate adults unwilling to take their kids to see a movie unless
they can get something from it too. In the past a number of independent film
makers would make movies released through low budget distributors who reaped
decent profits from those films. But those distributors are few and far between
sucked up by the majors who don’t seem to understand their own audience. They
rely on blockbusters and their smaller films are always fueled by stars seeking
pet projects instead of looking to the audience to decide what films to make.
In the late 70s and early 80s that wasn’t the case. Movies
like THE ADVENTURES OF THE WILDERNESS FAMILY were released and drew enough of
an audience to garner a sequel. Shows like THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GRIZZLY ADAMS
did well on TV. And a small independent movie called SAVANNAH SMILES came out
in 1982 that captured hearts and did decent business at theaters before it
became lost to the world. No longer as the movie is not one of the latest to be
resurrected for the MVD Rewind series.
When the movie opens we’re introduced to our two bumbling
protagonists, convict Alvie Gibbs (Mark Miller who also wrote and produced the
film) and Boots "Bootsie" McGaffey (Donovan Scott) who breaks Alvie
out of prison while he’s on work detail. What Bootsie doesn’t realize is that
Alvie was set for parole at the end of the week. Now the two are on the run and
penniless. Worse yet they’re not the most competent thieves as their first job
involves a store where the pilfer less than $15 and some groceries before
escaping in a broken down car Bootsie stole with a flat tire.
As this is going on we’re also introduced to Savannah
Driscoll (Bridgette Andersen), a precocious little girl whose father Richard
(Chris Robinson) is running for the Senate. While he and her mother Joan
(Barbara Driscoll) entertain a group of wealthy donors and political allies she
feels neglected and sets things in motion planning to run away.
On an outing with friends at the park the next day Savannah
runs off, grabs the suitcase she packed and jumps into the back of the first
car she finds. That car just happens to be Alvie and Bootsie’s as they steal a
purse from an unwary lady. It isn’t until they take off and are pulled over by
a policeman that they find out about Savannah in the back seat. Given a warning
they’re set free.
When her parents find out Savannah is missing they
immediately suspect kidnapping. They bring in a top notch freelancer (Peter
Graves) to find their daughter. Working alongside the police he begins to piece
together the parts of the puzzle to find out who is responsible.
In the meantime Bootsie and Alvie try to figure out what to
do. They want to return the girls but first off Alvie is still wanted and
secondly they assume, rightly so, that with their past the police will think
they kidnapped her rather than the truth. Biding their time they set up house
with the little girl. As they do so they both find themselves drawn to the
sweet child. Bootsie becomes her playmate and Alvie finds that he can talk to
her about his own rough childhood. Eventually they contact her parents but tell
them they don’t want a ransom but would like the reward money. But their plans
never go as intended.
Some have said this is a remake of THE RANSOM OF RED CHIEF
but I found it completely different. In that story the child was so terrible
that the kidnappers, who actually did kidnap him, are willing to suffer the
consequences just to return the child. Here the pair don’t kidnap her and are
sad to part ways with their “victim”. It seems that Savannah has the ability to
get through to the pair and help them out as much if not more than their
helping her.
The movie played to audiences that enjoyed the film enough
to make decent money on the investment of its producer. It was never a major
box office hit but audiences that saw it still remember it fondly. The film is
definitely low budget but the quality of the film makers is still there. The
acting is better than most and the charm of its young star Anderson is there to
see in every scene she’s in.
Sadly Andersen never had the chance to become the major star
she could have been. She took a break away from acting for a while, fell in
with the wrong crowd and became a drug addict after hitting that time in her
life where she was a rebellious teen. After making up with her mother she
cleaned up and was acting again but a chance encounter with her old drug dealer
led her to use heroin once more and she died of an overdose. We never got the
chance to see what she could have become.
MVD Rewind is bringing those movies that were on the shelves
of video stores across the country back to life in this series. The packaging
looks like the old video store packaging with “Please Rewind” labels and more.
But more than just the packaging is the fact that these movies have been
missing from DVD or blu-ray, forgotten until they rediscovered them. For that
alone they deserve praise.
The film is being released in a 2k hi-def blu-ray transfer
from the original 35mm release with a print provided by the Library of
Congress. A standard DVD is also included. Extras include THE MAKING OF
SAVANNAH SMILES a new documentary with interviews of Miller, Scott, composer
Ken Sutherland and her mother Teresa Andersen, MEMORIES OF BRIDGETTE ANDERSEN
with interviews of the same, THE SONGS AND MUSIC OF SAVANNAH SMILES with
Sutherland, the original theatrical trailer and a collectible mini-poster.
The movie is great family fun and I have little doubt that
everyone will have their heart captured by Anderson in the lead role. I’ve only
found one flaw with the MVD Rewind series so far and that the lack of subtitles.
They can really help in moments where you have to mute the picture, hear
jumbled dialogue or are simply in need of an assists as your hearing fades.
Perhaps they’ll consider fixing this issue in the future. For now just enjoy
this movie.
Click here to order.
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