L'enfant du mensonge

Not bad at all. Good acting and good story. Back then they made very good based on true story movies. I give it a 7 out of 10.

Karen Williams (Nancy McKeon) has to return to work at the end of her maternity leave. Her mother, Ruth (Penny Fuller), is looking after the baby for her. Ruth is also interviewing people to find a babysitter for all of Karen's children, including Rachael Ann White, a daughter by a married man, David Anderson (David Duchovny), who used to be Karen's boss.

Another couple, Bianca Hudson (Veronica Hamel) and her husband Cal Hudson (Michael Madsen), are experiencing marital problems. He informs her that he has filed for divorce. Bianca had an abortion a few months earlier for medical reasons. She believes getting pregnant again will save her marriage. As Cal is about to leave her, Bianca tells him that she is pregnant again. Bianca fakes the pregnancy, and when it is time for the imaginary baby to be born, she goes out to look for a baby to steal.

Disguised, Bianca shows up for an interview for the position of babysitter for Karen's children. When Karen's mother, Ruth, steps into another room, Bianca walks out with the baby. Bianca takes the child home and tells her husband that she went into labor, went to a local hospital, had the baby, and returned home, all in one day.

Karen realizes that Bianca is a suspect and decides that the best way to find her daughter is to appeal to the media and put out flyers. Cal's boss and wife make a surprise visit to the Hudson home, where they plainly see that the baby is much older than four days, and they alert the authorities. Police arrive, arrest Bianca and Cal, and return the baby to its rightful home.

In this fact-based story, Air Force Capt. Cal Hudson does not want to be married any more. His wife Bianca announces that she is pregnant, but all Cal cares about is that his C.O. will think he's a bad person for walking out on a pregnant wife.

Cal comes home to find Bianca on the floor and takes her to the military hospital. The doctor there tells Bianca she has diabetes and should terminate the pregnancy. If she does not, the baby could have serious problems (and while he didn't say this, remember what happened to Julia Roberts' character in "Steel Magnolias"?). Bianca claims she and Cal are too religious to consider such a thing, and she asks to tell Cal herself. Cal has changed his mind about leaving her, so of course Bianca can't say she is ending her pregnancy. Actually, there may be another way, and the title of the movie sort of gives that away.

Karen was a receptionist where David works until they had an affair and she got pregnant. Karen, who had been married, has moved with her two kids and gotten a job in a pizza joint with an unreasonably demanding boss. Her mother, who disapproves of her relationship, reluctantly helps take care of Karen's kids. David's wife does not know about Karen, but he claims to love Karen and shows signs of ending his marriage.

It's not too hard to figure out what will happen from here, but of course the most interesting thing is watching Bianca's scheming. It's hard to believe an Air Force captain could be so clueless as to what is going on. The search for the missing baby is also fascinating to watch.

Veronica Hamel gives a very good performance here. Bianca is mostly unpleasant but frequently just plain creepy. Michael Madsen's best moment comes when Cal wants to come back to Bianca. Nancy McKeon has many good scenes, mostly in the sequined half. As for David Duchovny, I know he is a respected actor, but I don't think this could be proved from anything he does here.

Jason Reed Green is particularly good for a child, playing Karen's young son.

Also giving good performances are the actors playing two of the FBI agents--John Evans as DePaul, who suspects Karen and David of being behind the abduction and possible murder of a child he thinks they didn't want, and the actor playing the black man who showed compassion. I don't see his name in the credits, but I think the character's name was Thompson or something that sounded like it.

This was pretty much a standard Lifetime style movie, but it had some really good moments.

"Baby Snatcher" claims it's based on a true story, and that's probably right. But it doesn't necessarily make for a good film. One of the problems is the casting. Michael Madsen plays the clueless husband. Madsen is the award winning actor famous for such films as Reservoir Dogs (1992), Getaway (1994), Species (1995), Kill Bill (2003), and The Hateful Eight (2015), so his playing against type here is not entirely believable.

Veronica Hamel, on the other hand, is known for her work in the TV series Hill Street Blues (1981-7) and Lost (2004-10), and her desperate scheming wife doesn't seem to fit.

Setting aside the casting issues, the story itself takes a long time to evolve.

This true story was shown on the tv series, Lt. Joe Kendra, Homicide Hunter. He was the detective played by by David Duchovny! It was neat to see it from a detective's point of view!

This is one of those "real" movies that one can relate to. The acting was superb. It was like watching a real event happen in front of me. I was "in" that film and quite frustrated when the commercial breaks interrupted it. I was totally absorbed throughout "Baby Snatcher." I feel this film is excellent viewing about some real problems plaguing our society. It was real, sincere, gripping, intense. Great direction by Joyce Chopra. I feel this film should have been in movie houses, not just a TV movie. The performances by the leading four actors: Veronica Hamel, Nancy McKeon, Michael Madsen and David Duchovny were excellent. I would have given Nancy McKeon an academy award for her performance in "Baby Snatcher" and I'd love to see David Duchovny in a "Harrison Ford" type epic drama. He would make the film and the industry proud! I hope "Baby Snatcher" is not shelved and that it will be shown again or made available to those who want it. The only thing I would have changed is the title. Examples: "Where Is My Baby", "Bring Back My Child", "Empty Cradle".