| The Kidnapping of the President | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical film poster | |
| Directed by | George Mendeluk |
| Screenplay by | Richard Murphy |
| Based on | The Kidnapping of the President 1974 novel byCharles Templeton |
| Produced by | George Mendeluk John Ryan |
| Starring | William Shatner Hal Holbrook Van Johnson Ava Gardner Miguel Fernandes Cindy Girling Michael J. Reynolds Elizabeth Shepherd Gary Reineke Maury Chaykin |
| Cinematography | Mike Molloy |
| Edited by | Michael MacLaverty |
| Music by | Nash the Slash Paul Zaza |
| Distributed by | Crown International Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 114 minutes |
| Countries | Canada United States |
| Language | English |
The Kidnapping of the President is a 1980 Canadian-Americanpolitical thriller film starringWilliam Shatner,Hal Holbrook,Van Johnson andAva Gardner. It was produced and directed byGeorge Mendeluk and co-produced by John Ryan from a screenplay byRichard Murphy, based onCharles Templeton's 1974 novel of the same name. The original music is byNash the Slash andPaul Zaza and the cinematography by Mike Molloy. The film was made by Presidential Films and Sefel Films and distributed byCrown International Pictures.
During astate visit toCanada,President Adam Scott is warned bySecret Service agent Jerry O'Connor about a potential threat to his life. Scott ignores O'Connor's warning and is consequently abducted (while walking throughNathan Phillips Square inToronto) bySouth American terrorist Roberto Assanti and his female accomplice. They demand $100 million in diamonds along with two airplanes as ransom for the president's safe return.
While Scott is being held captive in an armored truck booby-trap with high explosives timed to detonate at midnight, O'Connor must find a way into the truck to rescue him before that happens, while also contending with a turf war between variousU.S. federal law enforcement agencies and the political ambitions of theU.S. vice president, Ethan Richards.
Agent O'Connor eventually gets one of Assanti's terrorist group members to turn on Assanti, which caused Assanti's sister to die. O'Connor learns Assanti's plan for the president and develops a plan to save the President by going through the engine and firewall with a cutting torch.[1]
The movie is based onCharles Templeton's bestselling 1974 novel of the same name. The primary difference between the two is the story's location. The book sets the kidnapping inNew York City'sHerald Square and the subsequent siege in nearbyTimes Square. In the movie, the kidnapping occurs in Templeton's home city, Toronto, with the mob, chase, and explosion scenes commencing in Nathan Phillips Square.[2]
Although the novel and the film have their differences, senior feature writer atThe Globe and Mail Stephen Godfrey found "the film is as easy to 'read' as the book apparently was. The inevitable cross-cutting, from fanatical terrorists to the presidential cavalcade, and later, from a nearly unflappable security man (William Shatner) in Toronto, is well handed."[2]
The film received lukewarm ratings overall. It received a lot of talk from theNew York Post and theNewark Star Ledger as well as outstanding reviews fromBergen Records and other newspaper organizations.[3]
Janet Maslin, fromThe New York Times, thought the plot was not fresh enough to be frightening and the characters were not brave enough to do anything new.[3]
Chris Lowry, a writer forFilm Reviews, foundGeorge Mendeluk's directing uninspiring andRichard Murphy's screenplay mediocre for an action movie. Lowry stated, "the film disorients and disturbs the audience at the outset"[4] since the subject of kidnapping a president isn't a funny concept in general. He expected the editing to be better as well since the readers of the novel were aware that the setting is different in the film compared to the novel.[4]
The film received two nominations in the 1981Genie Awards.[5]
Best Achievement in Film Editing - Michael MacLaverty
Best Achievement in Overall Sound - Mike Hoogenboom,Douglas Ganton, and Nolan Roberts