Without a Trace (1983) User Reviews

.."If you felt what I have you'd be screaming right now!"....

[MarieGabrielle · 8/10 · 4 November 2006]

One of the best lines as Kate Nelligan portrays Susan Selky, a professor in NYC whose son has been abducted, and possibly murdered.

Nelligan is outstanding as a frustrated and angry mother whose son one day simply disappears after she sees him off on the school bus.

There are a few surprises here. Judd Hirsch is very good as Detective Minetti, although the story does go off tangent a bit with his family life. David Dukes portrays her estranged husband, who is initially suspected of abducting his own son.

Stockard Channing also has a small part as Selky's friend. When she attempts to talk Susan into the platitude : ..."picking up your bootstraps and move on"..., Susan (Nelligan) becomes enraged, telling her she cannot have a clue as to how this feels. A very powerful scene, and relevant to anyone who has experienced a horrible loss, and doesn't know how to cope.

Overall this is a good film with a few tangents, but well worth a view. 8/10.

A Powerful Star Turn by a Great Actress...

[ijonesiii · 8/10 · 18 January 2006]

1983's WITHOUT A TRACE was my first exposure to the acting gifts of one Kate Nelligan. Nelligan dominates the screen as a soon to be single mom who sends her young son off to school one day and he disappears. The film makes all the predictable twists and turns you expect it to but the journey is worth it because of the gut-wrenching performance by Kate Nelligan in the lead. Credit must be given to skillful direction and a decent screenplay and strong supporting turns from Judd Hirsch as as a detective, David Dukes as Nelligan's self-absorbed ex, Stockard Channing as her insensitive best friend and Kathleen Widdoes as a psychic, it is the performance by Kate Nelligan that raises the bar on this one, who brings so much more to her performance than is in the script, rich, detailed, and worth studying.

Realistic with knockout performances ........

[merklekranz · 7/10 · 9 November 2018]

"Without a Trace" is a very gripping drama. The kidnapping of a six year old boy from his New York City neighborhood sets into motion a prolonged search for suspects. Judd Hirsch is the frustrated detective following up leads that go nowhere, and Kate Nelligan is the distraught Mother looking for answers. As time goes on and hope fades, Hirsch is eventually resorting to psychics for help, while Nelligan refuses to lose any hope of finding her Son alive. Eventually, Nelligan's friends begin to worry that she is losing touch with reality, to little or no effect. If this film has any flaw, the ending must be considered, although possible, it just seems somewhat contrived. Nevertheless, "Without a Trace" is a very good movie, with knockout performances. - MERK

beautiful, movie performances Nelligan, Hirsch, Dukes . .

[Ilya-13 · 19 December 2000]

This movie leaves me crying and heaving. The strong, strong performance by Kate Nelligan warranted an academy award. The range of motions she expressed - anger, fear, love, - and finally, joy. Judd Hirsch, equally strong in the sometimes undermanding role of the cop. David Dukes is probably the most unappreciated performance. I have seen it many times, but this last time I watched him and the emotion, his pain showed through as well as Nelligan's. A classic.

Worthwhile drama

[gcd70 · 6/10 · 26 January 2007]

From screenwriter and original novelist Beth Gutcheon(novel entitled "Still Missing")comes "Without a Trace", which tells the story of a little six year old boy who leaves for school one morning and then completely disappears.

The film starts slowly but picks up the tension as it moves along. Producer and one-time director Stanley R. Jaffe tries to use quiet moments early in the film; but for me they did not work. Later, as the movie gets going, it becomes moving and thought provoking. A clever and touching finale, along with solid performances from the under-rated Kate Nelligan, the magnificent Judd Hirsch and David Dukes, make the film worthwhile.

Sunday, February 10, 1991 - Video

Triumph of the caravan home

[rwb14 · 7/10 · 3 July 2006]

Child abduction is a parent's worst fear. This movie hits all of those fears; through the initial shock of the disappearance of Alex Selky, to the maddening vigil of waiting by the phone and enduring police double-talk about leads in the investigation. Kate Nelligan plays the mother who never gives up and it's her needling of Judd Hirsch, the lead police detective that prompts him to check further.

While many child abduction cases end in tragedy, we are permitted in this movie the triumph of the happy ending. Judd Hirsch (off-duty with son in tow) checks out that one "dismissible" lead.

The caravan of police of various jurisdictions bringing Alex back home is magnificent. The final scene of the mother and son reunion, against the busy backdrop of the crowds and media will have you wiping your eyes.

It's not only the story of the case of a missing child. It's also about the exploitation of that case.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 19 August 2022]

Today, movies like this are made for television cable channels but don't nearly come as close in the emotional impact that this has or the classy way it's been written, directed and acted. Kate Nelligan gives a very subtle performance as the mother of a missing boy, sent off to school as normal (two blocks away), and shocked to find out that he never arrived.

Calling the police somehow alerts the press, and after meeting with detective Judd Hirsch, she speaks with a reporter. Already being barraged with calls from reporters, she's now harassed by strangers judging her for allowing her kid to be on New York City streets by himself. A grieving mother dealing with a nasty judgemental public adds to the fury of the situation. Calls into the precinct by people claiming to have info on the identity of the kidnapper is even more infuriating.

Theatrically released rather than made a movie of the week, this paralleled the real case of Etan Patz, an ongoing case at the time with a not so happy ending. It was a changing world, and this film aided in providing warnings. David Dukes as Nelligan's ex, Stockard Channing as her friend, Jacqueline Brookes as a concerned tenant, Kathleen Widdoes as a clairvoyant and Danny Corkill as the missing son are top notch. This could have been much more melodramatic and exploitive, but the intelligent script prevents that. A hard film to start watching, but an even harder film to stop.

A Great Film

[WriterDave · 9/10 · 20 July 2003]

It's one of those Saturday nights you decided not to go out to the bar. It's near midnight and you're flipping through the pay cable stations because you don't care to watch another rerun of Saturday Night Live. You come across a movie from the early 80's that sounds like a really bad TV movie. (A side note, I believe the true story that inspired this film also inspired a god-awful TV movie starring Christopher Reeve that I caught on Lifetime one Sunday afternoon while I was nursing a hang-over). Instead, 'Without a Trace' turns out to be one of those hidden gems you come across at just such odd times once in a blue moon. It's one of those films that makes you wonder how many other 'lost classics' are lurking out there amongst the overbearing weight of the tripe Hollywood typically puts out.

Kate Nelligan and Judd Hirsch deliver Oscar-caliber performances as the mother who won't accept her son is gone and the hardworking detective who takes a personal interest in the frustrating kidnapping case. This is one of those films that gives us an intimate look at one person's loss, how it effects those around them, and also provides a touching glimpse into the family of a cop trying to recover that person's loss. This was producer Stanley Jaffe's first and only foray into directing, and it's a shame, since he clearly delivered the goods here. There are two great scenes that play both as thrilling and heartbreaking that showcase just how capable and beautifully understated a director Jaffe was:

1. The night after the six-year old is kidnapped, the camera pans up from his discarded pajama top lying on the bathroom floor to his mother (Nelligan) having her first breakdown in the bathtub. It's a wonderful scene that is all at once chilling, gut-wrenching, and emotional resonant. 2. Nelligan retires to her bedroom and turns out all the lights. Everything is silent. All the audience sees is pitch black. It seems like this unfathomably dark silence could last forever. We the audience are put on the edge of our seats. Then the silence in broken. Nelligan begins to pray.

