S-Scs
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Sample: Title; rating (out of 4); principal setting; year of release; international co-producer (if any); cast; description; scriptwriter; director; content warning; running time.
SABAH *
* 1/2 setting: Ont.
(2005) Arsinee Khanjian, Shawn Doyle, Jeff Seymour,
Fadia Nadda, Seita Keshishian, Raoula Said, Kathryn Winslow, David Alpay.....Sabah,
a middle-aged, single, Syrian-Canadian muslim woman (Khanjian), feeling
confined by the expectations of her conservative family, begins a tentative,
secret relationship with a non-Muslim (Doyle). Romantic drama is fairly
sweet-tempered, benefiting from a good tempo to the scenes that means it
never lags. It hits most of the marks it sets for itself...but doesn't
quite shoot past them, with a kind of too pat resolution (and kind of ignores
the trickier religious question in favour of making the issue more about
the cultural differences). The leads, though pleasant, don't entirely generate
the chemistry that would make you believe they were willing to fight for
this rocky relationship. Some cute scenes (the niece trying to bamboozle
a would-be suitor) but ultimately more an okay little film than a great
one. sc./dir: Ruba Nadda. 90 min.
Sabbatical * 1/2
(2008) Matthew Bennett, Anne Marie DeLuise (nee Loder), Tatiana Maslany,
Stephen McHattie, Patrick McKenna.....Big city family moves to a small prairie town while on sabbatical so the
wife can join a paleontological dig -- only to find the town is a creepy
little place, with dark secrets...and the family has its own secrets, too.
Hour long pilot was aired by CTV even though it is nothing more than the first
episode of never filmed TV series...meaning it amounts to little as a stand
alone watch. Despite a crackerjack, all-Canadian cast (Bennett, one of the
most interesting actors in Canada -- just watch the ticks and nuances he puts
into his delivery -- DeLuise, an appealing, attractive screen presence, and
Maslany, one of the best teen actors of her generation...not to mention the
likes of McHattie) it's one of those things where it's all in the mood, and
either works...or doesn't. And this really doesn't, not succeeding as a moody,
creepy effort, while having the characters behave in almost laughably
implausible ways (within the space of a day or two, someone tries to kidnap
their son, and the family next door is massacred in the night...and the
parents still leave the kids home alone!) An admirable attempt to try a
spooky, "Twin Peaks" style series (though, despite made seeming for a Canadian
network...the dialogue seems to avoid saying whether it's Canada!), but
unsuccessful (admittedly, proponents could argue with a few more episodes
they could've smoothed out the flaws.) But that cast -- man, that cast... sc:
Peter Mitchell. dir: Ken Girotti.
SABLE ISLAND see L'ile de Sable
Saboteurs, the non-fiction book byAndrew Nikiforuk, served as the inspiration for the documdrama,Burn: The Robert Wraight Story.
THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD
* * setting: Man.
(2004) Isabella Rossellini, Mark McKinney, Maria de
Meidroes, David Fox, Ross McMillan.....In Depression era Winnipeg,
a legless brewery magnate (Rossellini) decides to sponsor a contest to
see which country has the saddest music...which involves past sins and
members of an estranged family, each of whom, through a quirk of fate,
represents a different country. Umpteenth movie from Toles and Maddin is,
like all their others, surreal and dreamlike, directed, stylistically,
like an old movie, with glitches and clumsy edits, filmed mainly in black
and white. This time around, though, they have arguably their best cast,
and it's briskly paced with a story (based on an earlier screenplay) rife
with interesting ideas and satirical jabs at business and nationalism.
But ultimately, the smarmy, tongue-in-cheek presentation -- done as a parody
of over-the-top melodramas -- works against it. The stylistic quirks (not
even innovative anymore as Madden has been doing this since the late 1980s)
is interesting for all of ten or fifteen minutes, and then we're left with
the story...a story which isn't supposed to make a lot of sense (as some
scenes have all the logic of a bad dream) and with characters we aren't
really supposed to care about, and whose actions don't always make sense.
Ultimately a flick that should appeal to film aficionados...but
movie
goers will probably lose interest before the end. Filmed mainly in black
& white with some colour sequences. sc: David Tolles, Guy Madden (from
an original screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro). dir: Guy Madden. - extreme violence;
sexual content.- 100 min.
