Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure (1989)

Patty Duke, Beau Bridges, Tom Christopher, Mark Davenport, Tim De Zarn ... see more  , Carmen Filpi , Bo Foxworth , Robin Frates , Robin Gammell , Michele Harrell , Pat Hingle , Don Hood , Whip Hubley , Jessie Jones , Molly McClure , Will Oldham , Walter Olkewicz , Jack Rader , Rudy Ramos , Nancy Stephens , Guy Stockwell , Dale Swann , Mills Watson , Hank Woessner , Roxana Zal , Daryl Anderson , Dean Abston , Kate Finlayson , Scott Fults , Connie Evans , Bill Brochtrup

Those who think that you can't make a suspense movie out of a true-life story wherein everybody knows the outcome are referred to the made-for-TV Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure. Jessi... read more ca, of course, was the 18-month-old Texas girl who fell down an abandoned well in October of 1987. As the world looks on in anguish, the local fire chief (Pat Hingle) and police chief (Beau Bridges) supervise the efforts to rescue Jessica from her 22-foot-deep prison. The film effectively squeezes the 58 hours of the original incident into two, allotting plenty of time for a surface-level subplot involving the efforts of a Victim's Assistance Program volunteer (Patty Duke) to reassure Jessica's parents. In keeping with Hollywood child-labor requirements, little Jessica McClure is played by twin girls, Laura and Jennifer Loesch. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi