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View Full Version : 80's movie about a facility trying to teach deaf, blind, and retarded children


MovieFan71
Sep 6, 2009, 04:39 PM
What was the title of this movie? Who starred in it?

I saw the movie in the theater back in the 80s with my dad and sister. It seems to be an obscure film, as I cannot seem to find anything about it on the 'net anywhere. It's a shame I cannot remember a single actor or actress from the film. I remember the following about the film: there is a blond-haired teenaged boy in the film who is deaf/mute and his mother is blind. At the facility where these children live and learn, the main character (a doctor? Teacher?) teaches the boy how to speak, and so he is finally able to communicate with his mother. The boy becomes friends with a tall, brawny deaf boy. At Christmas time, the tall, brawny boy gives the blond-haired boy a gift -- something he had whittled out of wood in his spare time. Another boy, who is jealous, knocks the gift out of the blond-haired boy's hand, and crushes it with his foot. This enrages the tall, brawny boy, who then strikes the jealous boy and breaks his nose. In a panic, the tall, brawny boy flees the scene and runs away along railroad tracks. The people at the facility try to retrieve the fleeing boy, but tragedy strikes before they can reach him -- being deaf, the tall, brawny does not hear the train behind him -- by the time he senses the lights and vibration of the train, it is too late -- he is struck and killed by the train. When the dead boy's parents come for the boy's body, they are filled with grief and wonder if they made a mistake putting him into the care of the facility. The deaf blond-haired boy tells the parents that their dead son was his friend. The parents are impressed that the deaf blond-haired was taught to speak at the facility, and consider entrusting their young daughter, who also has a learning disability, to the care of the facility.

I wish I could remember more. Does anybody know which film it is that I described?

Quinn F
Sep 6, 2009, 05:07 PM
Not sure, but maybe Amy? There's mention of a deaf boy being hit by a train here: Amazon.ca: Customer Reviews: Amy (http://www.amazon.ca/product-reviews/6305183309/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending)

MovieFan71
Sep 6, 2009, 05:24 PM
Thanks. I did find the plot summary for "Amy" during my search of the 'net: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_(film)> While the plot descriptions sounded rather close, none of them ever mentioned the scenes I remembered. I also couldn't recall a scene with a football game. I didn't think of cross-referencing what I found with a description on Amazon. If a customer mentions a deaf boy being hit by a train, then that must be the right movie. Thanks for nailing this for me!