This is true tear jerker that I believe has probably been dismissed over the years because of the alleged all too happy 'Hollywood' ending that was tacked on. The true story that inspired this film didn't end so happily, but this was never meant to be a documentary. This is a movie that is designed to give people (especially parents) a sense of hope in a world gone mad, and I suspect it would especially connect with audiences today in the wake of all the high profile child abduction cases of late (i.e. the Smart case). The ending is beautifully executed and truly uplifting, and had the film not ended this way, the film would've been one of the bleakest, most depressing films ever made, and I fear I would've not been able to sleep that night. We all know how tragically things could've ended. All we need to do is look at the real world to see that and get depressed. This movie took a chance and decided to give us hope, and that is neither untrue or contrived, that is a stroke of genius.

When all is said and done, 'Without a Trace' is a great movie that deserves to be uttered in the same breath as 'Kramer vs. Kramer' and 'Ordinary People.' It makes more recent kidnap flicks (like Ron Howard's egregious thriller 'Ransom', and the pitifully hokey 'The Deep End of the Ocean') come across as terribly manipulative and untrue. Not to be missed. (Another side note: Where's the DVD? They seem to put every piece of crap ever produced on DVD these days, so why not this, something that is actually good and worthwhile and would connect deeply with audiences?)

Ability to maintain focus and good performances make it better than most of its kind. (spoilers)

[vertigo_14 · 7/10 · 8 March 2005]

Kate Nelligan stars as Susan Selky, a mother who's seven year old son disappears one morning on his route to school in a small Brooklyn neighborhood. The story follows the eventual emotional breakdown of Selky, who refuses to believe that her son is dead and, when everyone else, including good friends and ex-husband try to encourage her to simply move when the police fail to gain any new leads, she refuses to give up. The story is told primarily from the mother's point of view, though slowly comes to compete with the perspective of Al Menetti, the investigating detective played by Judd Hirsch who eventually becomes emotionally connected with the case (to a certain point), particularly because he has a son that is the same age as Susan's son.

This movie was good in trying to get the viewer to not only empathize with the mother of the kidnapped boy as she first struggles with the fact that her son is missing, then the possibility that she may never again see him, and then to decide just how to proceed with her life based on that. It sticks to doing strictly this and does not become bogged down in say, the usual romantic angle where the mother might become romantically involved with the cop (which may be the case had this been a movie on the Lifetime network). The story is extremely focused and the psychological effect is especially effective, driven by the most convincing element: the anxiousness that the viewer feels along with the mother. I might say that the movie became dreadfully slow as we see the mother in the months following the first day she realized her son was missing, as the story seems to jump around, probably as a real situation might. But, the point is really to get the viewer to realize just how confusing and dreadfully anxious and terribly depressed one becomes in this kind of situation. Not just the mother, but the investigating detective (Hirsch) as well.

Look for many familiar faces in small roles: Dan Lauria has a brief part as a policeman, as does Bill Smitrovich in a non-speaking role, and Bill Macy plays a reporter). Stockard Channing plays Selky's best friend. Worthy of an afternoon viewing on cable.

The DVD for this movie is available now.

[deathcabgirl · 9/10 · 21 May 2005]

I won't go into the specifics of the movie as many other here have already done that. To those that were wondering about the DVD - It is out on DVD now. I think it came out in March 2005. I bought it as soon as it became available.

Another thing. This movie is widely known as being based on real events. It may or may not be but we know it is based on a novel by Beth Gutcheon called "Still Missing". Whether that novel is based on a actual event I can't say for sure.

There was one comment here by someone who said the movie was no good. I don't know what movie she was watching as it sure wasn't this one. She said the houseboy cut himself shaving or something to that affect. Not true. This tells me she didn't watch the movie very closely.

To end this I will just say 'Without A Trace' is one of my favorite movies of all time. Top 10? Maybe not but it is up there. Great, I mean really great acting by Kate Nelligan and Judd Hirsch. David Dukes and Stockard Channing really flex their acting muscles here as well.

