Ransom!

Plot synopsis:
David "Dave" Stannard is the wealthy CEO of a vacuum cleaner company, which he and his brother inherited from their father. He and his wife Edith are the parents of a lively eight year old son, Andy. Dave discovers that the slats are missing from his bed, which prompts him to go in search of Andy. His son is building a clubhouse with whatever lumber he can find and he admits to taking the slats. Dave offers to buy lumber but Andy says the fun is in finding it. So Dave promises to leave work early that day and bring some scavenged lumber. Edith hurriedly finds a clean shirt for Andy since it is time for school. Andy attends the exclusive Covey Lane Day School.Dave and his brother Al do not agree on how to run the company, but overall their relationship is good. The day passes and Dave remembers his promise to Andy. He finds some scrap lumber at a construction site and pays the foreman to let him take it. When he arrives home, Andy is not there. Edith sees the school bus stop down the street but it passes their house. Just as they are getting worried, the school calls to check on Andy. That morning a nurse from Dr. Gorman's office took Andy from school because the doctor needed to see him. Edith and Dave are mystified and telephone the doctor. He did not send his nurse for Andy and has no idea what they are talking about. At that point Andy's parents realize he has probably been kidnapped.The police are notified and arrive to set up a special phone for when a ransom call comes in. Dave is instructed to keep the kidnappers on the line as long as possible so the call can be traced. Edith is barely holding herself together. Dr. Gorman arrives and prescribes a sedative but she refuses to take it.The ransom call finally comes. A man instructs Dave to gather five hundred thousand dollars and wait for further instructions. The call is traced to a pay phone but the man is gone when police arrive.Dave and Al use company funds for the ransom. The bank has to stay open late to get it all together. Back at the Stannard home, Mrs. Partridge arrives. She is the director of Andy's school. Edith listens numbly as Mrs. Partridge attempts to clear the school of any blame. But when she says something out of line, Edith tries to attack her with a fireplace poker. At that point Edith is sedated and banished upstairs with a nurse in attendance.A man enters the Stannard home through unlocked French windows and identifies himself as Charlie Telfer a reporter. Dave wants to keep the press out of it but allows Telfer to stay. They agree that Telfer can have an exclusive story later in exchange for keeping silent now.As time passes the stress becomes unendurable. Dave recalls the last morning he spent with Andy and how irritated he was over the missing bed slats. Two of Andy's friends come to play but the butler, Chapman, sends them away on the pretext that Andy is busy. The police find a stolen car containing a blood-stained child's shirt. Dave identifies the shirt as Andy's.The story leaks and the Stannards are overrun with reporters. They park outside the house, along with spectators who tear pieces from the fence for souvenirs. After careful soul-searching and believing he has little chance of getting Andy back whether he pays or not, Dave takes the money and goes to the local TV station. He spreads the money on a table and makes a public broadcast that no ransom will be paid for his son. Instead he offers it as a bounty on the kidnappers. A man sitting in an armchair next to a TV is partially shown, listening as Dave asks that the kidnappers do the right thing and set his son free.Back home, Dave is greeted by an hysterical Edith. She demands that he retract his statement and tries to go outside to talk to the reporters. But Dave won't allow it. He tries to explain why he reached that decision but Edith is not able to listen. Al's wife arrives and takes Edith and the nurse to her home, just down the street. Everyone thinks Dave has just signed Andy's death warrant. In despair, he goes out to Andy's clubhouse, weeping. Suddenly he hears Andy's voice calling him. His son has been released unharmed. The blood on his shirt is from where he bit the fake nurse. He asks Dave if he remembered to bring the lumber.Dave goes to the front of the house, carrying Andy. Leslie Telfer prevents the crowd from surging toward father and son. Jesse calls Edith, who quickly comes and hugs her son.

Tags: suspenseful

Review:
Glenn Ford as the father who makes his decision to not pay but offer the whole ransom as a bounty on the kidnappers head, was very pertinent in 1956.
As a woman who is old enough to have read about the case, and seen it on the new medium of TV for months, while it was going on, this film is heartbreaking and to me, almost perfect.The mother and father and their anguish, the servants, who love the family, and the police and other people who interact with the family, and the company people, all are first rate.
There is a nice sub-plot with Juano Hernanadez, the family butler, who looks after Ford and prays for him; trying to help him survive the horrific events.I had seen the new version with Rene Russo and Mel Gibson.