Saeed see Short Films
A Sailor Goes Ashore, a novel by Aksel Sandemose, served as part of the source for the movie Misery Harbour.
SAINT JUDE *
* setting: Ont.
(1999) Liane Balaban, Nicholas Campbell, Raymond Cloutier,
Bernie Coulson, Kris Lemche, Victoria Sanchez, Victor Soumis, Simon Peacock,
Tom Watt, Louise Portal.....Inner city odyssey about a teen (Balaban)
who wanders about, hooking up with various friends and acquaintances: junkies,
child prostitutes, and pedophiles (!). Dark drama wants to be a gritty
look at life on the fringe (though some of the actors look like
they've stepped off the cover of a teen magazine -- hey, they don't wanna
be too gritty). Many of the scenes are too pretentiously mannered
and constructed to succeed as the realist, cinema verite things they may
be going for (building to an end that seems more symbolic than anything),
but the overall narrative is too aimless to score as a story (despite half-hearted
attempts to throw in plot threads). If you were to jumble the order of
many of the scenes, it wouldn't affect anything! Frankly, it seems like
the kind of movie you make when you've got your funding lined up...but
can't actually come up with an idea. Campbell, in a small part, plays Balaban's
dad...just like he did in New Waterford Girl.
sc: Heather O'Neill (story O'Neill and Esta Spalding). dir: John L'Ecuyer.
- casual male nudity.- 92 min.
SAINT RALPH *
* * 1/2 setting: Ont./USA.
(2004) Adam Butcher, Campbell Scott, Gordon Pinsent,
Jennifer Tilly, Shauna MacDonald, Tamara Hope, Frank Crudele, Michael Kanev.....Story
of a precocious -- and slightly weird -- teen (Butcher) growing up in the
1950s at a Hamilton Catholic school, who is told that only a "miracle"
can bring his mother out of her coma -- and when he hears that it would
be a miracle for anyone from his school to win the Boston Marathon, he
sets out, despite having had little interest or aptitude for running,
to train for the big race, determined it is the "miracle" that will revive
his mother. Very funny comedy-drama boasts a sly, deadpan wit and a lot
of quirky, eccentric ideas and a nice, restrained cast. Sentimental enough
to be kind of touching, without being maudlin. A bit raunchy at times,
but a movie that manages to be both a well done riff on a comfortingly
familiar "Rocky" style saga, with stock characters (Pinsent as the conservative
head priest who disapproves, American import Scott as the radical priest
who comes to support the boy)...while also brimming with a quirky eccentricty
that makes it decidedly its own flick. To do either type of film well (familiar
cliché or off-beat film) is rare...to do both in the same movie
is most definitely worth a look. sc./dir: Michael McGowan. - sexual content,
casual female nudity.- 98 min.
SALT ON OUR SKIN *
* setting: other/USA./P.Q.
(1993) (/Germany/France) Greta Scacchi, Vincent D'Onofrio,
Anais Jeanneret, Hanns Zischler, Barbara Jones.....Story
of a lusty, decades-spanning affair between a French intellectual (Australian
Scacchi) and a Scottish fisherman (American D'Onofrio). Good-looking, pretentious
romance is earnest and respectably put together, but it never becomes convincing.
The story offers no twists or surprises and the characters and their situations
don't change over time...which is, surely, the heart of drama: evolution.
sc: Andrew Birkin, Bee Gilbert (from the novel Les vaisseaux du coeur
by Benoite Grault). dir: Andrew Birkin. - sexual content.- 111 min.
SALT WATER MOOSE *
* 1/2 setting: N.S.
(1997) Johnny Morina, Katharine Isobel, Lolita Davidovitch,
Timothy Dalton, Corinne Conley, Maurice Godin.....After his parents'
divorce, a boy (Morina) moves with his mother (Davidovitch) back to her
Nova Scotia hometown. He befriends the local tomboy (Isobel) who hatches
a scheme to capture and transport a female moose to a local island where
a male moose is stranded. Dalton plays Isobel's dad (like a lot of imported
actors, he tries admirably to do a maritime accent -- heck, he's the only
actor in the film doing one! -- even as he hasn't quite got it right).
