The Double McGuffin

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AMG AllMovie Guide:

The Double McGuffin

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Plot

Alfred Hitchcock fans need not be reminded that "The McGuffin" is Hitchcock's term for the gimmicks (missing papers, stolen gems, uranium deposits) that motivate the plots of his thrillers. This much is explained by narrator Orson Welles at the beginning of the family-oriented The Double McGuffin. Hitchcock in-jokes abound in this innocuous adventure yarn, which stars Ernest Borgnine as an international terrorist (it's that kind of film). A bunch of kids in a sleepy Southern town tumble to Borgnine's scheme to assassinate a foreign prime minister, but of course the authorities don't believe a word. The kids decide to take matters into their own hands, which includes staging their own kidnapping to arouse the attention of the police. The film comes to a noisy climax during a school assembly, where the targeted prime minister is a keynote speaker. Like Ernest Borgnine, co-stars George Kennedy and Elke Sommer play their scenes straight, allowing full scope to the Saturday-matinee antics of the younger actors. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Cast

Dion Pride - Specks; Lisa Whelchel - Jody; Jeff Nicholson - Billy Ray; Michael Gerard - Arthur; Greg Hodges - Homer; Rod Browning - Moras; Vincent Spano - Foster; Orson Welles - Narrator

Credit

Ed Richardson - Art Director, Joe Camp - Director, Leon Seith - Editor, Euel Box - Composer (Music Score), Harland Wright - Production Designer, Don Reddy - Cinematographer, Joe Camp - Producer, James J. Sabat - Sound/Sound Designer, Joe Camp - Screen Story, Richard Baker - Screen Story, Joe Camp - Screenwriter

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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

The Double McGuffin

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The Double McGuffin
Directed by Joe Camp
Produced by Joe Camp
Written by Joe Camp
Starring Lisa Whelchel
Ernest Borgnine
George Kennedy
Dion Pride
Greg Hodges
Music by Euel Box
Cinematography Don Reddy
Running time 101 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Double McGuffin is a 1979 film written and directed by Joe Camp. It starred Ernest Borgnine and George Kennedy, alongside a group of young actors, some of whom later became quite famous, including Lisa Whelchel, who would go on to star in the sitcom The Facts of Life. Elke Sommer and NFL stars Ed 'Too Tall' Jones and Lyle Alzado also appear in smaller roles. The film also included a young Vincent Spano as well as Dion Pride (son of country singer Charley Pride). An opening narration is provided by Orson Welles. The cast was rounded out by Chicago native Michael Gerard, and Dallas area child actors Greg Hodges and Jeff Nicholson.[1]

At the beginning of the film, the narrator (Welles) informs the audience that a MacGuffin (or McGuffin) is an object that serves as the focal point of the plot in the thriller genre. This film has two such objects.

The plot follows a group of boarding school students who discover, in succession, a suitcase full of money, a dead body, and a dismembered hand. They are unable to convince the local police to take them seriously, because they have not secured any evidence, and because the police chief (played by Kennedy) is suspicious of them due to their past misbehavior. They follow the evidence themselves and realize that a political assassination is planned at a school event. They foil the plot themselves.

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Joe Camp (Director, Writer, Children's/Family/Adventure)
The Double McGuffin (1979 Children's/Family Film)
Vincent Spano (Actor, Drama/Thriller)