Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Ploydsge just watch it!

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

q_leo_rahman Hallmark's Hall of Fame is noted for making television films since the 1950s, featuring high-profile celebrities and a wide variety of stories. This particular TV film is considered one of their best, and it's not too hard to see why. There is something unique about this tale, not just its story but in its very execution, something that would be hard to see nowadays. Based on a novel by GD Gearino, this TV film tells the tale of a boy, Sammy Ayers, who arrives in a new town all by himself. People mistake him for being deaf and dumb, so he goes along with this assumption for about two decades. Such a premise would serve as a ground for tense drama and thrills at the revelation of dark and horrible secrets, but that's not where the story leads. Instead it portrays a slice of life within the small-town community, and Sammy serves as silent confidant throughout the years, earning reliability and confidence from the townspeople. He doesn't really get a chance to reveal his true ability until he gets involved in a scam that almost causes a lot of ruin to the town.The premise of maintaining a facade of deafness for two decades is unusual, but not impossible. Superman has been hiding behind the glasses and clothes of Clark Kent for most of his life and that went down more or less successfully. And it also helps that the person in particular is a stranger and later resident at a small American town in the 1940s-60s, when things were quieter and friendlier and more uncomplicated. Superman's America, to go back to the previous analogy: the American county country, where people were decent and honest and content. That's the main strength and appeal of this piece: it is a love letter to gentler easygoing times, when people were more or less fundamentally good. There isn't anything too horrible or bad to this story: the worst that happens is the loss of Sammy's mother and a church getting burnt down from a scam. The antagonist isn't antagonistic himself, he's just a spoiled rich boy denied his inheritance and trying to con people. That may put people off as unrealistic or underdeveloped, but in today's workaholic "rat race" era such an ambiance and setting would definitely be a welcome change or desire.The performances themselves are solid and dependable. Matthew Modine stands out as the title character who stays hush, letting his face and gestures do the talking. The supporting cast do their roles justice and give dependable performances, but a clear scene-stealer would be the inimitable James Earl Jones as Archibald Thacker, the sly trader who gets wind of Sammy's secret but sees he hasn't said anything so keeps his mouth shut too.Overall, it's a nice little story. It's not really anything deep or ponderous, but just a simple feel-good folktale set amidst the golden fields of America. And sometimes that's where we need to go for a good time and a solid rest.

henryevans-1 I thought the mix of humour, satire and sentiment was just right. It is also a commentary (subtly) on how hearing impaired people are treated by society. Seeing the crooked and self serving get some just desserts was rewarding, and the final twist, engineered by a loving father figure for the one he effectively adopted, was both surprising and heart-warming. The acting was good (if not Oscar-winning) and the plot line written with sufficient complexity as to keep you wondering what would happen and how the pieces of the story linked together. The time setting of the story was a bit hard to guess at first but markers soon appeared to help the viewer. The clever change of name of a well known pop group raised a smile and perhaps the reactions of some to that group were a bit over the top, but not out of keeping entirely with the hysteria of the time.

stauesque I saw this on TV one night and fell in love. Matthew Modine plays Sammy Ayers(the adult) who as a child is left alone on a bus after his mother is murdered. He arrives in a small Georgia town and sits quietly all day waiting for his mother arrive. The people in town then determine that he's deaf and mute. As an adult he does odd jobs for all the people in town, all the while listening to everything everyone tells him, including secrets! Jake Weber plays Tolliver Tynan, Tallasses(Sammys love interest)brother and the source of all Sammys trouble. Tom Skerritt stars as Norm, owner of the bus depot and a sort of father figure to Sammy. James Earl Jones also stars as Archibald Thacker, a rum runner who knows a thing or two about some of the secrets in the town. As one of the big secrets threatens the town Sammy struggles with what to do. A great story and wonderful acting make this a movie I would recommend to anyone.

Lindsay Filz For me, Hallmark Hall of Fames are like the Super Bowl, the main event is nice to watch, but the commercials are the real reason to tune in. What can I say, I like cheez. However, "What the Deaf Man Heard" is a rare exception. This is a movie that captured my attention. I laughed, I cried, it was better than CATS. I don't believe it's on video, but CBS plays it again every so often. Check it out.