Savannah Still Smiles A Celebration of Bridgette Anderson

Bridgette from the movie "Savannah Smiles".

Savannah Still Smiles
A Celebration of
Bridgette Andersen

Home Page

Biography

Filmography

Photo Gallery

Links

Contact Info

Filmography

Below is a list of the movies that Bridgette made between 1982 and 1987. The information given for each movie includes a brief synopsis of the story, the role Bridgette played in the movie plus a personal review of the movie.

This symbol next to a movie title indicates that the movie is still available for purchase. Click this symbol to display the movie page at the location where the movie can be purchased. Also see the Links section for more information on finding Bridgette's movies.

Role Notes:
Bridgette is number eight on the credited cast list and plays Jenny.

Role Notes:
Bridgette is number fifteen on the credited cast list and plays Mae West at age 7.

Role Notes:
Bridgette is number three on the credited cast list and plays Savannah, one of the main characters of the story.

Savannah is the only child of a wealthy politician, Richard Driscoll (played by Chris Robinson) who is more concerned with his image and career than with his family. When Savannah's birthday cake is shared only by the maid, she decides to run away. Having an upcoming overnight stay with one of her cousins (played by Savannah Miller), Savannah packs a bag and slips it unnoticed into her aunt's car.

Meanwhile, two bungling criminals named Alvie (played by Mark Miller who also wrote the screenplay) and Boots (played by Donovan Scott) are on the loose. Having tried to rob a store and failed miserably, they decide to try something simpler - like stealing purses from unsuspecting women at a park.

On the way home, Savannah's aunt stops at a park to allow the girls to play. Yep, you guessed it - same park where Alvie and Boots are. At the park, Savannah slips off, gets her bag from her aunt's car and hides in one of the cars parked at the park. Yep, you guessed it again - Boot's car. After stealing a purse, Boots and Alvie leave the park (unaware that Savannah is hiding in the back seat). When Alvie throws an ice cream cone out the window, it strikes a policeman, who then pulls the car over. However, when he sees that they have their "daughter" with them, he lets them go with only a warning. Surprised at having Savannah in the car, Boots and Alvie try to decide what to do with her. However, intent on not returning home, Savannah refuses to tell them her name or where she lives. So, they have no choice but to take her back to their hideout.

The next day, Savannah's disappearance is in the newspapers and a $100,000 reward is offered for her safe return. Alvie now sees a chance to make a lot of money legally, but he and Boots are afraid that the police will assume they kidnapped her for the money. They decide to keep her a little longer so they can figure out how to collect the money and not be caught or charged with kidnapping.

Savannah quickly wins Boots over with her wit and charm. Alvie too comes to love her and the concern turns towards getting her safely home - even without collecting the money. Savannah is also won over by Boots and Alvie because of all of the attention they give her (including a picnic in the mountains where they have a lot of fun).

Meanwhile, Savannah's father has hired a hard-nosed detective (played by Peter Graves) to find her. He eventually tracks her down to the hideout and convinces the local police the only way to get her back is to have a sharp shooter pick off both Boots and Alvie. When this fails, Boots, Alvie and Savannah escape the police and hide out in the mountains.

Alvie contacts Savannah's father and tells him that they are not interested in the reward money and that their only concern is Savannah's safe return. However, Savannah's father seems convinced that it is in his best political interest to say nothing to the police and to let the police handle it with guns. Savannah's mother finally speaks up in defense of Savannah's safety.

As this conversation takes place, the detective tracks down Savannah and the criminals - still intent on killing Boots and Alvie to ensure Savannah's safe return. In a final showdown, Savannah's parents, the police, Boots, Alvie and Savannah all come together on the mountain. In a tense moment, Savannah is finally returned to her parents and Boots and Alvie are captured alive. in the closing moments, Savannah expresses her love for Boots and Alvie as her father looks on, embarrassed by being upstaged by these two criminals.

Movie review:
Savannah Smiles is a warm and touching movie. It shows that a child needs warmth, attention and love as much as or more than material things and that even the hardest criminal can be won over by a loving child. All of the acting is well played, especially Bridgette. The story is extremely well done with bits of humor, fun, drama and suspense all occurring at just the right time. While the ending is fairly predictable, it nonetheless manages to keep you on the edge of your seat. This movie is highly recommended for audiences of all ages.

For her performance in Savannah Smiles, Bridgette won the BEST YOUNG MOTION PICTURE ACTRESS award at the Fourth Annual Young Artist Awards Years: 1981-1982. Click here to see more.

Role Notes:
Bridgette is number three on the credited cast and plays Gretel, one of the main characters of the story.

This is the traditional story of two children (played by Bridgette and Ricky Schroder) who are left in the woods by their poor wood-cuter father and mean stepmother. The children find a gingerbread house owned by what seems to be a kind old woman. However, they soon learn that the old woman is a witch and intends to eat Hansel as soon as she fattens him up.

