If You Could See What I Hear (1982)

A light comedy/love story based on the life of blind musician Tom Sullivan.

Director:

Eric Till

Writers:

Stuart Gillard (screenplay written by), Tom Sullivan (novel)

Stars:

Marc Singer, R.H. Thomson, Sarah Torgov

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marc Singer	...	Tom Sullivan
R.H. Thomson	...	Will Sly
Sarah Torgov	...	Patti Steffen
Shari Belafonte	...	Heather Johnson (as Shari Belafonte Harper)
Douglas Campbell	...	Porky Sullivan
Helen Burns	...	Mrs. Ruxton
Harvey Atkin	...	Bert
Barbara Gordon	...	Molly
Sharon Lewis	...	Helga
Lynda Mason Green	...	Sharon
Tony Van Bridge	...	Dr. Roger Wells
Jack Creley	...	Dean Franklin
David Gardner	...	Jack Steffen
Gary Reineke	...	Phil Lucas
Bob Warner	...	Sergeant

Storyline

Tom Sullivan is in many ways a typical student attending a Boston area college, he, showing his immaturity, partaking in, often leading, mainly harmless student hijinks with his pipe smoking friend, Will Sly. He funnels many of his energies into his music as a singer/pianist. Tom also happens to be blind, which he's been since a newborn due to being provided too much oxygen while in an incubator. Tom is independently minded, and wants to be treated just like any sighted person. Like most men his age, he is also in the pursuit of the opposite sex, in the process of which he finds that he falls in love easily. Through all these activities, Tom is affected by real life including the temporariness of college life, some not being able to get over their own prejudices of being sighted in their dealings with him, and coming to the realization that there are some things more difficult to do in life when one is blind.

---

Plot Keywords:

piano player | blindness | massachusetts | disability | overcoming adversity | 

---

Taglines:

The true story of a born winner!

---

Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

---

Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

As stated in the end credits, the little girl Sullivan saved from drowning was not his girlfriend's little sister, as portrayed in the film, but actually his own daughter.

---

Goofs

During the skydiving incident, Tom's friend takes off in a jeep on natural ground, but we hear the tires squeal as though he's on pavement.

---

Quotes

Will Sly: Time to think about getting a new guide dog. I'm off tomorrow.
Tom Sullivan: It's tomorrow already? Jesus, what happened? We were...
Will Sly: They should make calendars in Braille. They really should.

---

Connections

Featured in Sneak Previews: If You Could See What I Hear/Gaijin/Swamp Thing/Death Wish II (1982)

---

Soundtracks

Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral): Fifth Movement
(uncredited)
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Played onscreen on synthesizers by 'Marc Singer' and Shari Belafonte

User Reviews

I have this movie

I loved this movie and am lucky enough to have recorded it on VHS tape when it first came out on TV.

I recently made it into a DVD for safe keeping & converted it into an .avi file on one of my external hard drives, again, for safe keeping.

I have always enjoyed movies that were based on fact. I remember the real Tom Sullivan singing on TV shows all the time and was fascinated with the movie and the story of his early life.

It's a shame that I have to add more lines here in order to make a comment. This rule should be taken out, then more people might make comments.

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 April 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

If You Could See What I Hear

Filming Locations:

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD5,600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,408,000, 25 April 1982

Gross USA:

$8,693,512

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,693,512

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cypress Grove, Shelter Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color