''Any Mother's Son'' is a 1997 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by David Burton Morris. The movie is based on a true story, the murder of Allen Schindler, a United States Navy sailor who was killed for being gay. The film stars

Bonnie Bedelia Bonnie Bedelia Culkin (born ) is an American actress. After beginning her career in theatre in the 1960s, Bedelia starred in the CBS daytime soap opera ''Love of Life'' and made her film debut in ''The Gypsy Moths''. Bedelia subsequently appeare ...

Hedy Burress Heather E. "Hedy" Burress (born October 3, 1973) is an American actress. She had a starring role in the film ''Foxfire'' as Maddy, and later landed roles in television shows ''Boston Common'' and '' E.R.'' In the video game world, she is best kn ...

Sada Thompson Sada Carolyn Thompson (September 27, 1927 – May 4, 2011) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She was known to television audiences as Kate Lawrence in ''Family'' (1976-1980). Life and career She was born Sada Carolyn Thompson ...

and

Paul Popowich Paul Popowich is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Mr. Smith, an angel who helps people change their pasts, in season two of '' Twice in a Lifetime''. Popovich has performed in many television series, including ''Beverly H ...

. It premiered on August 11, 1997 on

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. The movie won the

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their live ...

for Outstanding Made for TV Movie, and Bedelia was nominated for a

CableACE Award The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Amer ...

for Outstanding Actress in a Movie or Miniseries.

Plot

In 1992, Allen Schindler, a 22-year-old navy sailor is brutally beaten to death so bad that his body could be identified only by tattoos. The murder took place in a public restroom while Schindler was on leave in Sasebo, Japan. Schindler's mother Dorothy Hajdys, becomes distraught when the representatives of the Navy refuse to provide her with full details on her son's murder. However, a reporter from the ''Pacific Stars and Stripes'' informs Dorothy that her son was gay, which Hajdys didn't know, and that this might have been the reason he was killed. But if the Navy has anything to say about it, the entire matter will be swept under the rug. A deal has already been cut with an accomplice, who after a secret court-martial, received a four-month jail sentence, of which he served 78 days. Radicalized by the incident and its aftermath, Dorothy joins forces with a journalist to force the Navy to reveal the whole truth.

Cast

as Dorothy Hajdys *

as Allen Schindler *

as Kathy *

as Gertie *

Fiona Reid Fiona Reid, CM (born 24 July 1951) is an English-born Canadian television, film, and stage actress. She is best known for her roles as Cathy on the TV series ''King of Kensington'' and Harriet Miller in the film ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding''. E ...

as Doris *

Allan Royal Allan Royal (born August 17, 1944) is a Canadian actor, who is also sometimes credited as Allan G. Royal and Alan Royal. He is known for playing the crime reporter Tom Kirkwood on the hit Canadian police drama ''Night Heat'' from 1985 to 1989. H ...

as Ben *

Shawn Ashmore Shawn Robert Ashmore (born October 7, 1979) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Bobby Drake / Iceman in the ''X-Men'' film series, Jake Berenson in the television series ''Animorphs'', Agent Mike Weston in the television drama se ...

as Billy *

Mimi Kuzyk Mimi Kuzyk (born February 21, 1952) is a Canadian actress. Early life Kuzyk was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Fred and Kay Kuzyk, both of whom are Ukrainian immigrants, and received her early education at the Immaculate Heart of Mary School. Sh ...

as Peggy Evans *

Peter Keleghan Peter Keleghan is a Canadian actor and writer, perhaps best known for portraying Ben Bellow in the comedy series ''18 to Life'', Clark Claxton Sr. in the comedy series ''Billable Hours'' and Ranger Gord in ''The Red Green Show''. Currently has a ...

as Captain John Curtis * Barry Flatman as Commander Stevens * Scott Gibson as Terry Helvey * Michael Gabriel as Charles Vins

Production notes

The movie is told from Hajdys' point of view and based partly on official Navy documents, and the sworn statements of Terry M. Helvey and Charles E. Vins. Bruce Harmon, who wrote the script, collected a voluminous file on the case of Schindler and the sailors involved. Amongst the documents obtained is a four-page statement Helvey signed, saying "homosexuality is disgusting, sick and scary." The title of the film was selected by the real-life Dorothy Hajdys-Holman (re-married, currently known as Hajdys-Clausen), and she received $65,000 for serving as the film's technical advisor. The movie was shot in Toronto, Canada, where parts of her house had been re-created. The Navy refused to cooperate with the production. Bonnie Bedelia said she found the story astounding, having known gay colleagues throughout her career. She also said the emotional intensity of the role was more demanding than she had expected. Hajdys said Bedelia captures the heart of her story, and the first time she watched it, she cried through the whole thing. In one scene in the film, Hajdys has a confrontation with a Navy public relations officer, and bluntly tells him; "tell me, between my son and Charles Vins, who you think served the United States Navy and his country with honor?" Vins, who was contacted by the media prior to the film's release stated; "I don't feel the world needs to know my business".

Critical reception

The ''

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'' said that Bonnie Bedelia gave a strong performance, and she "is the best thing about this fact-based drama, which places more emphasis on weeping than solutions". ''

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'' review of the film stated, "the film does not tread lightly on Naval sensitivities, painting a stark picture of official obfuscation and secrecy...Bedelia gives a fine-tuned, understated performance as Hajdys' loss becomes part of the public discourse on both the military's then-ban on gays, and on societal attitudes that some take for tacit approval of the dehumanizing mistreatment of homosexuals". A UK based review said Bedelia "turns in a stunning performance....from the broken emotion of losing her son to the revelation and confusion over her son being a homosexual you believe Bedelia's performance....but whilst

he movie He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

is good it feels restrained, toned down to not offend an audience with too much grit, drama and realism". Historian Stephen Tropiano said in his book ''The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV'', it was a "powerful made-for-TV movie" and featured a "terrific performance from Bedelia as Schindler's mother".

Nominations and awards

for Outstanding Actress in a Movie or Miniseries (Bonnie Bedelia, nominated) * GLAAD Media Award 1998 for Outstanding Made for TV Movie (winner)

References

External links

* * *
Any Mother's Son
' at TCM {{GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series 1997 drama films 1997 television films 1997 films American LGBT-related television films American television films LGBT-related drama films LGBT-related films based on actual events 1997 LGBT-related films Films directed by David Burton Morris 1990s English-language films 1990s American films