THE HOSTAGE is a low budget, gritty drama of 1967 put out by Crown International Pictures. It's worth watching to see some quiet but engaging performances from the principal cast members, although the plot is long-winded which makes this feel more of a mood piece than anything else. The story has an annoying kid accidentally stowing himself away in a removal truck being driven by a psychopath. He becomes a hostage while his parents act frantically and the police pursue. There's really not too much here of interest, if I'm honest, but Don Kelly is an effectively sweaty, on-the-edge psycho, and Harry Dean Stanton is as likable as ever he was.

A young boy accidentally stows away in a van driven by a couple of killers moonlighting as removal men. When the criminals stop off at a remote location to dispose of the body of a man they murdered, they discover the kid who flees. This results in the killers, the boy and his pursuing parents all in a race against each other.This one is notable particularly for an early screen appearance from acting legend Harry Dean Stanton. He plays Eddie, the more sympathetic and sensitive of the criminal duo. He's joined on screen by veteran actor John Carradine, who appears as a vagrant; by this stage in his career, Carradine was appearing in basically anything that offered a pay check meaning that he is one of the best known faces from bad movies. I wouldn't necessarily say this one is terrible mind you but it is definitely very mediocre and doesn't make the most of its potential. The plot-line is pretty basic and events don't really generate very much suspense. Interestingly, it was photographed by Ted V. Mikels, who would go on to forge a career directing schlock movies, including the very enjoyable The Doll Squad (1973). The Hostage could certainly have done with an injection of the sort of psychotronic entertainment value found in that one.

Pesky little boy Davey Cleaves (a capable performance by Danny Martins) stows away on a moving truck being driven by fearsome, brutish, volatile psychopath Bull (a pleasingly nasty and robust portrayal by Don O'Kelly) and his meek weakling partner Eddie (excellently played to the sniveling hilt by the always fine Harry Dean Stanton). Naturally, Davey finds himself in considerable peril when the two no-count criminals discover him. Director Russell S. Doughton, Jr. relates the gripping story at a steady pace, develops a reasonable amount of tension, maintains a serious tone throughout, and makes good use of the dry and desolate Des Moines, Iowa locations. This picture further benefits from sound acting by a sturdy cast: Stanton and O'Kelly work off each other well as the radically contrasting hoodlums, John Carradine impresses in a colorful secondary part as crotchety, sarcastic bum Otis Lovelace, plus there are solid turns by Ron Hagerthy as Davey's concerned father Steve, Jennifer Lea as Davey's equally worried mother Carol, Ann Doran as snoopy neighbor Miss Mabry, Nora Marlowe as kindly, helpful old lady Selma Morton, and Raymond Guth as Selma's mean husband Sam. While the competent color by Ted V. Mikels and Jaime Mendoza-Nava's shivery score are both up to speed, the sappy theme song on the other hand is pretty dire. A nifty little B-flick.

When Davey gets in the way of his parents when they're trying to pack up their belongings to move to another house, he enters the removal truck and unknowingly gets locked it. The removalists Bull and Eddie happen to be criminals, and they use the truck to transport a dead body and Davey witnesses the two burying the body. Bull spots him, and they imprison him. Meanwhile his parents have grown worried over his disappearance, and their interfering neighbour claim to see him with a vagrant, which leads everyone chasing the wrong lead.Like the other user-commenter mentioned, this one does have a striking resemblance to Macauley Culkin's "Home Alone (1990)", but without comic humour. What eventuates from "The Hostage" is dry suspense leisurely springing from a reasonably old-fashion and simplified plot (taken off Henery Farrell's novel) of well-conceived episodic sub-plot developments to gradually lead up to its suspenseful closing. Really, this minimalist low-budget production is nothing out of the ordinary, but it was the name of character actor Harry Dean Stanton which drove my interest to watch it. His nervous performance was solid, as the scrawny, slow-witted criminal Eddie, but it was Don Kelly's ominously hammy turn as the "Oh, I can get so angry after a few drinks. So you better not cross me" browbeater villain Bull. A cranky looking John Carradine pops up as the bumming vagrant Otis P. Lovelace, who has plenty of caustic things to say about his situation. Danny Martins is rather decent in the child role, even though at times he got on my nerves, he was a true nuisance and portrayed a frighten face well enough. The rest of the performances are fine. Director Russell S. Doughten did a sturdily realized job, where his framework is taut and nicely demonstrates few moody and sinister images. Helping out on the smoky atmosphere, was Ted Mikels' stark photography of the locations of Des Moines, Iowa and a washed-out (I don't think it was on purpose) colour scheme. An overwrought and sappy soundtrack is a bit off-putting, and the music score sounds too generic to sustain or create any sort of feeling and tension. Certain moments in the black and white script can lead to some sequences stalling the pace, especially when it's not focusing on the two thugs and the kid."The Hostage" can feel forced and weepy, but it does have its effective spells and the acting is above-average to make you kinda glad you stole away for the ride.