Having seen the mediocre remake of Ransom, starring Mel Gibson, I was intrigued when I came across the original from 1956 that featured the always great Glen Ford.
is the story of the wealthy Mr. Stannard (Ford) and his wife (Donna Reed) who are devastated to find out that their son has been kidnapped.
Donna Reed was a fairly minor character as the mother - she helped set the tone in the beginning, but was basically used later in the film as fuel for Ford's guilt.
We feel the emotions the parents are going through, and how it even affects the servants, as the police and the media descends on the Stannard household to report on the sensational news.Glenn Ford made an excellent Dave Stannard.
Juano Hernandez and Juanita Moore play the servants with dignity and loyalty."Ransom" without displaying any violence at all is a film that packs a lot of action with successful results thanks to Alex Segal's sure hand behind the camera..
It is also one of the few movies made by director Alex Segal (who did most of his work for television) and he does a prolix and correct job with the story of a wealthy man whose little boy is kidnapped for ransom and decides not to take the easy way; instead o paying the money demanded by the kidnappers he offers it all for their capture dead of alive.What is interesting and "catching" here is that all you see of the villains is one hand that holds a cigarette, but there is no need for more to keep tension and thrill high all along.There's a very good performance from Glenn Ford and Donna Reed as the parents of the abducted kid for whom their happy life turns into hell in a matter of hours.
Ford has to deal not only with the kidnappers but also with his wife, family, friends and neighbors who are against the man's decision considered as a risky one for his son's life.Although probably youngsters will prefer the more recent Mel Gibson/Rene Russo version -more an action film than a real thriller- I think this one is superior with his mysterious villains and truly dark atmosphere all along with not one single gun shot is fired.
Will it come apart when their only child, Andy, is kidnapped for ransom?For son Andy doesn't return home as expected from school one day.
By the time the day is over, David has mobilized all the men who count: the police chief, the family doctor (to watch over the potentially hysterical Edith), his brother and business associates (to assemble the ransom), the technicians who operate the switches at the phone company (to trace the kidnapper's call when it comes).
But here's a twist--the police chief and even an insouciant reporter who has invaded the Stannard residence (a young Leslie Nielsen) inform David that paying a kidnapper in no way improves the odds for getting the victim back unharmed!It just shows potential future kidnappers that crime in fact pays.
But those early conversations become meaningful after the movie is over as the choices the father makes have much to do with the parallels in teaching the son early lessons in life--"stealing" planks from your parents' bed to make a toyhouse is to be viewed in comparison to "stealing" stockholder wealth to regain personal property.At another level, the story is a mirror of Job's dilemma--standing steadfast on principles when all his earthly possessions (including his wife) are being taken away.
The way Ford acts and the way the director grabs you, and makes you take this film seriously are awesome.Remakes of the old Hollywood, don't even come close as they are put out these days.Hollywood has the answer to going back to basics on real story telling, like this picture.And a surprising Nielson, shows that he is a good actor outside of his usual comical roles.And the little boy, you can't help but wonder what horror he is living, as these days we know all to well, its more common place..
While I enjoyed the Mel Gibson remake of this picture and was pleased to see him in a serious role where he could display his acting chops, I thought the whole idea was a little divorced from reality, although it made perfect sense at that time as it must have seemed forty years earlier.
The notion of a kidnapping victim's family refusing to pay any ransom and using it instead as a tool to convince the perpetrators to turn the boy loose sounds logical enough, but in real life such an act would bring such universal condemnation upon the father in a real-life scenario that no one has ever considered doing it for real.
Donna Reed was an unusually gifted actress as her Oscar win and Emmy nominations attest and Glenn Ford was an underrated actor in his day, probably best known by younger generations as Superman's adopting father in the final stages of his career.
The Stannard's live quite well, even by unrealistic 1950's white TV family standards, the potential money alone is all the motivation required for a kidnapping.It is at this point in the film that we crash headlong into its biggest flaw.
The police were on hand, they could have handily ejected such unwelcome nuisances at any time with a mere request from the one remaining coherent parent.Once we get past some of this freakishly surrealistic activity, the meat of the story does tackle some intriguing questions, and does make some attempt to deal with the family's anguish as well as the father's bold decision not to cave into the fear inflicted upon them by the kidnappers.
Another reviewer mentioned that the film Ransom was based on the Bobby Greenlease kidnapping where a woman in a nurse's uniform took the six year old out of school and her accomplices sent the ransom note to his wealthy parents.
It was a case that made big headlines in the USA in the fifties.Glenn Ford and Donna Reed are Bobby Clark's wealthy parents and young Clark is kidnapped in the same way the Greenlease child was.