Shot partly in Bridgeport, CT

[padbrown · 7/10 · 9 March 2005]

Just wanted to note that this was shot partly on location in Bridgeport, CT (my hometown). Not many others can claim the same. The only other I can think of is (Westport, CT, resident) Paul Newman's "The Effect of Radiation on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068528/), which starred Paul's wife, Joanne Woodward. This one has to be better than that one, even though I only saw parts while surfing channels. Even though I didn't see the whole thing, the ending did get me pretty misty. As for the Bridgeport parts, they picked the grittiest-looking section of the city in which to shoot...not that there are many pretty parts of the city these days.

Emotionally Draining But Wonderful Movie

[ksjeffrey · 9/10 · 4 February 2008]

I haven't seen this movie for years, but I think about it whenever I hear of a news story where a child goes missing.

If I live to be 100, I will never forget the final scene of this movie *** don't read any further if you intend to see it *** Judd Hirsch had located the kid after years of detective work, and was bringing him home (un-known to his mother)in his squad car. As I recall, he had the lights and siren moving (I might be wrong on this point) as he believed that getting this child back in the arms of his mom was that important (it was).

The mother was walking down the street with a bag of groceries, going about her daily life without her son. As she approached her flat, a police car screeched to a stop out front. Wondering what the commotion was about, she looked down the street to see her little boy emerge from the driver's seat of the police cruiser. It took a moment for it all to register, but when she realized that the kid was her long lost child, she threw the sack of groceries on the ground (the groceries scattered everywhere) and ran as fast as she could to hug her child, grabbing him in an embrace that threatened to squeeze the air out of him.

It was one of the most powerful, riveting, happy and joyous movie endings I have ever seen, and I cried like a baby during that final scene. To this day, that movie still brings tears to my eyes. I wish all child abduction cases would end like this.

Certainly a good effort.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 19 November 2021]

The ordinary life of university professor Susan Selky (Kate Nelligan) is torn apart when her very young son Alex (Danny Corkill) vanishes into thin air while walking the very short distance from their apartment to his school. Compassionate police detective Al Mennetti (Judd Hirsch) takes the case very seriously, although as time goes by, it seems less and less likely that Alex will be found. Only Susan absolutely refuses to give up hope that Alex will be found alive someday.

Beth Gutcheon scripted, from her novel, which itself was inspired by a landmark incident in New York that helped to spearhead the whole movement to better handle missing-children cases. The film is definitely well-made, if slowly paced. It marked the first & only directorial effort for veteran movie producer Stanley R. Jaffe.

It's true enough that, given the material (one of the absolute worst nightmares for any parent to live through), this is actually NOT as gut-wrenching as it could have been. And, indeed, Nelligan comes off as rather aloof as Susan, except for a rare few instances where her surface calm cracks and she reveals the emotions inside her. But the main cast is very effective, with a likeable Hirsch, a solid David Dukes as Susans' estranged husband Graham, and an endearing Stockard Channing as her best friend. If you pay enough attention, you'll notice a variety of now-familiar faces in bit parts: Terry O'Quinn, Bill Smitrovich, Dan Lauria, William H. Macy, etc.

Driven by a heart-rending (but sparingly used) score by Jack Nitzsche, "Without a Trace" does manage to tell a pretty good, if imperfect story, even if it gets awfully manipulative towards the end, with the ultimate sob-into-your-hankie ending.

Seven out of 10.

Slow-going human drama looks like a well-produced episode from a TV serial...

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 7 September 2005]

Kate Nelligan, always a forthright and gripping actress, gets to show many different sides as a single mother in New York City whose little boy disappears one day while walking a short distance to school; she clashes with authorities and friends, but is convinced her child has been kidnapped and is still alive. These type of human dramas are all pretty much the same, but if the extremities pull you in, they are undeniably absorbing. There's a horribly facetious sub-plot about a homosexual suspect (who seems to be rendered guilty by virtue of his fetishes), but Nelligan gives the familiar theme her class and ladylike vigor, making it fresher than most, and she's helped by other good actors like Judd Hirsch, Stockard Channing and David Dukes. The film is ultimately hurt by its clichés (especially when dealing second-handedly with police lieutenant Hirsch's family life); and as for the climax, it'll either strike you as very emotional or incredibly hokey and over-the-top. ** from ****

Every parent's nightmare is brought to life....