Family film seems pretty familiar stuff (the core idea of the moose is
original, it's the surrounding stuff that's formulaic) but is O.K. It's
a bit slow, with scenes in and of themselves not that memorable, though
the climax is pretty edge-of-the-seat stuff -- perhaps moreso than might
be appropriate for little kids. Technical goofs (odd for such a professional-looking
film) include gaffer feet behind Dalton's truck as he backs up, lights
in the sky, and boom mics bobbing into the frame. sc: Bruce McKenna. dir:
Stuart Margolin. 94 min.
SAM & ME
* * * setting: Ont.
(1991) Ranjit Chowdhry, Peter Boretski, Om Puri, Heath
Lamberts, Kalbhushan Kharbanda, Javid Jafri, Jolly Bader, Leonard Chow,
Marcia Diamond, Gina Wilkinson, Howard Jerome.....Story of an East
Indian immigrant (Chowdhry) who gets a job looking after a willful old
Jewish man (Boretski), and of their growing friendship. Finely written
comedy-drama manages to be both effective, perceptive and touching, but
never hokey. Warm, but gritty, too. Excellent performances from the two
leads and Puri heads a good supporting cast. The score is infectious. sc:
Ranjit Chowdhry. dir: Deepa Mehta (her first feature). - sexual content,
casual male nudity.- 96 min.
SAMUEL LOUNT
* 1/2 setting: Ont.
(1985) R.H. Thomson, Linda Griffiths, Cedric Smith,
Donald Davis, David Fox, Booth Savage.....True story of Samuel Lount
(Thomson), a pacifist blacksmith who became one of the leaders of the 1837
rebellion in Upper Canada. Uninvolving drama, with surprisingly empty performances
from what should be a crackerjack cast (though Smith is good as William
Lyon MacKenzie) and the historical issues aren't properly explained. Producer
Elivra Lount is title character's great-great-grand niece. sc: Phil Savath,
Laurence Keane. dir: Laurence Keane.
SAMURAI COWBOY *
* 1/2 setting: USA.
(1993) Hiromi Go, Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Conrad,
Matt McCoy, Conchata Ferrell, Byron Chief Moon, Ian Tyson.....Japanese
business man (Go), tired of the Tokyo rat-race, decides to fulfill a lifelong
Western movie fixation and buys a run-down American ranch...only to encounter
local bigots and a land baron. O.K. comedy-drama, a modern western, is
generally obvious and occasionally even sophomoric, but benefits from a
decent cast, particularly Go. Though, as always, the ultra-Americaness
of this Canadian-filmed movie is off-putting. Not to be confused with Tokyo
Cowboy, another Canadian movie from around the same time. sc: Deborah
Tilton, Michael Keusch and Dave Hunsaker (story Hunsaker and Rick Ponte).
dir: Michael Keusch. 102 min.
SANCTUARY (TV Series)This TV series is an odd mix of strengths...and weaknesses. The basic premise mixes aspects of "The X-Files" and, say, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (without the wit) with the "X-Men" (with the heroes both fighting abnormals...and seeking to protect them from a world that would fear them) and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (in that the backstory is that "Magnus" was part of The Five, a Victorian-era circle of famous real and literary figures) -- these comic book antecedents may explain a directing/visual style that was purportedly intended to evoke a graphic novel feel. The central characters can be a bit stock, yet Magnus herself, essentially Mary Poppins-as-monster hunter, is a little more off-beat. Like a lot of fantasy series, the basic "rules" of this reality are inconsistent (whether abnormals are the stuff of urban legend...or are known to the general public). And the various episodes can be slow and uneven -- and shamelessly derivative (in the first season alone ripping off "The Trouble with Tribbles", "The Thing/Who Goes There?", "Cloverfield" and the inevitable meta-human fight club episode among others) without usually being more than street vendor knock offs of the originals. Due to filming pressures, apparently many scripts were written in just three or four days...and they are quite decent for scripts written in four days...but that doesn't mean they're that great considered without that caveat. HOWEVER...the series also has its spikes, too. A personable cast, particularly Tapping (faux British accent and all), and the charismatic Heyerdahl (as Druitt), and a solid array of guest star performances. There is a genuine moodiness (the use of fake back drops arguably giving the show a subtlely surreal undercurrent). And periodic good lines, scenes, and concepts are peppered among the more banal moments. And, overall, the series exudes a certain...likeability. Ultimately, it's more a middling series, with elements of goodness, than a good series with lulls of mediocrity. But, honestly, that's still enough to make it worth a look-in for genre fans. As an example, the first season two-parter "Revelations" is less memorable for the plot (which ends on a "season finale" cliffhanger anyway), than for the teaming of members of The Five, with some nicely written character interaction and deliciously juicy performances from Heyerdahl, Jonathan Young and Peter Wingfield (and Tapping, too) -- making it one of the series' highlights. Tapping (who was also one of the producers), creator/head writer Damian Kindler, and frequent director Martin Wood, all spent many years working together on the StarGate franchises. Hour long episodes, shown in Canada on SPACE. |
SANDKINGS see The Outer Limits: Sandkings
SANITY CLAUSE *
* 1/2 setting: Ont.