A whole lot of extraneous issues were dragged in needlessly to make it an action flick for the young audiences of 10 years ago.Three other good performances to note here are Robert Keith as the police chief, Leslie Nielsen making his feature film debut as a reporter who gets wind of the story early on, and Juano Hernandez especially as the family butler.
After seeing "Ransom!", I'd have to say that it's about the best Glenn Ford film I have seen...and I have seen most of them.
The reason is that the writing is superb and Ford's performance has a depth you rarely see in classic films.Dave Stannard is a successful businessman and owns his own company.
He's ready to pay the $500,000 ransom (an enormous sum then but especially at that time) but far more happens than this...and I won't say more because I don't want to ruin it.The movie is great when it comes to looking at the dark side of human nature.
When Glenn Ford's son is kidnapped, he chooses not to pay the ransom.
When the son miraculously appears in the closing stages, there has been no real suspense or proactive action - just a series of images of Glenn Ford looking distraught and Donna Reed on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
The premise of a father refusing to pay the ransom will only have a chance of working in film if he had taken a more active role in locating his son.
(1956) *** (out of 4) Glenn Ford plays a tycoon who must decide whether to pay a ransom for his kidnapped son.
"Ransom!" is a thriller that will bring you to the edge of your seat thanks to some realistic character played by some most excellent actors and some strong dialog.The movie only focuses on the family and we never get to know the kidnapper(s).
The more than capable cast further added to the interest (Glenn Ford and Donna Reed are always watchable and wanted to see how Leslie Nielson would fare in a very early dramatic role) and the idea was a great one with plenty of room for tension.'Ransom!' turned out to be a nifty and well above average film.
The Mel Gibson film may be better known, but like many others (although that film was quite well done and particularly worth watching for Gary Sinise), there there is a personal preference for the darker, more mysterious and more suspenseful yet not as flashy and more staid perhaps 1956 film, which today is criminally undervalued and generally has more substance.Is 'Ransom!' without faults?
Occasionally it's a bit static.Plus it would have been even better if the villains were not as thinly sketched, though that they remained unseen did provide a mysterious edge, and the ending (although slightly touching and thankfully not improbable) less anti-climactic, overwrought and lacking resolve.However, 'Ransom!' is particularly worth seeing for Glenn Ford who gives a superb performance, very deeply felt, suitably stern and often restrained.
I remember seeing a portion the version of this with Mel Gibson, and it happened to be the corresponding scene from this version where Glenn Ford confronts the kidnappers of his son on TV.
To the point where, when other reporters try to bribe him with 25 bucks apiece for some info (a thing which Nielson had tried with the butler of Glenn Ford's family, but was shamed in the attempt) - He declines, telling his fellow muckrakers that he would be insulted to consider it.Glenn Ford performs a good job here, but most of the cast do not convince me, especially Donna Reed, and I normally like her performances.
Leslie Nielson as the reporter, is in fact the best supporting cast, along with Juano Hernandez (Uncle Possum from The Reivers), who plays a manservant with a lot of Faith.I do not want to say much about the plot, except that this is about a kidnapping and the effect the incident has on a whole community, not just on the father and the mother, although those are important roles.The action Ford's character takes and the ultimate conclusion of the film which came out of that action, affected me on an emotional level.And so, I rate this movie highly, because not only was I kept interested in the film as I was watching it by the rising tension of the situation, but the conclusion is satisfactory, if not ideal.
Papa Glenn Ford is the creator of a vacuum cleaner which made him a millionaire, mama Donna Reed seems only to care about drinking her orange juice and the perfect son Andy already is a technical genius in his young days.
Glenn Ford is the so called man who does it his way by deciding he doesn't want to pay the ransom and the explanation for that decision is both based on economic principles (sadly enough I am not kidding!) and the morality (from the moment one person pays ransom then you are opening the road for other kidnappers).
great performances by Glenn Ford and Donna Reed.
"Ransom" is based on a true story and was remade in 1996 starring Mel Gibson, but with somewhat different scripts.This 1956 film stars Glenn Ford, Donna Reed, Leslie Nielsen, and Juano Hernandez - one of my favorite actors, who has given my fine performances in many films.As in the true story, Ford plays Dave Stannard, a wealthy businessman whose child is taken from school by a nurse in uniform for reasons having to do with lab tests.
This dates the film immediately, as no such thing would ever be permitted today.The parents (Ford and Reed) realize the boy has been kidnapped when he doesn't come home from school.
