Two broken men, one forgotten boy, and the lesson no one expected.
Hamilton Cade is an alcoholic teacher striving to put his life back together. He accepts a job tutoring an "exceptional child" only to find that young Freddie is mentally retarded. A black man who works for Freddie's father also becomes interested in teaching the child and becomes a second role model for him.
Acting
David McCallum and Ossie Davis elevate every scene together.
Writing
Refuses easy sentimentality; earns every emotional beat.
Direction
Fielder Cook trusts silence over melodrama.
Director
Fielder Cook
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made for ABC's Movie of the Week, this was rare 1969 television pairing a white and Black lead as equals without racial conflict as the central plot.
David McCallum was still filming The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and used this dramatic role to break his Russian spy typecasting before it consumed him.
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