User Reviews

SNATCHED was an ABC Tuesday Night "Movie Of The Week", and with this cast & great premise looked like a promising film. The wives of 3 well to do men go on a daytrip aboard a small boat and suddenly find themselves kidnapped, held in a lighthouse on a tiny piece of land. Once informed of the kidnapping, 1 of the husbands (HOWARD DUFF) scoffs at paying the ransom for his unfaithful wife (TISHA STERLING). Bill Sutter (LESLIE NIELSEN) is worried because diabetic wife Kim (SHEREE NORTH) doesn't have her insulin with her. Equally upset is Paul Maxvill (JOHN SAXON) who will do whatever is necessary to get back his spouse (BARBARA PARKINS). That night the gals break out and almost get away until PARKINS twists her ankle on the dock, where they are apprehended. Next PARKINS asks to speak with the head bad guy in private & orders him to ease up! She then informs him that she is one of the masterminds behind this caper. He doesn't know what to make of her, and throws her back in the holding room. NORTH'S health is failing by this point, and one of the kidnappers tells the other 2 wives that PARKINS is the one behind all this. Policeman Frank McCloy (ROBERT REED) goes along with SAXON to pay the ransom. At the appointed drop site, shots are fired,& SAXON is knocked out cold. REED takes the ransom money and starts to walk past the unconscious SAXON, only to have SAXON leap to his feet and a struggle ensue. What does SAXON know ? As it turns out REED has been having an affair with PARKINS, and the 2 decided to milk SAXON for his millions with this phony kidnapping. The movie doesn't let you figure out this or several other key points. In the end, NORTH is dead from lack of medical help, leaving husband NIELSEN grieving. STERLING realizes that her marriage to the older DUFF is over, and PARKINS is off to the pokey. The cast does what it can with this story, but it just falls apart 3 quarters of the way through. Like having a delicious dinner topped off by a stale dessert !!!

I saw this movie on TV back then. I was 14. It was a pretty good movie from what I remember. It was a made 4 TV movie. I think it was the husband's who arranged their kidnappings.

Intense but not as well written as it seems to think it is, this TV movie thriller has good performances by the three husbands (Howard Duff, Leslie Nielsen and John Saxon) and kidnapped wives (Tisha Sterling, Sheree North and Barbara Parkins) desperately trying to beat the clock with the husbands trying to get the ransom to the kidnapper and the three wives desperately trying not to get killed.

It turns out one of the wives is a diabetic and does not have her insulin which creates more melodrama. A lot of it is talk, recurring phone calls, constant fretting by the women and then a lot of intense action towards the end as the ransom is finally delivered. Robert Reed, Anthony Zerbe and Richard Davalos add to the intensity in supporting roles.

It's enjoyable for a fast move-in distraction and fortunately at 75 minutes doesn't hold you up with nonsense. But it's your barely average TV fare, and like certain kinds of food, you're hungry soon after for something more fulfilling.

I can never forget an uncomfortable suffocating experience I had at 9 years old. Yes I said suffocating. Let me elaborate. I was invited to spend a weekend at my 4th grade friends house in West Hempstead. Off I went with packed suitcase to his home. We had a ball the first day going bowling and then going into his brother's room and played with his CB radio set. His parents made a lovely Friday night meal. The next day we woke to our surprise 3 inches of snow . We went outside and played in the snow building forts and throwing snow balls. I felt shortness of breathe coming on as I realized in horror that My inhaler isn't in my coat pocket. This leads me to my review of the ABC TV movie of the week entitled "Snatched". It's a story of Three Lovely Housewives going on a day Boat trip who are suddenly kidnapped and held captive in a lighthouse. Barbara Parkins , Tisha Sterling and my focal point of personal interest the very blonde and getting weaker Sherrie North. You see Sherrie forgot to pack her insulin with her. The Three woman captives are being held for ransom. Typical husband Howard Duff doesn't want to pay the ransom. The other husbands John Saxon and Leslie Nielson will do anything to get back their spouses at any cost. Botch escape attempt by the ladies are foiled by a twisted ankle. Leave the high heals behind ladies!! Frustrating and effective to watch Sherrie North wither away as the clock ticks and ransom is being delayed by egos. Robert Reed played one of the Detectives but I just can't get over him as the typecast-ed Mike Brady on the situation comedy Brady Bunch also shown on the same television network. Our story gets more unraveling as one of the ladies isn't a victim but a co-conspirator. Others are unveiling their disingenuous qualities which causes the whole narrative to collapse. Yet most of the movie held my attention and had me think back to those long hours without my inhaler handy struggling for air. Somehow 75 percent of this movie worked but the last quarter fell off the rails. I had a happy ending heading home and taking a puff of my badly needed medicine.

When I first saw this film at two a.m. on a Saturday morning, I was blown away! When it was rerun years later as a midday movie, I was having lunch at work and when a certain scene in the lighthouse came on, EVERYONE in the cafeteria stopped and stared at the screen for a good ten seconds! This was in 1988 and I have never forgotten it! The cast is exceptional- three gorgeous and talented actresses - Barbara Parkins, Tisha Sterling and Sheree North all play their parts exceedingly well. Heading the male side of the cast we have my all-time favorite actor JOHN SAXON in what has to be one his most energetic performances ever! He really shines here and in my opinion, should have been up for an Emmy that year. Next we have reliable Howard Duff, taciturn Robert Reed, a dramatic Leslie Nielsen (another favorite) and the exceptionally sleazy Anthony Zerbe, giving yet another first rate performance. Could anyone ask for a better cast. The music is also perfect as is the location filming. If you get the chance, watch this now classic TV Movie from one of the best decades.