(1990) Louis DelGrande, Martha Gibson, Kenner Ames,
Booth Savage, Susan Roman, Jacques Godin, George Seremba.....A group
of psychiatric out-patients ("led" by DelGrande, in his first movie vehicle),
forced to fend for themselves, attempt to prove one of their number had
his idea for an invention stolen. Funny but uneven, disjointed made-for-CBC
TV serio-comic pic tries to be more honest and substantial than you might
expect, but it's not always successful. Good cast. Dr. David Suzuki has
a cameo. sc: Louis DelGrande, Neil Ross. dir: David Barlow, George McCowan.
- casual male nudity, sexual content.- appp. 96 min.
SANTA WHO? *
* * setting: USA
(2000) (/U.S.) Leslie Nielsen, Steven Eckholdt, Robyn
Lively, Max Morrow, Tommy Davidson.....Santa Claus (Nielsen) gets amnesia
and ends up working as a department store Santa while a cynical-but-with-heart
reporter (Eckholdt) wants to figure out who he is for a story. Witty and
good-spirited made-for-TV comedy is nicely acted and an appealing addition
to the Christmas canon. Maybe not quite a classic, but better than most
of the Christmas movies that are churned out every year. Nielsen, more
toned down than his recent forays into comedy, is an appealing St. Nick.
Of the above listed actors, only Nielsen and child actor Morrow are Canadian.
sc: Debra Frank, Steve L. Hayes (story Chad Hoffman, Robert Schwartz).
dir: William Dear. app. 90 min.
LA SARRASINE *
* 1/2 setting: P.Q.
(1992) Enrica Maria Modugno, Tony Nardi, Jean Lapointe,
Gilbert Sicotte, Johanne Marie Tremblay, Gaetano Cisco Cimarosa.....In
turn-of-the-century Montreal a Sicilian immigrant (Nardi) accidentally
kills a Quebec man and is sentenced to death. Nice-looking drama starts
out about racism, touches on political machinations and religious hypocrisy,
then settles on sexism. Consistently watchable, but too aloof, with only
Cimarosa's organ grinder managing to be an interesting character. Nardi
received the Best Actor Genie. Supposedly based on a true incident. In
French and Italian. sc: Bruno Ramirez, Paul Tana. dir: Paul Tana. - sexual
content.- 109 min.
SAVAGE MESSIAH *
* * setting: Ont.
(2002) (/U.K.) Polly Walker, Luc Picard, Isabelle
Blais, Pascale Montpetit, Isabelle Cyr, Julie La Rochelle, Justin Louis,
Domini Blythe, Elizabeth Robertson, Steve Adams.....Fact based story
of a rural Ontario social worker (British actress Walker) and her efforts
to expose abuse at a commune run by the charismatic, self-styled prophet,
Roch Theriault (Picard). Made-for-TV docudrama never, perhaps, makes the
step up to being exceptional or surprising -- artistically speaking. But
it is, nonetheless, a well mounted, well paced production. Picard, in particular,
does a nice job of alternating between being genuinely charming and malevolent.
Walker's character is a fictional construct. Picard received the Best Actor
Genie (although intended as a TV movie, it was shown theatrically in Quebec,
hence why it qualified for the Genies). sc: Sharon Riis (from the book
by Paul Kaihla & Ross Laver). dir: Mario Azzopardi. - extreme violence,
brief female nudity, sexual content.- 93 min.