When the witch heats up the oven to cook Hansel, Gretel tricks the old woman and pushes her into the oven. With the witch dead, the children are free to return to their father, who regrets abandoning then and is very happy to see them.

Movie review:
This is an enjoyable movie, even for adults. The acting is well played and the props (the wood-cutter's house, the gingerbread house, etc.) are well done. This is not a particularly happy story (as most of the Faerie Tale Theatre stories are) and the drama may actually be too intense for some small children.

This movie is a good example of how Bridgette was able to convey so much with just a simple expression. At one point in the movie, where the children have been lost for some time and are very hungry, Hansel finds a cherry. The scene that plays out over the next few seconds would have taken a lot of dialog had it been verbal. However, Gretel's expression tells us more than many lines of dialog could have. Hansel pauses only briefly, then gives the cherry to Gretel. Her expression of gratitude tells us more than any words could have. Bridgette's ability to convincingly express a wide range of emotions is one of the traits that made her such a fine actress. This movie is highly recommended for all Bridgette fans and for older children.

Role Notes:
Bridgette is number thirty on the credited cast list and plays Brooke Houston in the segment "Night of the Rat".

This is a series of four short stories, each around 20 to 30 minutes long. The fourth story, entitled "Night of the Rat" features Bridgette as the daughter of a family that encounters a large (5 feet long) rat. In the story, the husband, Steven (played by Richard Masur) sets a trap for rats in their attic because the wife, Claire (played by Veronica Cartwright) complains of hearing rats.

Soon after a rat of normal size is caught, strange things happen in the house including evidence of some large creature chewing through wires and creating large holes in the walls. The large rat eventually shows itself. After corning Brooke in her bedroom, the rat somehow manages to communicate that it only wants its baby back. Steven retrieves the killed rat from the trash can and gives it to the large rat, which then leaves through a window.

Bridgette has several short scenes throughout the story, but her total on-screen time is pretty limited. Her character has minimal development. However, for hard-core Bridgette fans this is worthwhile just because she does have several short scenes.

Movie review:
Most of the stories in the movie are enjoyable, with the segment about the escaped murder ("Terror in Topango") being the most dramatic. The section that Bridgette is in ("Night of the Rat") is unfortunately, the least entertaining. The bickering between the husband and wife seems to be added as fluff in order to extend the segment to a reasonable length and there are just too many unbelievable events that happen (such as the rat using mental telepathy to tell Bridgette that it "wanted it's baby back"). Rather than having the husband and wife bicker so much, the time could have been better spent focusing on Bridgette and providing a little more development of her character. This movie is recommended for hard core Bridgette fans and fans of B-grade horror films.

Role Notes:
Bridgette is number three on the credited cast list and plays Jill, one of the main characters of the story.

This is a story about an eight-year-old boy named Toby Wyler (played by Sean Justin Gerlis), his sister Jill (Bridgette) and an orangutan named Casey. Toby is deaf due to having meningitis at a young age and is having trouble adjusting to a new step-father who does not understand sign language and who believes Toby could talk if he only tried. Jill generally ends up having to be a translator between Toby and his step-dad.

Casey is not an ordinary orangutan. He is highly intelligent and has been trained to communicate using sign language. While being transported, an accident allows Casey to escape into the wild where he eventually finds his way into the back of a large truck that Toby's step-dad is driving. Of course, Toby's step-dad does not believe him when he says he saw a "gorilla" in the back of the truck.

Arriving back home, Casey again escapes into the wild, but is soon drawn to the Wyler home by the sound of the Sesame Street record that Jill likes to play. Casey soon makes his way into the kids tree house where Jill and Toby discover that he understands sign language and can "talk" using sign language. The kids decide not to tell their parents - after all who would believe they had found a "talking gorilla"?.

Toby and Jill soon form a special relationship with Casey and the three have many fun adventures. That is, until the parents find Casey and call the local police who tranquilize him and give him to a local circus for safekeeping. The circus owner does not appreciate Casey's special skills and sees him only as a new attraction for his circus.

The circus has a real gorilla named Mighty Max, who is ill due to mistreatment by the circus owner. Jill and Toby attempt to rescue Casey from the circus, but the rescue attempt ends in the kids getting caged with Casey and Mighty Max severely injuring the circus owner and escaping.

Meanwhile, the police inform Casey's owner, Dolly, of Casey's recovery. The police, Dolly and the kid's parents all show up at the circus to rescue Casey and the kids. Toby and Casey decide to find Mighty Max before the police shoot him and they escape using a clown's miniature car.