[scoobyg69 · 13 March 2000]

OK, get a BOX of tissue before you sit and watch this film, you'll need it. Every parent's nightmare is brought to life in this tale of a missing child... "Without A Trace." Kate Nelligan is WONDERFUL as the grieving mother who's hope is put to the test. This movie takes you on a journey of your emotions, from the discovery of the child's disappearance, the pain and agony of the mother, the sudden loss of hope, and the INCREDIBLE, heart-tugging ending that leaves you with the biggest smile and teary eyes. I have NEVER seen a more satisfying ending to ANY movie than this one. Every time I watch it, I cry all over. This movie will forever hold a dear place in my heart.

Should be mandatory viewing for all parents.

[CarpenterKen · 10/10 · 16 December 1998]

This film takes the viewer on an emotional roller-coaster. Don't know if I've ever cried harder or more frequently in a movie theater. Kate Nelligan is as good here as she is in "The Eye of the Needle."

Greatest ending of a movie from that time period or any period

[fortionat1 · 9/10 · 9 July 2020]

Today the movie looks like a early 80s movie - kinda grainy and definitely on film (which is a good thing compared to digital). The movie gets slow in the middle but overall the acting is very good, especially Judd Hirsch and Kate Nelligan and the final scenes with Danny Corkill playing the young boy Alex. It is heartbreaking. I saw it as a young adult in the 80s not being a parent yet. It was wrenching to the gut, the sadness of child abduction and fear of not knowing what has happened to your child as Kate showed so well in this movie. Re-watching it as a parent now it is even harder. (minor SPOILER) But even more rewarding in final scene. That is what makes this movie stand out among all movies, the so powerful ending. And it still holds up today (2020). I recommend this movie just for the outstanding final 15 minutes. Like other movies of the time that were kinda boring in the middle, ( or 70s movies The French Connection I & II), the final scenes more that make up and leave you quite satisfied.

Without A Trace- A Triumphant Film ****

[edwagreen · 10/10 · 23 January 2011]

Superb. One of the best films I've seen in a very long time.

Judd Hirsch and Kate Nelligan show what stuff good actors are made of by their outstanding performances as the police detective and mother of a kidnapped child. Their film chemistry is magnificent. They are ably supported by the late David Dukes, the estranged husband and father of the victim. Stockard Channing has a small but pivotal role as the friend who doesn't want this apparent tragedy to totally consume Nelligan. With those eyes of hers, she looks suspicious, not well-meaning.

The film pulls out all emotional stops and shows an engaging media, parent groups willing to help with posters and a terrific police department. As time goes on, interest in the case sizzles and is closed when a suspect, a cleaning man for the family, is arrested.

This film provides some intellectual taste as both Dukes and Nelligan are college professor, the former the head of the English Department, and she a member of the department at Columbia University.

This is definitely riveting drama at its best. The viewer is in for an emotional ride. As stated, Hirsch is terrific here as he lets his emotions run wild with him.

By the way, in these kind of cases, all leads must be pursued.

Without a Pace

[brefane · 2/10 · 30 June 2010]

Stanley R. Jaffe's sole directorial effort is a disappointingly tepid and meandering film. Based on the novel Still Missing, the story is eerily similar to the real life disappearance of Etan Patz who has never been found, and what should have been gripping and moving is a standard Lifetime Channel movie weighed down by dreary, predictable dialog, and characters and situations that feel gratuitous. Kate Nelligan's tightly controlled performance may leave you cold or worse; she is neither sympathetic nor likable, and her brooding become tiresome. Jaffe drags the pace until boredom prevails, and in a lackluster and largely unnecessary supporting cast only Keith McDermott scores a success while a frazzled Stockard Channing resembles a train wreck. And the out of left field happy ending is hokey and strangely unsatisfying.

Skip It!

