The Kidnapping Of The
President
(1980)
Director: George Mendeluk
Cast: William Shatner, Hal Holbrook, Van Johnson
I am smart. I
know I am, because I am smart enough to know that I am smart. I did
very well at university, for one thing. And as this web site shows, I
am very knowledegable about movies, especially when it comes to the
obscure, unknown, and little shown. But I will freely admit that in
certain areas, I am not what you would call an expert. For example, I
know beans about sports. For all I know, the Chicago Bears have a great
chance of winning the next Stanley Cup. I just don't have the mind for
certain subjects like that. However, there are a few things I don't
have a mind for that I am thankful for not having expertise on. In this
day and age, I am glad that I don't have the mind of a professional
criminal. That's because in this day, it is more likely than ever that
you will be caught, even if you have the idea in your mind that you
will succeed in whatever criminal venture you decide to go into.
Believe me, during my lifetime I have daydreamed about what exactly I
would do if I wanted to commit certain crimes. There have often been
times when I have thought that I could pull off the perfect crime if I
wanted to... then later, realizing that I didn't think of something
that would as a result lead the authorities to my doorstep after
committing the crime. For a long
time I wished to become an instant millionaire by finding bags of money
on the street accidentally dropped out of the improperly shut doors of
a security van - something that has actually happened to other people a
number of times over the years. But as the years went by, I became glad
it never happened. Security cameras are everywhere,
for one thing, and no doubt I would be photographed multiple times
carrying the bags of money from where I found it to the cameras in my
apartment building. And those other people who found money always
seemed to be caught when they didn't immediately turn in to the police
what they found.
Sometimes I have caught myself imagining doing crimes of
a more darker nature. Not because I actually want to do these things,
but more as a mental exercise, to give myself a challenge during an
otherwise boring time of my day. One crime I have imagined myself doing
is kidnapping. I can tell you that after years of thinking about it and
reading/watching about actual kidnapping cases, I would still be a
lousy kidnapper if I decided to do it in real life, lousy enough that I
would surely be caught. For starters, first I would have to find an
appropriate victim, one that had loved ones that would fork over a
substantial amount of dough in ransom. There's no one in my city I
personally know who's like that. Research would probably uncover
someone like that, but that would mean a substantial investment of my
own time and money. And speaking of such investment, I would also have
to invest additional time and money researching the person - finding
his or her movements, finding ways to break through their security at
the most appropriate moment. Then I would have to actually nab the
individual - something that would be hard, even if I had a gun. Most
likely I would need a partner, and while a partner could help in some
aspects, a partner could also bring in a number of additional problems
and challenges. Whether I use a partner or not, there would be further
problems like finding a place to keep my kidnap victim while waiting
for the ransom money. And when the ransom money is ready, I would have
to figure out a way to collect the money safely. No doubt the police
would be waiting at a ransom drop. Probably I should demand the money
be wired to a Swiss bank account, but how do you set up one of those
things? If I had to travel to Switzerland, that would mean even more of
an investment of time and money.
There's no doubt about it - I would be a terrible
kidnapper. Even if I knew the correct thing to do with each step, I
would probably screw up the execution of it somehow. Still, I enjoy now
and then giving myself the mental exercise of a kidnapping. And when I
get the chance to watch a movie about a kidnapping, I find it fun to
watch the characters do what they do and ask myself what I would do in
their situation. So you can imagine when I found a copy of The Kidnapping Of The
President,
I felt I would be greatly entertained. Not just that it had any old
kidnapping, but a kind that you don't often see in a movie. Kidnapping
the American President? How on earth would they do that? And how would
the authorities in the movie react to it? I had to know. I was also
interested in the movie because it was a Canadian movie made during the
late '70s / early '80s tax shelter era - an era where Canadians made real
movies instead of the unwatchable so-called movies they make today.
After an introduction set in South America, the
movie moves to Washington D.C., where President Adam Scott
(Holbrook, Rituals) is
preparing an official visit to Toronto. Jerry O'Connor (Shatner, Impulse),
the chief of the Secret Service, has received wind that a South
American Marxist group lead by one Roberto Assanti (played by Miguel
Fernandes) may be planning something in Toronto. O'Connor tries to warn
the president, but his concerns are brushed off. As you may have
guessed, Assanti has indeed something planned, the title activity. You
might think someone with only the assistance of two other individuals
could never nab the President, but not long after President Scott
arrives in downtown Toronto, Assanti executes an ingenious plan that
quickly has him handcuffed to the President and showing off a vest made
up with sticks of dynamite to the Secret Service, who dare not shoot
him. Assanti soon after has the President locked in a van wired with
explosives, and demands a $100 million ransom. O'Connor knows they
cannot touch Assanti or try to rescue the president because Assanti has
a partner nearby watching the van with a remote detonating device. It's
up to O'Connor to rescue the President and stop Assanti from getting
away.
