''The Man Who Could Talk to Kids'' is a 1973 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 fo ...

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 ...

directed by

Donald Wrye Donald Wrye (September 24, 1934 – May 15, 2015) was an American director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for directing the 1978 film ''Ice Castles''. He died on May 15, 2015, at his home in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Filmography ...

. It was originally broadcast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

on October 17, 1973.

Plot

This is the story of one boy isolated in his world, who allows one man to penetrate it, in order to bring the family back together.

Cast

* Peter Boyle as Charlie Datweiler * Scott Jacoby as Kenny Lassiter *

Collin Wilcox Paxton Collin Randall Wilcox (February 4, 1935 – October 14, 2009) was an American film, stage and television actress. Over her career, she was also credited as Collin Wilcox-Horne or Collin Wilcox-Paxton. Wilcox may be best known for her role in ' ...

as Honor Lassiter *

Tyne Daly Ellen Tyne Daly (; born February 21, 1946) is an American actress. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work, a Tony Award and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee. Daly began her career on stage in summer stock in New York, ...

as Susie Datweiler *

Robert Reed Robert Reed (born John Robert Rietz Jr.; October 19, 1932 – May 12, 1992) was an American actor. He played Kenneth Preston on the legal drama '' The Defenders'' from 1961 to 1965 alongside E. G. Marshall, and is best known for his role as the ...

as Tom Lassiter *

Denise Nickerson Denise Marie Nickerson (April 1, 1957 – July 10, 2019) was an American child actress. She is best known for her role as Violet Beauregarde in the 1971 film ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory''. She later played Allison on ''The Electric C ...

as Dena Pingitore * Dudley Knight as Mr. Carling

References

The story was a Docu-drama based on Harold Mondschein's work with troubled kids (Learning, Behavior and Emotional issues.) The young man portrayed in the film was a composite of several children he had previously worked with. It was Peter Boyle's first adventure into trying a different kind of "softer" character, one of Donald Wrye's first forays into directing and one of ABC's first made for television movies, which started a "trend." Douglas Day Stewart began his writing career close to this time and this was one of Tomorrow Entertainments' first production efforts.

External links

* 1973 drama films 1973 television films 1973 films Films with screenplays by Douglas Day Stewart Films directed by Donald Wrye Films scored by Fred Karlin ABC Movie of the Week 1970s English-language films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub