''If You Could See What I Hear'' is a 1982 Canadian

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

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 ...

about blind musician Tom Sullivan, starring

Marc Singer Marc Singer (born January 29, 1948) is a Canadian-born American actor best known for his roles in the '' Beastmaster'' film series, as Mike Donovan in the original 1980s TV series '' V'', and as Matt Cantrell in ''Dallas''. Early life Singer wa ...

and

Shari Belafonte Shari Lynn Belafonte (born September 22, 1954) is an American actress, model, writer and singer. The daughter of singer Harry Belafonte, she began her career as a fashion model before making her big screen debut appearing in the 1982 drama film ' ...

, directed by Eric Till.

Plot summary

Tom Sullivan (

) is a blind college student who wants to be normal. When not in class, Tom hangs out with his friend, Will Sly ( R. H. Thomson), who does not treat him like a blind person. In fact, he goes out of his way to challenge Tom. Tom likes to go jogging while Will leads him on his bicycle. Will leads him past obstacles such as park benches, shouting out "Bench!" at the last moment so Tom has to jump over it. On campus, Tom meets a black woman named Heather Johnson (

), with whom he falls in love. But she breaks off the relationship because "the black and white thing," coupled with Tom's blindness, is too complicated for her. Crushed by Heather's abandonment and experiencing loneliness, Tom continues to struggle with himself, still denying that his blindness affects his "normalcy". Then he meets his future wife, Patti Steffen (Sarah Torgov), and his life changes irreversibly. The movie is most famous for the scene where while Tom is on the phone with someone, his stepdaughter, Blythe, falls in their indoor pool and nearly drowns, and he, upon realizing she is missing, manages to find her at the bottom of the pool and save her life.

Cast

... Tom Sullivan * R. H. Thomson ... Will Sly *

... Heather Johnson *

Harvey Atkin Elliot Harvey Atkin (18 December 1942 – 18 July 2017) was a Canadian actor best known for his roles as Morty Melnick in '' Meatballs'', Sergeant Ronald Coleman in ''Cagney & Lacey'', and for voicing King Koopa in ''The Super Mario Bros. Super S ...

... Bert *

Helen Burns Helen Burns (22 December 1916 – 23 July 2018) was a British actress mostly known for playing comedic roles. Burns is known for her performance in the 1993 production of ''The Last Yankee'' at the Duke of York's Theatre, for which she won a La ...

... Mrs. Ruxton * Douglas Campbell ... Porky Sullivan * David Gardner ... Jack Steffen *

Nonnie Griffin Nonnie Griffin (20 October 1933 – 7 June 2019) was a Canadian film, stage, television and voice actress. She studied at the Toronto Conservatory in her native land, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, and even with famed mime artist M ...

... Mrs. Steffen *Sharon Lewis ... Helga *

Adrienne Pocock Adrienne is the French feminine form of the male name Adrien. Its meaning is literally "from the city Hadria." * Adrienne Albert (born 1941), composer * Adrienne Ames (1907–1947), American actress * Adrienne Armstrong (born 1969), wife of Gr ...

... Blythe Steffen *

Sarah Torgov Sarah Torgov (born ) is a Canadian actress. She appeared in popular movies in the 1980s, including '' Meatballs'', ''If You Could See What I Hear'', '' American Gothic'', '' The July Group'', and ''Drying Up the Streets''. Her television appearances ...

... Patti Steffen *

Greer Forward Greer may refer to: People * Greer (surname) * Greer (given name) Places United States * Greer, Arizona, an unincorporated community and census-designated place * Greer, Idaho, an unincorporated community * Greer, Missouri, an unincorporated ...

... Stunt Double for Blythe Steffen (uncredited)

Reception

The film was critically panned.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

pointed out that the film was intended to be "inspirational and uplifting" and stated that Sullivan "comes across in this movie like a refugee from ''

Animal House ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Peter Riegert, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hu ...

''. His idea of overcoming his handicap is to party all night." He and

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

selected the film as one of the worst of the year in a 1982 episode of ''

Sneak Previews ''Sneak Previews'' (known as ''Opening Soon...at a Theater Near You'' from 1975 to 1977 and ''Sneak Previews Goes Video'' from 1989 to 1991) is an American film review show that ran for over two decades on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It wa ...

''.''Sneak Previews'': Worst of 1982
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References

External links

* * * * {{Eric Till 1982 films Canadian biographical drama films 1980s biographical drama films Films about blind people Canadian independent films English-language Canadian films Films scored by Eric Robertson (composer) Films directed by Eric Till 1982 independent films 1982 drama films 1980s English-language films 1980s Canadian films