- What the Deaf Man Heard
Infobox Film | name = What the Deaf Man Heard
caption = "What the Deaf Man Heard
director =John Kent Harrison
producer =Richard Welsh Brent Shields
writer =G.D. Gearino (book)Robert W. Lenski
starring =Matthew Modine James Earl Jones
music =J.A.C. Redford
cinematography =
editing =
distributor =Hallmark Hall of Fame
released =November 23 1997 (CBS television)
runtime = 120 minutes
language = English
budget =
imdb_id = 0120498"What the Deaf Man Heard" is a
1997 Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie that aired onCBS television on November 23, 1997. It concerns Sammy, a boy who pretends to bedeaf andmute , when in reality he can hear and speak perfectly well. The movie starredMatthew Modine andJames Earl Jones .Plot summary
Young 10-year old Sammy Ayers and his mother Helen are on a bus trip. When his mother disappears during a stop, he takes to heart her warning to "keep quiet." At the end of the bus ride in Georgia, he is taken in by the bus station manager, Norm, and informally adopted by Lucille as the entire small town looks after him. As Sammy grows to adulthood, he pretends to be deaf and mute as a self-protective device. Over a 20-year period, he hears many secrets and confidences. However, when he hears something harmful he decides to take action, to protect the townspeople who have become his family, revealing his secret.
The Ira Gershwin/Kurt Weill song "My Ship" (sung by Bernadette Peters) is heard at the end of the film, as Sammy listens to a music box.
Cast
*Sammy Ayers —
Matthew Modine
*Mrs. Tynan —Claire Bloom
*Lucille —Judith Ivey
*Archibald Thacker —James Earl Jones
*Norm Jenkins —Tom Skerritt
*Young Sammy —Frankie Muniz
*Helen Ayers —Bernadette Peters
*Tolliver Tynan —Jake Weber Reception
In her "New York Times" review, Caryn James wrote: "Nothing seems real in "What the Deaf Man Heard." Instead, its soothing, storybook quality has Hallmark written all over it." [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E1D7143BF932A15752C1A961958260&scp=1&sq=%22What+The+Deaf+Man+Heard+%22 "New York Times" review, November 21, 1997] ]
The film was the highest-rated made-for-television movie on any network since 1991. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE6DD143AF935A15752C1A961958260&scp=4&sq=%22What+The+Deaf+Man+Heard+%22 "New York Times", November 26, 1997] ]
The film received
Emmy nominations for Outstanding Made for Television Movie and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (Judith Ivey) and won for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or a Movie. It also received aGolden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV (Matthew Modine).References
External links
*imdb title|id=0120498|title=What the Deaf Man Heard
* [http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/hallmark/ What the Deaf Man Heard at cinema.ucla]
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