MY SWEET CHARLIE

US, 1970, 100 minutes, Colour.
Patty Duke, Al Freeman Jr.
Directed by Lamont Johnson.

My Sweet Charlie was a significant telemovie during the early years of television films. It was written by Richard Levinson and William Link, prolific writers who are best known for creating Colombo and Murder She Wrote. (The story of their collaboration was itself the subject of a film, The Boys, with James Wood and John Lithgow as the writers.)

The film focuses on a girl from the south, pregnant and alone, abandoned by the father of her child who takes refuge in a house. She is joined by a black New York lawyer who had killed a white man in a protest. When they meet, they clash. However, a mutual understanding, a mutual dependence develops and the film moves into a very touching mode by the end.

The film was nominated for a number of awards with Patty Duke winning an Emmy for her performance. She had won an Oscar in 1962 for her role as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker and was to continue in films and, especially, television movies for many decades. Al Freeman was a significant black actor and had appeared in Anthony Harvey’s Dutchman as well as other social-minded films. Lamont Johnson made a number of significant television films over many decades, nominated many times for Emmys as well as awards from The Directors’ Guild of America, winning several for Lincoln and for My Sweet Charlie.

1. The impact of this film as a telemovie? Bringing themes into people's homes? The fact that the film was so successful that it was given theatrical release? Why? Comment on the technical achievement of the film as a telemovie, colour, locations, editing, and the continued impact of the themes.

3. The presentation of the title and its irony, the indications of themes of relationship, race, sentiment, the unhappy ending?

4. Audience involvement in the structure of the film: looking at Marlene, wondering about her journey, happy with her settling down, her fear of Charlie and the developing relationship, love, hate, tragic ending? How did the film keep its audience involved?

5. How did the film keep the focus on Marlene? Patty Duke's personality and performance, sympathy for a young girl running away from home, her pregnancy? Audience curiosity about what she was doing, about how she would survive? Seeing her on the ferry, hitch-hiking, rejecting advances? The importance of the discussion with Mr Treadwell? Her delight in staying at the lighthouse, leaving the money? Her needs. her capacity for surviving. her loneliness and yet coping? How attractive a character did she seem? How much compassion did she elicit?

6. The sudden impact of Charlie's arrival and audience reaction to this? The background? The puzzle about his personality, his crime, the pursuit by the police? Reaction to his treatment of Marlene, courteous yet strong? The significance of his coming from the north, his being educated and speaking well, correcting Marlene? The love/hate relationship as it developed? His being shot at? Why did they settle down together and solve their difficulties? The irony of his going out to help Marlene? With the background of their lyrical themes together in the outside, at the lighthouse? The pathos of his death? How much compassion did he elicit?

7. The significance of Marlene's emerging as ignorant, a bigot, a racist? How well was this illustrated? The emotional impact of these scenes? What insight into black/white relationships?

8. The relationships of two human beings? Presumptions and prejudices? How prejudiced was Charlie, how bigoted? How did they resolve their difficulties? Their meals, talking, sharing the way of life, loneliness and coping? How well did the film build up to the climax and the pathos of Charlie's death? Mr Treadwell's involvement, the police and their final comments?

9. What was Marlene left with? The final view of her and audience reaction to this? What did the audience take away from the film as they watched Marlene go off?

10. How valuable is this kind of television study of individuals, relationships, social themes, social prejudices and presuppositions?