That evening, Toby and Casey find Mighty Max in the local woods. The police, along with Toby's parents, Jill and Dolly soon arrive on the scene. One of the policemen wounds Mighty Max and Casey, upset by Mighty Max being shot, wrestles the policeman to the ground. Shots fired in the air chase Casey away. Toby's step-dad convinces the police to let Toby call to Casey rather than chasing him. Casey responds to Toby's calls and returns to Toby and Dolly. Toby, seeing that his step-dad does trust him and have faith in him and the Step-dad, seeing that Toby is finally willing to talk, reconcile their differences.

In the end, Mighty Max recovers from his wounds and Dolly tells the kids that they are now "family" and can see Casey anytime.

Movie review:
This is a truly wonderful film for the entire family. After all, what kid wouldn't want a "gorilla" for a friend who could protect him from bullies and play with him? The acting is superb: "Casey" seems truly to understand and communicate and Bridgette seems totally comfortable communicating in sign language. Just as note, Sean Gerlis (who plays Toby) is deaf in real life, so using sign language is natural for him. Bridgette's ability to naturally say her lines vocally and by simultaneously using sign language is another tribute to this actresses' amazing talent and skill. This movie is highly recommended for audiences of all ages.

Role Notes:
Bridgette is number four on the credited cast list and plays Amy, Steve Taggart's (Ryan O'Neal) daughter.

This is the story of a newspaper sports writer (Ryan O'Neal) named Steve Taggart. An assignment to write about sports gambling turns into an obsession that costs him a lot of money, a few friends and his wife (in a flashback scene we find out that she died in a car accident while trying to rush money to him to bail him out of a gambling debt).

The story follows Taggart as he goes further into debt, gambles money he does not have, gets beat up by the Dutchman's thugs, associates with some big-time gamblers and even convinces a star football player (who is also in major debt) to throw a game. When he hits bottom, he finally admits to the newspaper that he has a gambling problem and joins Gamblers Anonymous.

Having sworn off gambling, he visits one of the casinos to say goodbye to a friend. On his way out, he passes a "Bet a Buck for God" slot machine and makes a bet. He wins several thousand dollars which he then considers to be a sign from God that his luck has changed.

Using this money, he again begins to gamble in order to pay off the $89,000 debt he has run up. However, this time, luck is with him and he quickly wins enough money to pay off the debt. Having finally gotten out of debt, he then totally swears off gambling.

Only a few of the scenes actually include his daughter, Amy. She first appears about 20 minutes into the story where she has a several minute scene. She has three or four more short scenes. Her total on-screen time is perhaps 10 minutes, but even then some of this time is focused on Taggart.

Movie Review:
This is an interesting look at the world of gambling and how it affects the lives of millions of people. At times, it is almost like a documentary as we follow this sports writer into the world of gambling where he talks with the casino owners, gamblers and loan sharks in order to get information for his newspaper series. However, the part where he wins back $89,000 in a very short time is completely unrealistic. This movie is recommended for fans of Ryan O'Neal and for gambling enthusiasts. And of course, hard core Bridgette fans will enjoy the few short scenes that Bridgette does have.

Role Notes:
Bridgette is number four on the credited cast list and plays Mary Grand.

Role Notes:
Bridgette is number four on the credited cast list and plays Kate Petherton, the daughter of Val Petherton.

As the title implies, this is a story about Val Petherton (played by Farrah Fawcett) and her mother-in-law Barbara Petherton (played by Colleen Dewhurst). Nearly all of the on-screen time focuses on their relationship. It is really a pretty simple story line: Val marries Harry Petherton (played by Michael Nouri). Harry's mom, Barbara is not very accepting of Val and constantly creates trouble for them. Barbara has a stroke, is nursed by Val (because Harry can't stand to be around his mother), and Val and Barbara form a strong bond just before Barbara dies.

To make the story a little more interesting, it is told in a series of flashbacks, presented in a seemingly arbitrary order. Some of these flashbacks include Val's daughter, Kate (Bridgette). Her first appearance is about twenty minutes into the story. She has several short scenes after this, but total on-screen time is pretty limited.

Note: One of the flashback scenes includes Bridgette's younger sister, Angelica. She has a very brief appearance as the family prepares to enter a hotel. The scene was intended to be when Kate was a small child, so Angelica was used.

Unless you are really into woman-to-woman relationships, this movie has a tendency to be pretty dull and uninteresting. The attempt to add interest by presenting the story in a series of seemingly unrelated flashbacks only adds confusion because these are presented in a non-sequential order. Recommended only for hard-core fans of the starring actors. Of course, if you are a hard-core Bridgette fan, then it is worthwhile just because she does have several short scenes.

Had a role in an independent film called Locker 28. The movie has never been released.

This web site is provided courtesy of The Starlets Database.
Copyright 2001 - The Starlets Database. All rights reserved.
Please do not copy text from this web site. Feel free to link directly
to any page on this site or to use any of the pictures here.