A pretty interesting and original plot, I think you'll
agree. Other later films have dealt with the kidnapping of the
President (such as Executive Target),
but this might be the first that actually did it. As I said, I was very
interested in how it would be pulled off and how it would be resolved,
and those parts of the movie gave me some pleasure. Actually, The Kidnapping Of The
President
has several other little pleasures that do make it stand above many of
the other Canadian tax-shelter movies of the era. (Though as inferior
as many of them may have been, they were still real
movies.) One pleasure for me was that Canada, specifically Toronto, was
for once playing itself and not some American or vague North American
location. It's especially surprising, because reportedly the Charles
Templeton novel the movie is based on actually takes place in the
United States. Maybe these particular Canadian filmmakers had some real
pride in their product for once because of the resources they had at
hand. Besides having notable stars like William Shatner and Hal
Holbrook, the cast also includes Van Johnson as the Vice President, and
Ava Gardner as the Vice President's wife. Also, while many tax shelter
movies of the era looked somewhat cheap, this effort looks like it had
a significant budget. We get sights like a full presidential motorcade
traveling down the streets of Toronto while hundreds of extras line the
sides of the streets. The various sets built for the movie, ranging
from the Oval Office to the interior of Air Force One, are pretty well
done. The photography and the lighting are professionally done as well.
This is one tax shelter movie that could have possibly fooled some
people into thinking it was made by major Hollywood studio filmmakers.
Okay, maybe the opening of the movie, taking place in
the South American wilderness, is laughable because the filmmakers try
to pass off the North American wilderness as the jungles of South
America. But otherwise, the
movie has a professional feel to it. One other pleasure I got with the
movie was with the depiction of the president. Despite all that happens
to the President, he never once panics or makes a fool out of himself.
He always acts in a confident manner, bravely trying to fight back at
one point, and later in the movie when he's handcuffed in the van, he
tries to figure a way out instead of sitting back and doing nothing.
Holbrook plays his role well. In fact, he's the one character in The Kidnapping Of The
President
that you'll probably remember long after you've watched the movie. To
put it kindly, the other characters in the movie are not very
memorable. The worst character construction prize has to go to the
chief villain. Roberto Assanti is a very boring character. He has a lot
less dialogue than you might think, and he says almost nothing in the
way of his ambitions and his feelings. He's even offscreen for
significant periods of time. The actor playing him seems to have no
enthusiasm for being placed in this role. Speaking of no enthusiasm,
that's also the feeling viewers will get with the character of Jerry
O'Connor. Although Shatner thankfully doesn't give his character the
generous serving of ham that he has often given to characters in other
projects, Shatner delivers his dialogue in a way that feels like he is
reading the script for the first time, giving no emotion or color to
his words at all. You get the feeling he doesn't want to be in this
movie at all, and is wishing he were back in sunny Los Angeles instead
of being back in the country he was born and raised in.
Speaking
of people reluctant to being involved with a
Canadian movie set in Canada, I got the same feeling with the
screenwriter, director, and the producer. Yes, the movie is set
(primarily) in Canada... but that is about all that is done with the
setting. Before watching the movie, I thought that setting the movie in
Canada would lead to some interesting moments, such as the Canadian
authorities in the movie clashing with O'Connor and his fellow American
Secret Service agents. But nothing like that really happens. The
Canadian Prime Minister appears in one scene, but is quickly convinced
by O'Connor to let the Americans handle the situation. Although this is
probably what would happen in real life (it wouldn't be the first time
Canadian authorities have been cowed by American authorities), it's
still feels disappointing. The movie would
need almost no rewriting to be set in the United States. But the
biggest disappointment with The Kidnapping Of The
President
is that while it is supposed to be a thriller, there is precious little
in the way of thrills. Scene after scene goes by where you think there
would be some tension, such as when the terrorists bump into the
Ontario police on their way to Toronto, but are directed in such a
matter-of-fact manner by George Mendeluk (Meatballs III)
that there is no feeling of excitement. Mendeluk doesn't even use the
crutch of creepy music to enliven a scene that should be tense. Even
after the
president is kidnapped, the movie at times puts the precarious
situation on the backburner. In fact, the first real attempt to free
the president comes about ten minutes before the movie ends, and by
then the audience has probably fallen asleep. Too bad. This movie had a
lot going for it, but the I-don't-care attitude of some key members of
the production sinks it.
Check
for availability on Amazon (DVD)
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Check
for availability on Amazon (Amazon Prime Video)
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Check
Amazon for availability of the original Charles Tempelton novel
See also: City On Fire, Executive Target, Rituals
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