What the Deaf Man Heard

TV Movie
19971997
PGPG
2h

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

James Earl Jones, Matthew Modine, and Frankie Muniz in What the Deaf Man Heard (1997)

Comedy Drama

Arriving in a new town, a child pretends to be deaf-mute to protect himself - a ruse which works so well that for twenty years he is custodian to all the town's secrets.Arriving in a new town, a child pretends to be deaf-mute to protect himself - a ruse which works so well that for twenty years he is custodian to all the town's secrets.Arriving in a new town, a child pretends to be deaf-mute to protect himself - a ruse which works so well that for twenty years he is custodian to all the town's secrets.

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

- John Kent Harrison
- G.D. Gearino(novel "What the Deaf Mute Heard")
- Robert W. Lenski(teleplay)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Won 1 Primetime Emmy
- 1 win & 8 nominations total

Trivia
Matthew Modine remained in character all through filming. He rode his bike around the locations and never spoke, instead writing in a notepad just as Sammy did.

Goofs
Norm Jenkins finds Sammy's suitcase and learns his identity but doesn't tell anyone about the suitcase. Yet the entire town knew and used his full name, presumably starting soon after his first day in Barrington, and the police never searched for his mother after that first day even though his name was known.

Quotes
Sammy Ayers: [narrating] To my knowledge it is the only trial in the history of American jurisprudence that was over in just two spoken words.
Sammy Ayers: [speaking out loud] I... I do.

Connections
Edited into Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951)

User reviews16

Review

Featured review

Watch what you say, you never know who may be listening!

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.

helpful•3

LuckyDragon
Jan 21, 2001

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