The real-life account of an illiterate, deaf-and-mute, black youth who was accused of murdering a prostitute, and the relationship that developed between him and his court-appointed attorney, who also was deaf, and the events leading up to his precedent-setting trial.
LeVar Burton Paul Sorvino Brian Dennehy Rose Gregorio Gregg Henry Steven Williams Helen Martin Jonathan Pilurs Paul Butler Allen Hamilton Frankie Hill Ray Price Pat Billingsley James D. O'Reilly Tricia Borha Joseph Clark Obilo Richard Cosentino Jack Orend Wilbert Bradley Holly Robinson Peete Ira Rogers Samantha McCoy Melody Robb Bill Nigut Nancy Baird Paul Preston Irma Riley James Spinks Show All…
O Surdo-Mudo, Il sordomuto
USA
USA
You know cinema's in rough shape when a TV movie from the late 70s is better than half of the work that's released now.
But let me get this straight...a screenplay by Oscar winning French Connection writer Ernest Tidyman...with a lead performance by Paul Goodfellas Sorvino...shot by Face in the Crowd Gayne Rescher...and scored by the architect of Motown, Gil Askey??
...FOR A TV MOVIE?
Frank Perry proves, yet again, he's a tremendous director in just his choice of collaborators. He elevates what's otherwise a procedural TV Drama into something unique and unsettling. There's something about the worlds Perry builds that offer both comfort and tension. I want to hang out in the food docks of Chicago with protagonist Donald…
Imperfect and at times heavy-handed, but I liked it. The performances are powerful and Perry demonstrates his steady directorial hand on the production. The script and original book are fascinatingly written by Ernest Tidyman (Shaft, French Connection, High Plains Drifter, etc.) so this Peabody Award-winning TV movie has a real calibre of talent behind it.
The third act moved a little fast for me after being fairly contemplative prior. I wonder how much the real case dictated how the story was told, in as much as making sure the facts were right and how much creative license was taken. The case was so recent compared to the production that it's pretty impressive that the film is able to reflect on it like this, but that may also explain some of its shortcomings. For this viewer who did not know anything about the outcome of the factual case, the ending packed a real punch.
LeVar Burton is great in this, but Paul Sorvino was kind of a revelation to me. His turn as the deaf lawyer tasked with representing Burton's deaf and dumb client against a murder rap struck me as nothing short of fearless, and the whole thing comes alive whenever he's on screen in a way it just doesn't quite for anyone else.
Although it's also true that Burton arguably has the tougher job here, to convey a rich inner life without overly-telegraphing where things are headed while also playing a character who simply doesn't have the capacity to verbalize anything going through his mind.
This seems to have been released on disc by Warner Archive (although not in HD), and I'm glad it at least has some availability. Especially in the wake of Sorvino's passing, I'm really grateful to have had the opportunity to see him operating in such a different frequency from what I'm used to from him.
Really well done made-for-TV movie with truly great acting and a compelling script pulled down by the most bananas postscript in the history of film.
'Dummy' isn't flawless, it's a TV movie from 1979 and it bears a lot of those trappings, but it's also got the screenwriter of 'The French Connection,' the cinematographer of 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,' and the director of 'The Swimmer' making it, so the strengths of the people behind the scenes do shine through. Most importantly, LeVar Burton is so expressive an actor, you can read every emotion expressed in his beautiful, silent face.
Bonus: Brian Dennehy plays a hard-working, blue collar "Chicago Guy." A real "Da Bears" character, loading and unloading crates. I love it.
The made for TV movie, Dummy has both an interesting story based upon an actual case, and an impressive production crew.
Frank Perry (The Swimmer) directs; the script is by Ernest Tidyman (Shaft, The French Connection); cinematography by Gayne Rescher (A Face in the Crowd, A New Leaf, The Day After, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan).
LeVar Burton (Kunta Kinte from Roots) stars as a deaf, illiterate, uneducated mute who is arrested for the murder of a prostitute and cannot defend himself because of his condition and learning difficulties. Paul Sorvino plays the deaf lawyer who takes on his case. Brian Dennehy, Steven Williams and Greg Henry also star.
This is a really interesting case that would not…
Here's an underrated gem: "Dummy," a movie about a deaf, mute, illiterate, Black man accused of murder. LeVar Burton plays the alleged killer, Donald Lang. Paul Sorvino plays his deaf lawyer. Two beautiful performances in a movie that feels like the Chicago version of "NYPD Blue."
From the writer of THE FRENCH CONNECTION and SHAFT, and the director of THE SWIMMER and MOMMIE DEAREST.
Well-meaning, if sometimes flat-footed look at an illiterate deaf-mute man accused of murder. Ultimately the actors are so good that this is effective.
Socially-conscious TV-movie procedural about Donald, a deaf-mute holy fool (LeVar Burton) who - by way of his disability - cannot properly defend himself in a system stacked against him. A defendant (Paul Sorvino), linked to the man by their mutual deafness, rallies on his behalf despite otherwise being complete strangers. The significance of the case as a potential precedent for how deaf-mutes are prosecuted seems to be of more importance than the man's guilt or innocence. Are his motives pure? While the defendant is successful in his defense and Donald goes free, his proclivity for prostitutes - which got him into this mess in the first place - seems to confirm that there is a darker truth at the center of this storyline.
