They've Taken Our Children: The Chowchilla Kidnapping Story

TV-PG

1993

1h 36m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

List

Reviews

Jim Schoenfeld (Tom Hodges), Rick Shoenfeld (Travis Fine) and Fred Woods (Tom Ransom) are three aimless California youths. Over the course of a few weeks, they hatch a plan to kidnap a bus full of children and hold them for ransom. Their plan goes off without a hitch, and they successfully hijack and hold hostage 26 kids and their elderly driver, Ed (Karl Malden). After the group is forced to hide in an underground location, Ed must find a way to safety. The film is based on actual events.

Read Less

Watch on Prime Video

Stream Now

Prime Video

Watch They've Taken Our Children: The Chowchilla Kidnapping Story with a subscription on Prime Video.

Tony Scott

Variety

Instead of setting up a true thriller, They've Taken Our Children: The Chowchilla Kidnapping numbly records the story step by step; the suspense, as well as the bus, vanishes.

Feb 5, 2018

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Vern Gillum

Director

Karl Malden

Ed Ray

Tim Ransom

Fred Woods

Travis Fine

Rick Schoenfeld

Tom Hodges

Jim Schoenfeld

Julie Harris

Odessa Ray

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

View more photos

Synopsis

Director: Vern Gillum
Producer: Bernadette Caulfield, Ronald H. Gilbert, Ardythe Goergens
Screenwriter: David Eyre Jr., Jack Baugh, Jefferson Morgan
Production Co: Leonard Hill Films
Rating: TV-PG
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 13, 2018
Runtime: 1h 36m

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch!

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Let's keep in touch!

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

They've Taken Our Children: The Chowchilla Kidnapping Story

Where to Watch