![]() He even spent a short time in Los Angeles working with legendary producer Jack Harris on the 1958 horror picture, “The Blob.” Doughten partnered with Donald Thompson, who had been involved with writing short films for General Motors. This was already happening through 16mm educational films that kids saw during Sunday school, but Doughten wanted to make something much more dynamic.ĭoughten was both a Drake and Yale alumni, having studied drama at both universities. It actually goes back to the late 1960s with a man named Russ Doughten from Carlisle who saw an opportunity to produce evangelical Christian/faith-based films and distribute them through church organizations to be used as learning tools. as Rev.Scenes from “A Thief in the Night.” Courtesy of Mark IV/Heartland Productions.ĭes Moines’ forgotten history includes the making of feature-length Christian films in the 1970s. Connie is an agent of the Beast who pretends to cooperate with Dave. While the plot is a bit difficult to understand, Dave's purpose seems to be 1) to develop a fake mark so that a person can buy and sell without using the actual Beast's mark and 2) to destroy the master computer of the Beast by injecting into it a destructive code, which in fact is the song, "Onward Christian Soldiers." The story is presented with action scenes and interspersed long conversations. She runs, goes down into an underground room and meets Dave there. Leslie is with Patty at the guillotine (waiting her turn), when she escapes due to the eschatological earthquake. The 3rd and 4th films are spliced on to the ending of the second film, but begin a rather new story, that of Dave, Leslie, and Connie. But it ends dramatically with Patty witnessing her friend Wenda being executed, and arguing with Wenda's younger sister Sandy (who, along with Jerry and Diane, urges Patty to take the mark) who betrayed them - and being prepped for her own execution. The plot is somewhat hard to understand in the second film because the story of Patty is told in flashbacks within flashbacks. In the ensuing plot the questions are 1) will she be caught (as in her dream she was caught), and 2) will she take the mark to escape execution. Traumatized and distraught, Patty realizes that the Rapture has indeed occurred and she's been left behind. Horrified, Patty frantically searches for her family only to find them missing too. ![]() Her relief is short-lived when the radio announces that millions of people have disappeared. Patty then awakens, this time for real, and realizes that all she had experienced was only a dream. Patty escapes but is cornered by UNITE on a bridge, and falls from the bridge to her death(in the dream state). Patty desperately tries to avoid the law and the mark but is captured by UNITE. A government system called UNITE ( United Nations Imperium of Total Emergency) is set up and those who do not receive the mark identifying them with UNITE will be arrested. Gradually, Patty realizes that the Rapture, an event some interpret from the Bible, has happened and she and everyone else left behind are entering into the Great Tribulation, the last days of Earth, dominated by the Antichrist. One morning, she awakens to find that her family and millions of others have suddenly disappeared. She refuses to believe the warnings of her friends and family that she will go through the Great Tribulation if she does not accept Jesus. Patty Jo Myers is a young woman who considers herself a Christian because she occasionally reads her Bible and goes to church regularly, where the pastor is really an unbeliever. The chief conflict is whether or not Patty will take the Mark of the Beast or not, in the face of the threat of execution by the forces of the Beast. ![]() The first two films out of the four in the series, concern Patty and her two female friends. This film is the first in a sequence of four.
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