They involve the police and eventually, they receive a ransom demand.After discussing the situation with the police, Stannard appears on his company-sponsored television show with a message from the kidnappers.This is such a powerful film - suspenseful, heart-wrenching, and one that brought me to tears, particularly in the scene where Stannard breaks down and Jesse (Hernandez) prays with him.
Eight year-old Andy Stannard, Bobby Clark, is abducted on his way to school and his parents David & Edith,Glenn Ford & Donna Reed, later get the shocking news that he's missing from the school principle.Getting a phone call from the kidnapper to pay a ransom of $500,000.00 in cash for Andy's release David,the president and owner of the Stannard Vacuum Cleaner Company,comes up with the cash and is more then ready to pay it to save his son Andy.
Powerful performances by both Glenn Ford and Donna Reed as the distraught parents trying to save their son but going in two different directions to do it, which led to Andy's mom losing control and ending up bedridden and on sedatives.
The film switches from the public in total sympathy and support with the Stannard's to turning against the father for not wanting to give into the kidnappers demands.
While the Gibson version has him fearing that he brought it on himself by illegal dealings, this version avoids that explicitly but has one speech that links Ford's success as a businessman with the business success of kidnappers: "The profit motive!"  He's a vacuum-cleaner maven--which you can interpret as cleaning up the world or sucking up money from other people's dirt, like the reporter played by Leslie Nielsen.
For noticing embarrasing performances by Yul Brenner and Deborah Kerr and not the performances of Glenn Ford and Donna Reed.The early to mid fifties saw the films of Hollywood attempting to become more and more realistic, with films like Ransom, The Blackboard Jungle and The Desperate Hours.
Glenn Ford and Donna Reed have the chance to play everyday American parents (albeit rich) who have their son kidnapped, and the results are not pretty or glamorized.
She becomes manic, and LOOKS like the train wreck that she would be in real life.Juano Hernandez and Leslie Nielsen are supporting players who provide the same depth and unexpected realism that Reed and Ford do.
Early on, I liked neither character, and expected these two to give standard cardboard butler and reporter performances, but they both show real heart.Ransom is a great film.
Regardless, it's still a great film with brilliant performances by Reed, Hernandez, and one of the all time most underrated actors, Glenn Ford..
When I saw trailers for the Mel Gibson film "Ransom" in 1996, I had no idea that it was a remake of a 1956 movie of the same name.
Yes, it was produced in the 1950s, so there are some very dated elements, but that does not deter from the suspense or involving premise.Glenn Ford, as Dave Stannard, gives one of his finest performances, compellingly realistic, while Donna Reed matches him with her warmth as his wife, Edith.
In "Ransom!", as in the classic film noir "The Big Heat" which he made three years earlier, Glenn Ford plays an ordinary man whose life is suddenly turned upside down by the activities of a criminal gang.
The crisis in the family's life comes when their son Andy is kidnapped and the kidnappers demand a ransom of $500,000.
Ransom is the story of a family torn apart by the kidnapping of their son.
Ford turns in a powerful and thoughtful performance as a man who makes a decision that will either seal his son's fate or bring him home.
Anguished as he waits to hear from the kidnappers, Stannard wins support from a most unlikely source--a reporter (Leslie Nielsen), and he draws strength form his longtime butler, Uncle Jesse (Juano Hernandez).The magic of this film is that there is no violence, no profanity and the entire movie takes place, for the most part, inside the Stannard's home.
It is believed two crooked cops shaved off a large portion of the ransom for themselves before they handed the bulk over to the other criminals.As in the Mel Gibson remake, Glenn Ford is the father of the boy (Bobbie Clark), who is held for ransom.
But the real star of tonight's film is the under rated Glenn Ford who was so good at drama, comedy and westerns he made it look easy.
Glenn Ford and Donna Reed star in this story of a prominent rich family, because the father's in the vacuum cleaner business, making them, not selling.
All in all, if you are curious about the original "Ransom," I would recommend it to see the stars in some strong acting performances, but this film is really a one-time deal..
After the young son of the wealthy owner of a vacuum cleaner company is kidnapped, the decision is made not to pay the ransom money.
Rarely will one see a chief of police portrayed as such a wimp as this one is, much like the some of the cops in another really good Glenn Ford film, The Big Heat.
Donna Reed is quite good in the film, much better than her part is..
(The exclamation points should be transposed.) "Ransom!" focuses exclusively on Glenn Ford, who underacts as the father of the kidnapped boy, and Donna Reed plays the overwrought mother.