History Film / SavannahSmiles

Alvie and Boots, a pair of crooks on the run, end up with six-year-old Savannah Driscoll hiding in their car. Savannah is an over-imaginative girl who feels neglected by her parents and wanting to leave home. A reward is posted for her, which, being fugitives, Alvie and Boots can't legally claim. This causes them to refuse to return Savannah while still trying to negotiate for the reward/ransom, even as both men begin to genuinely care for the girl. Although a fairly comedic family film, the story does have dramatic and/or tragic elements with the situation of Alvie and Boots.

* AdorablyPrecociousChild: Savannah, who is quick to believe the best of people and quickly has Boots playing Cinderella with her.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Alvie and Boots, given Boots' determination to break Alvie out of jail, how they stick with each other even through circumstances which would really make it preferable for one to leave, and for the fact that neither ever seems to show any attraction towards a woman. The word choice when Boots asks Alvie how he'd feel in the Driscoll's shoes if "it was our kid" missing is also somewhat interesting.

* DramaticIrony: At the beginning of the movie, Boots is the one who gets Alvie into trouble and makes him into a bigger offender with the jailbreak, while later on Alvie is the one getting them into worse trouble by wanting to keep Savnnah prisoner while Boots wants to just send her home.

* GenreSavvy: Boots realizes how a kidnapping situation will have bad consequences for them, and must be hard on her family, and keeps trying to convince Alvie to send Savannah home.
* GoodShepherd: Father O'Hara, who makes sure to be there for the Driscoll's, and in the last act of the movie, Savannah, while also working to help Alvie surrender peacefully without being hurt at the end.

* HeroAntagonist: Harland Dobbs is rigorous in his pursuit of the kidnappers, and while he doesn't necessarily believe the worst of them, he is willing to consider it, and prefers to err on the side of caution in those assumptions and is quick to point out that whether they intentionally took her or not, their legally guilty of kidnapping for refusing to give her back without being paid. He is trying to recover a kidnapped child though, seems to view Savannah's predicament as more than just a job, and does show some softer sentiments towards Alvie and Boots by the end of the movie.
* IrishPriest: Subverted with Father O'Hara, whose actor is actually Japanese.

* PrisonBreak: The film begins with Boots rescuing his old friend Alvie from a prison work gang only for Alvie to angrily tell him he was about to come up for parole, as he is forced to go with Boots when the guards start shooting.
* PrivateInvestigator: Harland Dobbs, who is hired by the Driscoll's to help get Savannah back, although he's more of a team player with the police than most versions of this trope.

* StupidCrooks: Alvie and Boots' fails attempted robberies prior to ending up with Savannah (and some of their antics afterwards) scream this trope.

* StupidCrooks: Alvie and Boots' fails attempted robberies prior to ending up with Savannah (and some of their antics afterwards) scream this trope.

Alvie and Boots, a pair of crooks on the run, end up with six year-old Savannah Driscoll hiding in their car. Savannah is an over imaginative girl who feels neglected by her parents and wanting to leave home. A rewards is posted for her, which, being fugitives, Alvie and Boots can't legally claim. This causes them to refuse to return Savannah while still trying to negotiate for the reward/ransom, even as both men begin to genuinely care for the girl. Although a fairly comedic family film, the story does have dramatic and/or tragic elements with the situation of Alvie and Boots.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Savannah_Smiles.jpg]]

Alvie and Boots, a pair of crooks on the run, end up with six year-old Savannah Driscoll. Savannah is an over imaginative girl who feels neglected by her parents and wanting to leave home. A rewards is posted for her, which, being fugitives, Alvie and Boots can't legally claim. This causes them to refuse to return Savannah while still trying to negotiate for the reward/ransom, even as both men begin to genuinely care for the girl. Although a fairly comedic family film, the story does have dramatic and/or tragic elements with the situation of Alvie and Boots.

* AdorablyPrecociousChild /TheCutie: Savannah, who is quick to believe the best of people and quickly has Boots playing Cinderella with her.

* BittersweetEnding: Alvie and Boots are arrested and will probably spend a long time in prison for something that (in Boots case) he wanted no part of from the beginning, but both are better men for their experiences, and Savannah still feels close towards the two, while her mother finally seems to have decided to leave her father, which is implied to be better for Savannah.

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Savannah, her cousin (who she plays with shortly before running away), and even her mother (who does ''want'' to be there for her more and seems to have decided to be at the end) are all fundamentally good blonde-haired people.

* LimaSyndrome: Boots and Alvie develop a strong case of this, and go out of their way to provide gun experiences with Savannah. The fact that they weren't intentionally trying to kidnap her in the first place helps.

* PreciousPuppy: While buying ice cream for Savannah in one scene, the vendor offers Alvie a free puppy, which he gives to a delighted Savannah, who is with the puppy for most of the rest of the movie.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The police officers involved in the investigation treat it with proper seriousness and sympathy while at the same time being willing to accept/consider that Alvie and Boots didn't mean to kidnap Savannah.
* StupidCrooks: Alvie and Boots' attempted crimes prior to ending up with Savannah (and some of their antics afterwards) scream this trope.

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Savannah, her cousin (who she plays with shortly before running away), and even her mother (who does ''want'' to be there for her more and seems to have decided to be at the end) are all fundamentally good people.

* HeroAntagonist: Harland Dobbs is rigorous in his pursuit of the kidnappers, and while he doesn't necessarily belie the worst of them, he is willing to consider it, and prefers to err on the side of caution in those assumptions and is quick to point out that whether they intentionally took her or not, their legally guilty of kidnapping for refusing to give her back without being paid. He is trying to recover a kidnapped child though, seems to view Savannah's predicament as more than just a job, and does show some softer sentiments towards Alvie and Boots by the end of the movie.

* PrisonBreak: The film begins with Boots rescuing his old friend Alvie form a prison work gang only for Alvie to angrily tell him he was about to come up for parole, but be forced to go with him as the guards start shooting.

* HeroAntagonist: Harland Dobbs is rigorous in his pursuit of the kidnappers, and while he doesn't necessarily belie the worst of them, he is willing to consider it, and prefers to err on the side of caution in those assumptions. He is trying to recover a kidnapped child though, seems to view Savannah's predicament as more than just a job, and does show some softer sentiments towards Alvie and Boots by the end of the movie.