What happened to Leanne?

She's there in the background kneeling down and packing a case.

I watched the movie again yesterday, and it actually deepens the mystery of Leanne's disappearance.

Leanne is not shown in the sequence at the pool. In fact, as the scene opens Sally, the teacher, tells Sue, the younger girl, to pack all the food in the case. This is strange because Sue had left her case back at the school while Leanne had brought her's along. Now Leanne is gone, and Sue is in charge of the case.

And that is not Leanne shown, but Sue with the case.

And again I repeat: Leanne is not shown after they all strip to their underwear.

Even more strange, when they all emerge from the cave both Leanne and Sue are carrying cases.

Btw, I guess these cases are what in America we call lunch boxes.

Blaine in Seattle

Leanne is there, crouched down behind Norelle
Look at de image
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/MaNoMaNiA/leanne.jpg

I have re-checked my DVD, and I still do not see Leanne. If she is shown in some scenes it is very brief.

Indeed, the mystery deepens. If you go back you will see that when the children are first being put in the van Leanne has her case-what we Americans call a lunch box I guess. But Sue the younger girl does not, and she tries to go back for it, but the baddies stop her. Then later when they are first in the cave, when the children begin to eat their lunches Leanne opens her case, but Sue still does not have one. So it is especially strange that when they are then first beside the pool, Sally Jones, the teacher, tells Sue-not Leanne!- to open her case. This despite the fact that the movie earlier has twice made clear that Sue does not have a case.

Later when the girls begin swimming out you see Sue in only her underpants swimming. Indeed, all the other 8 kids are clearly shown swimming out, some more than once. EXCEPT Leanne.

Again, I cannot see Leanne anywhere. If you do and are correct, they can be only very brief headshots. It does not vitiate my point that Leanne plays no part in the escape. But when they all emerge from the cave fully dressed Leanne is in the group again and carrying a case. And strangely Sue is also now carrying a case as well.

All the other children are plainly visible in the escape from the cave and indeed are shown clearly several times. The other 3 girls-Norelle, Sue and Sarah are shown several times as are the 5 boys. All are clearly visible, except Leanne.

Blaine in Seattle

The other two posters here have so confused my point I will set it straight.

There are 4 girls in Sally Jones' little school. Norelle is the oldest; she looks abvout 16. Sarah is the youngest; she wears a skirt.

The two middle girls are Leanne and Sue. Leanne wears a green shirt with buttons and bluejeans. She looks about 11 or 12. Sue is the younger and smaller; she looks about age 10. She wears a purple sweater and whitish/yellowish pants. She has a ponytail while Leanne's hair merely hangs down.

During the abduction Sue forgets her "case". The other 8 children have their cases or sachels, which also contain their lunches.

When the chidren escape through the tunnel there is a clear shot of Leanne from behind wearing her green shirt.

However, when they reach the pool Leanne disappears. Sue is shown many times during this sequence. At first you see her dressed. Sally tells her: "Sue, collect all the food and put it in one of the cases".

There is one possible frame or two of someone beginning to undress. The jersey is greenish, but it does not appear to be a skirt but a jersey. But even if Leanne is shown it is fully dressed. Nowhere does she appear in her underwear.

Then Sue is shown several times wearing only her panties beside the pool.

Then Sue in shown swimming underwater. It is clearly her because you see her ponytail and her face.

Then Sue is shown several times on the opposite bank still wearing only her panties.

Leanne appears in none of these sequences.
There are several clear shots of the other 8 chidren standing on the bank in their underwear. You can see each distinctly. There is no-I repeat no- clear shot of Leanne.

When the children swim underwater you can see each of the other 8 children distinctly. But Leanne is not among them. I repeat you do not see Leanne swimming.

As the children reach the safety of the other shore again you can see each of the other 8 children distinctly. Again, there is no Leanne shown.

However when the children emerge from the cave into daylight Leanne, fully dressed, re-appears with the group. {Only now she is wearing a red jacket; where did that come from?}. She and Sue are each carrying a case now.

The other two posters here have vivid imaginations, but have not watched the movie very closely.

Blaine in Seattle

I have watched the movie several times, and I have yet to see Leanne. And my DVD player works fine. In fact I have watched the movie on two different DVD players.

Moreover, the argument that Leanne may be briefly seen either dressed or supposedly undressed behind another child re-enforces the point I am making. Leanne is not shown in any of the three crucial and extended scenes, viz. standing in underwear at the edge of the pool, swimming or on the opposite shore.

If a viewer has to use a microscope to find her it is hardly evidence that she is in the crucial scenes. There are several brief scenes where one or more of the children is seen obscurely in the background. They may or may not be Leanne.

If Leanne is supposedly shown in the preparatory scene it is so brief as to be meaningless to the average viewer.

Indeed if Leanne did appear however briefly at the beginning of the escape scenes, it would favor my first possible explanation. Beth Buchanan, who played Leanne, was just of an age when girls become very modest. The two younger girls and Norelle had no problem with their semi-nude scenes. So I think it is most likely the director agreed to not show Leanne in those scenes, especially as the typical movie-goer would not notice or care anyway.

The rise of the VHS and even more the DVD allows viewers to become much closer "readers" of a film.

One poster speculates that Leanne's scenes undressed may have been cut as redundant. This kind of gross speculation can be applied to any question. It is merely a catch-all excuse. Moreover, all the other children are shown in all three scenes, not just the swimming segments. So why-for the sake of argument-would the she have been cut from all three ?

Blaine in Seattle

The bunyip ate her!

I know you're married but I've got feelings too!

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