A real tear jerker of a movie

[westsidedude2001 · 27 May 2003]

I can't believe that a movie could cause such an emotional upheaval in my body. I cried because the character development between the boy and his mother was very good. Judd Hirsch did a great job as the detective willing to go out on a limb for the mother. This was a good movie back in 1983 and still a good video to watch.

Excellent movie, every time I watch it!

[Susansgoldens · 10/10 · 1 July 2020]

Found the 1983 movie, Without a Trace on Starz tonight. Every time I watch this movie, and I've watched it many, many, I enjoy it as much as the first time I watched it. Kate Nelligan and Judd Hirsch were outstanding in their respective roles. From the time Alex is put into the car to head home in NYC,, the music swells, and it is heartwarming. The police, whatever jurisdiction they represented, "go along for the ride" in taking Alex from Bridgeport, back to New York. I actually replay the last few minutes of the movie over and over again to watch the drive back to NYC, and listen to the wonderful score. Why wasn't information about the music listed in the specs about the movie? Also, in Goofs, you list Susan not having her dog with her when she leaves Columbia, and during her walk home, the dog suddenly appears as she is tying the dog up outside the market.. She didn't have the books she was carrying at the market either. I don't consider that a goof. Obviously she stopped at her house, dropped off the books, and took the dog out and then to the market with her.

Oh Nelligan...

[tony-colasurdo · 10/10 · 21 September 2021]

Her performance from 1983 - has remained in my mind as one of the most powerful and memorable of all- and I have seen plenty.

I am writing this as i am rewatching the final scene.

Don't miss this. It's a gem that you very rarely see and will stay with you.

It looks slow and forgettable but stick with it

[bellino-angelo2014 · 8/10 · 15 July 2023]

I was curious about WITHOUT A TRACE because it's a forgotten movie and also because there was a TV show with the same title but they are not related. Last April I finally saw it and while it was slow in the first half, in the second half it gained steam.

Susan Selky (Kate Nelligan) is an English professor at Columbia university that lives with her son Alex. One day Susan sees Alex going to school: he waves to the mom and disappears around the corner. After work Susan returns home and she becomes increasingly allarmed when the time passes and the son doesn't return. The situation becomes more desperate when Susan calls her friend Jocelyn Norris (Stockhard Channing) since her son attends the same school and Jocelyn informs Susan that Alex never went to school that day. After lots of investigations by Lieutenant Menetti (Judd Hirsch) Alex will be found in the home of a guy with a disabled mother so that the kid could have been an helping hand, and then Alex will be returned to his mother.

The first minutes didn't looked that bad but after the kid disappeared and the investigations started it became slow and I was tempted to give it a 5. But thanks to the second half the movie became great again and I re-started to liking it. The acting by Kate Nelligan and Stockhard Channing was good and the ending so touching that I think this movie is worth seeing just for that.

Who new kidnapping could be so bland?

[benryan423 · 3/10 · 22 December 2014]

What a meh of a movie! Although it's good for a good sob. Kate Nelligan maintains a single expression throughout: pursed-lipped, blanked-faced concern. A highlight is a climactic speech given by Stockard Channing as she sports an 80s shag perm so frizzy she looks to have just been electrocuted, an effect belied by the fact that she spends the whole emotional scene calmly stirring her finger in a bottle of Tab. The film ultimately struck home for me, however, because all the appliances in the film were vintage Reagan era and exactly the same I had at home as a kid, down to the analog clock on the oven and the absence of a microwave. All and all a dull, yet somehow still engrossingly forgettable film that jumped the early wave of post-Etan Patz/Steve Stayner kidnapping hysteria!

Very Good

[jmorrison-2 · 24 July 2002]

A bit contrived, yes, but exceptional performances by Judd Hirsch and Kate Nelligan. The pain and desperation just radiates from Nelligan. As a father, I can't even imagine what it must have took to just keep functioning.

The ending is emotionally thrilling. if you don't have an enormous lump in your throat, and tears in your eyes.......