No One Would Tell (1996 film)

No One Would Tell
DVD cover
Genre	Drama Teen Thriller Sport Crime Biography
Written by	Steven Loring
Directed by	Noel Nosseck
Starring	Candace Cameron Fred Savage Michelle Phillips
Theme music composer	Michael Tavera
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Artie Mandelberg Randy Sutter
Cinematography	Paul Maibaum
Editor	Michael Brown
Running time	96 minutes
Production companies	Frank & Bob Films II Hallmark Entertainment von Zerneck-Sertner Films
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	May 6, 1996 (1996-05-06)

No One Would Tell is a 1996 American teen crime drama television film directed by Noel Nosseck from an original script by Steven Loring. The film premiered on NBC on May 6, 1996. It is based on the true story of 14-year-old Amy Carnevale, who was physically abused and murdered by her 16-year-old boyfriend Jamie Fuller, on August 23, 1991, in Beverly, Massachusetts. A remake debuted on Lifetime on September 16, 2018.

Plot

At North High School (Phoenix, Arizona), 16-year-old Stacy Collins has had a secret romantic interest in classmate Bobby Tennison for two years. At an after-school wrestling match, Bobby notices her. One night, at a pizza parlor, Bobby approaches Stacy and invites her to one of his wrestling practices after school. Bobby then invites Stacy and her friends Nicki and Val along to a late night lake party. There, Bobby and Stacy sneak off, and in the ensuing conversation, learn that their fathers abandoned them. Meanwhile Stacy’s mom, Laura, is dating Rod, an emotionally abusive. Stacy often urges Laura to leave him, to no avail.

Bobby eventually starts showing possessive behavior. When friends try to join in a study session between Stacy and Bobby, he chastises her for inviting them. He also refuses to allow Stacy to meet Laura. According to Bobby, Stacy must be home at night when he calls. He also does not want Stacy to hang out with anyone when they are together. He occasionally apologizes after getting mad at her, says that he loves her, and gives her gifts to show his remorse, like a bracelet and roses.

One day, Nicki and Stacy go shopping and Stacy reveals bruises on her back. They come from the night Stacy lost her virginity to Bobby. At school, boys start to notice Stacy after Nicki convinces her to wear a mid-thigh length skirt. Eventually, a male student compliments Stacy. Outraged, Bobby later tells Stacy that she looks like a slut and forces her to wear his track pants for the rest of the day. She tries to explain that she was only dressing up for him, but he becomes more furious and slams her into a wall which worries his coach and other wrestlers present. The coach considers reporting the incident, but Stacy defends Bobby by saying she “slipped”. Stacy does not help decorate the school gym for a dance because Bobby has limited her time with friends. Bobby's cousin, Donna, tells Nicki that his last girlfriend Tracy changed schools after being hit by him. Nicki later notices more bruises on Stacy's arm. Stacy, frustrated, shuts Nicki down and assures her that she can take care of herself.

By accident, while shopping, Stacy meets Bobby's mother. After catching them talking to each other, Bobby slams Stacy into a truck and prohibits her from talking to his mom. Upset, Stacy refuses to see Bobby again. Bobby, however, sneaks into her house after Laura goes out with Rod. He coaxes Stacy back into a relationship by relating to her with stories of his estranged dad, who was an abusive alcoholic. They later attend the dance. They are happy, until he sees her talking to another boy. Bobby pulls her outside into the parking lot and slaps her.

Nicki confronts Stacy about this, but Stacy defends Bobby, saying that he has been through a lot. Returning home, Stacy hears Laura arguing with Rod and decides to stay at Nicki's house. Laura then calls Stacy, saying that she ended things with Rod. Stacy ends her relationship with Bobby, as well. She later gets invited to a birthday party next Saturday night with all her friends. There, another mutual friend, Carla calls Bobby, with whom she is in love, trying to make plans with him. He asks to talk to Stacy and offers to pick her up and have her hang out at his place. He invites Carla too. At his place, he accuses Stacy of being with another guy and slaps her again. In private, he kisses Carla and says that if anyone asks, it was just him and Stacy there and that they fought and she ran out.

Later that night, Bobby, accompanied by friend Vince, convinces Stacy to get in his car for a ride. He drives them to the lake and walks off with her to be alone while Vince waits in the car. The next day, it is reported that she is missing.

When asked, Bobby claims that Stacy and him had a fight and she ran out. Laura and Nicky go out searching for her. Laura suspects that Bobby was involved in Stacy's disappearance, especially after finding Stacy's purse in his room. Bobby convinces her that he is concerned about Stacy and enlists everyone to help look for her. Meanwhile, Nicki interrogates Carla, who only says what Bobby told her to say. Accompanied by Laura, Nicki goes to the police, informing Laura and Detective Anderson about how abusive Stacy's relationship was. Carla later admits that Bobby and Vince took Stacy to the lake.

Anderson gets an anonymous tip from Vince telling him to “go out by the lake”. By the lake, Anderson finds a flower washed up by the shore. Bobby and Vince get arrested and Bobby blames Stacy's disappearance on Vince. Vince, on the other hand, admits that Bobby was the one last seen with her. Vince is free to go. When Anderson confronts Bobby, showing the flower, he realizes he is cornered and admits that he slit her throat when she refused to resume their relationship.

Stacy's body is found in the lake, wrapped in a trash bag bound and tied down with cinder blocks. A court trial follows, with the district attorney asking everyone if they ever saw Bobby hit Stacy. Carla, Donna and other classmates admit that they did, but figured she would leave him eventually.

Nicki mentions how she wanted to oust Bobby, but was afraid of losing Stacy's friendship. He is eventually found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The judge later remembers everyone to tell someone if they ever see a friend being abused.

Later, a distraught Nicki cries, wishing that she acted sooner to have saved her. Nicki and Tony later leave roses by the lake.

Cast

• Candace Cameron Bure as Stacy Collins
• Fred Savage as Robert "Bobby" Tennison
• Michelle Phillips as Laura Collins
• Ben Savage as David Lawrence
• Gregory Alan Williams as Detective Anderson
• Heather McComb as Nicki
• Mario Lopez as Eddie
• Justina Machado as Val Cho
• Eric Balfour as Vince Fortner
• Rodney Eastman as Tony Dinardo
• Tiana Marie Brown as Emily Stone
• Martha Romo as Carla
• Paige Moss as Donna
• Steve Smith as Steve McGuire
• Sally Jessy Raphael as the Judge

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics, but Candace Cameron Bure and Heather McComb were praised for their acting performances.

Remake

Main article: No One Would Tell (2018 film)

The film was remade by Lifetime, with Shannen Doherty as Laura Collins, Matreya Scarrwener as Sarah Collins, and Callan Potter as Rob Tennison, and premiered on September 16, 2018.

External links

• No One Would Tell at IMDb