A SAVAGE PLACE a.k.a. Spenser:
A Savage Place
SAYING GOODBYE (TV Limited Series)Now how's that for a winning premise for a weekly TV series? The episodes were often technically well-done with good performances, but it still leaves the question: why? Was the series intended as a self-help excercise for the bereaved? If so, the stories tended to peter out by the end, making them weak as dramas and not really offering much in the way of genuine advice or consolation as to how to get through such an ordeal. Viewed cynically, the "earnest" concept seemed more intended to secure a grant than it was an artistic expression. 4 half-hour episodes, originally made for TVO but rerun on The Woman's Network. |
SCALES OF JUSTICE (TV Series)Less a TV series than irregular specials, this program -- spun off from a radio series -- boastedd some big name directors (like David Cronenberg) and was stylishly put together. But, not quite dramas, not quite documentaries, it often seemed a bit dry and flat, taking even interesting cases and somehow making them seem less-so, despite Greenspan's opening phrase "there's nothing more surprising than reality". Nor was it always clear the greater legal significance, if any, of the stories. Best bets: a very good, two hour one about the murder of Sir Harry Oakes (with Scott Hylands) which was also dramatized in the mini-series Passion and Paradise. Hour and two-hour long episodes on the CBC. |
"A Scandal in Bohemia", the Sherlock Holmes story, served as partial inspiration for the TV movie, The Royal Scandal.
SCANNERS
* * 1/2
(1981) Jennifer O'Neil, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan,
Lawrence Dane, Michael Ironside, Robert Silverman.....Telepathic drifter
(Lack) is recruited by a corporation to track down a psychotic telepath
(Ironside) and his followers. Uneven SF thriller which starts out intelligently
but soon gives way to violent shoot outs and gross-out effects (like the
now infamous telepathically exploding heads). Bland performance from Lack
doesn't help, though McGoohan and Ironside are good. Arguably Cronenberg's
most famous, identifiable work...though, ironically, it bears more than
a passing similarity to the 1978 U.S. film, "The Fury" (though Cronenberg
coined the neater name). Followed by two Canadian sequels a decade later
and some American ones. sc./dir: David Cronenberg. - extreme violence.-
102 min.
SCANNERS II: The New Order
* 1/2 setting: USA.
(1991) David Hewlett, Yvan Ponton, Isabelle Mejias,
Raoul Trujillo, Deborah Raffin, Tom Butler, Vlasta Vrana, Murray Westgate,
Dorothee Berryman, Doris Petrie.....Telepath (Hewlett) is persuaded
by a police officer (Ponton) to use his abilities in the name of the law,
but quickly realizes the cop has another agenda. Thriller has some intriguing
ideas, but manages to fumble most of them. Talented francophone actor Ponton's
voice was dubbed, presumably so the film can pretend it's American. sc:
B.J. Nelson. dir: Christian Duguay. - extreme violence.- 105 min.
SCANNERS III: The Takeover
* setting: USA.
(1992) Liliana Komorowska, Valerie Valois, Steve Parrish,
Colin Fox, Daniel Pilon, Michael Copeman, Michel Perron.....Telepath
(Komorowska) becomes a psychopath intent on revenge and world domination
after taking a drug designed to cure her; meanwhile, her telepathic brother
is in a Buddhist monastery. I don't know which bodes worse, the all-but
incomprehensible opening blurb, or Fox's name being misspelled! Horror
thriller has interesting ideas and on-location scenes in Thailand, but
is really bad. If these movies keep going, I'm going to need a new ratings
system. sc: B.J. Nelson, Julie Richard, David Preston. dir: Christian Duguay.
- extreme violence, brief female nudity.- 103 min.
SCAR TISSUE
* * 1/2 setting: CDN.
(1993) Roberta Maxwell, Shawn Doyle, Aidan Devine,
Paul Hecht, Larissa Laskin.....Story of a woman (Maxwell) who develops
Alzheimer's disease and of its impact on her family, particularly on one
of her adult sons (Doyle). O.K. made for CBC TV drama has a good cast,
but despite some conflict between the two sons, and a plot thread involving
Doyle trying to learn the answer to a question about his mother's past
before she no longer remembers herself (the solution of which is more symbolic
than literal), it never quite becomes more than a movie about an issue.
