My Sweet Charlie
Encyclopedia
My Sweet Charlie is an American
television movie
directed by Lamont Johnson
. The teleplay
by Richard Levinson
and William Link
is based on the novel of the same name by David Westheimer
. Produced by Universal Television and broadcast by NBC
on January 20, 1970, it later had a brief theatrical release. It is considered a landmark in television films. The film was made on location in Port Bolivar, Texas
.
Set during the Civil Rights Movement, Charlie Roberts is a militant African American
attorney
from New York City
falsely accused of murder
during a demonstration in rural
Texas
.
Escaping from his captors, Charlie breaks into a vacant coastal vacation home, where he encounters white Marlene Chambers, an uneducated, prejudice
d, unwed pregnant teenager who has been shunned by her father and boyfriend due to her pregnancy, and who sought refuge in the vacant home a few weeks before Charlie arrives.
Realizing their survival depends upon their willingness to help each other, their relationship, at first defined by mutual contempt, prejudice, and hostility, slowly evolves into a touching friendship.
's Longacre Theatre
with Bonnie Bedelia
and Louis Gossett in the leading roles. It ran for 12 previews and 31 performances .
The television production was filmed on location in Port Bolivar, Texas in 1968 and was plagued by almost as many racial tensions as those depicted in the film. According to Patty Duke in her autobiography, her friendship with Freeman led to rumors of an affair. Marijuana was planted in Duke's Galveston hotel room by locals, though it was quickly determined not to belong to Duke. Texas governor, John Connally
, intervened with local authorities to stop harassment of the production company and Duke .
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
directed by Lamont Johnson
Lamont Johnson
Lamont Johnson was an American actor and film director who has appeared in and directed many television shows and movies. He won two Emmy Awards....
. The teleplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Richard Levinson
Richard Levinson
Richard Levinson was an American writer and producer who often worked in collaboration with William Link. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Economics in 1956. He served in the United States Army from...
and William Link
William Link
William Theodore Link is an American film and television writer and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson.-Life and career:...
is based on the novel of the same name by David Westheimer
David Westheimer
David Westheimer was an American novelist best known for writing the 1964 novel Von Ryan's Express which was adapted as a 1965 movie starring Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard....
. Produced by Universal Television and broadcast by NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on January 20, 1970, it later had a brief theatrical release. It is considered a landmark in television films. The film was made on location in Port Bolivar, Texas
Port Bolivar, Texas
Port Bolivar is an unincorporated area located in the Bolivar Peninsula census-designated place, in Galveston County, Texas, United States state of Texas within Galveston County and part of the metropolitan area., Port Bolivar had a population of 1,200...
.
Synopsis
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
falsely accused of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
during a demonstration in rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Escaping from his captors, Charlie breaks into a vacant coastal vacation home, where he encounters white Marlene Chambers, an uneducated, prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
d, unwed pregnant teenager who has been shunned by her father and boyfriend due to her pregnancy, and who sought refuge in the vacant home a few weeks before Charlie arrives.
Realizing their survival depends upon their willingness to help each other, their relationship, at first defined by mutual contempt, prejudice, and hostility, slowly evolves into a touching friendship.
Production notes
In 1966, Westheimer adapted his novel for a play that opened at BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
's Longacre Theatre
Longacre Theatre
The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 220 West 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.-Theatre History:Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts in 1912, it was named for Longacre Square, the original name for Times Square...
with Bonnie Bedelia
Bonnie Bedelia
Bonnie Bedelia Culkin is an American actress best known for her supporting roles in the action film Die Hard and the courtroom drama Presumed Innocent...
and Louis Gossett in the leading roles. It ran for 12 previews and 31 performances .
The television production was filmed on location in Port Bolivar, Texas in 1968 and was plagued by almost as many racial tensions as those depicted in the film. According to Patty Duke in her autobiography, her friendship with Freeman led to rumors of an affair. Marijuana was planted in Duke's Galveston hotel room by locals, though it was quickly determined not to belong to Duke. Texas governor, John Connally
John Connally
John Bowden Connally, Jr. , was an influential American politician, serving as the 39th governor of Texas, Secretary of the Navy under President John F. Kennedy, and as Secretary of the Treasury under President Richard M. Nixon. While he was Governor in 1963, Connally was a passenger in the car in...
, intervened with local authorities to stop harassment of the production company and Duke .
Principal cast
- Patty DukePatty DukeAnna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
..... Marlene Chambers - Al Freeman Jr. ..... Charlie Roberts
- Ford RaineyFord RaineyFord Rainey was an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Rainey was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, the son of Vyrna , a teacher, and Archie Coleman Rainey. Rainey graduated from Centralia Junior College in Washington state and the Cornish Drama School in Seattle. He first acted on...
..... Treadwell
Principal production credits
- ProducersTelevision producerThe primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
..... Bob Banner, Richard Levinson, William Link - Original MusicFilm scoreA film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
..... Gil MelleGil MelleGil Mellé was an American artist, jazz musician and film composer.In the 1950s, Mellé's paintings and sculptures were shown in New York galleries and he created the cover art for albums by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins... - CinematographyCinematographyCinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
..... Gene PolitoGene PolitoEugene "Gene" Emmanuel Polito was an American cinematographer, mechanical engineer and academic. His numerous of film and television credits included Futureworld, Up in Smoke and Lost in Space.... - Art DirectionArt directorThe art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
..... Robert Luthardt - Costume DesignCostume designCostume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
..... Charles Waldo
Awards and nominations
- Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Patty Duke, winner) - Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama (winner)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing for Entertainment Programming - For a Special or Feature Length Program Made for Television (winner)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Al Freeman Jr., nominee)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Dramatic Program (nominee)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama (nominee)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Entertainment Programming - For a Special or Feature Length Program Made for Television (nominee)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Mixing (nominee)
- Image Award for Best Program of the Year (winner)
- Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television (winner)