The town of Antigonish, referred to at the beginning, is, I think, mispronounced....though
Doyle gets it right later. Actor R.H. Thomson was associate producer. For
a different take on Alzheimer's, see Mind Shadows.
sc: Dennis Foon (from the novel by Michael Ignatieff). dir: Peter Moss.
86 min.
The School, a novel by Ed Kelleher and Hariette Vidal, was turned into a movie (scripted by the author's) Voodoo Dolls
SCHOOL OF LIFE *
* 1/2 setting: USA.
(2003) (/U.S.) David Paymer, Ryan Reynolds, Kate Vernon,
Andrew Robb, Don MacKay, Brenda McDonald, Leila Johnson, Christopher Gauthier,
Shylo Sharity, Gordie Giroux, John Astin, Carly McKillip.....Unpopular
but well-meaning American school teacher (American Paymer) becomes bitterly
obsessed with the hip new teacher, Mr. "D" (Reynolds), whose radical and
unorthodox style easily wins over students and staff alike. Innocuous,
bittersweet family comedy-drama avoids some cardboard cliches -- Paymer's
character isn't a villain, per se -- even as it is kind of obvious and
hokey in other ways. It has some interesting ideas -- the rivalry between
the teachers -- even as it doesn't fully develop some of them (even Paymer's
ultimate epiphany seems vague). There's little bite to the film, as a comedy
it's not that laugh-out-loud funny, and the conflict is pretty one sided
(Reynolds isn't bucking the system...everyone but Paymer love him!). Still,
should appeal to kids and younger teen though it's a bit long for what,
ultimately, is a pretty simple story. And isn't there a problem in a movie
all about "learning" which makes fun of a teacher who feels the kids should
know historical dates, or where the hip teacher never does explain to the
kids the real origin of the word "history" (it has nothing to do with "his"
"story")? American actor Astin has just a brief (albeit pivotal) appearance.
Vernon is good in a potentially nothing part as Paymer's wife as is Robb
as his son and the film's narrator. One of those Canadian movies that's
so archly American it's distracting...even the gym uniforms have American
flags on 'em! Not released until 2005. sc: Jonathan Kahn. dir: William
Dear. 110 min.
SCHOOL'S OUT!
* * setting: Ont.
(1991) Pat Mastroianni, Stacie Mistysyn, Kirsti Bourne,
Stefan Brogren, Neil Hope.....The summer after graduation has the kids
from Degrassi High making plans for the future and getting into trouble,
like Joey (Mastroianni) two-timing his girlfriend (Mistysyn). Gritty made-for-CBC
TV wrap-up to the various successful, award winning Degrassi
TV series bids farewell to the characters with pretty much the same so-so
style that, inexplicably, made the programs a hit to begin with (though
some of the actors do show promise). Recommended mainly to fans. sc: Yan
Moore (story Moore, Linda Schuyler, Kit Hood). dir: Kit Hood. - sexual
content, casual male nudity.- app. 96 min.
SCOOP (TV SERIES)This TV series started in Quebec in 1990 (all the episodes were dubbed and began airing in the rest of Canada in the fall of '93). Yet another hit Quebec series that seems to have lost something in the translation. Flat, impersonal direction, awkward dialogue, intrusively melodramatic score, and often unconvincing -- and broad -- performances. Still, maybe it works better in the original French. Hour long episodes, shown in English on the CBC. |
SCORING a.k.a. This Time Forever
SCORNED a.k.a. A Woman Scorned
THE SCORPIO FACTOR
* 1/2 setting: USA./other
(1989) David Nerman, Wendy Dawn Wilson, David Gow,
Arthur Holden, Dorion Joe Clark.....Interpol agent
(Nerman) and bad guys are both after the same woman (Wilson) who has a
stolen computer chip in her possession. Confusing, low-budget thriller
with iffy performances. Set mainly in New York (filmed in Canada) but early
scenes are more cosmopolitan...though where they got the money for location
shoots is a mystery. sc: Carole Sauve, June Pinheiro (from an original
screenplay by Lorenzo Orzari). dir: Michael Wachniuc. - violence, brief
female nudity.- 86 min.
"Scotch Settlement", a story by Neil Peterson, was filmed by the British in '49, and Canadians in the '90s, both times under the title The Little Kidnappers
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