Synopsis
A true story. A courageous story. A love story that will touch you forever.
A teenager with cerebral palsy attempts to become pen pals with her idol, Elvis Presley.
Touched by Love
Cast
Director
Producer
Writer
Original Writer
Casting
Editor
Cinematography
Executive Producer
Art Direction
Set Decoration
Composer
Costume Design
Genre
Releases by Date
Theatrical
-
USAPG
Releases by Country
USA
31 Oct 1980
- TheatricalPG
Popular reviews
More-
So pure and wholesome, filled with moments of compassion, perseverance, and joy. Diane Lane absolutely shines in this and you just want to root for her in every scene she’s in. The scene where she’s at the store and spots an Elvis record is especially captivating. That glow and glimmer in her eyes in that scene reminds me a lot of how when we’re young, we light up when we see something we like or that captures our interest. It’s such a pure moment and one that will stick with me forever. This is based on a true story, and even though I knew where things were heading, it didn’t make the ending any less heartbreaking to me. 💔
-
A very touching film, based off a true story, in which a young 15 year old Diane Lane (film debut) plays a lonely girl with cerebral palsy who has completely shut herself off from the world around her, gets the attention of a young nurse Deborah Raffin who devotes most of her time trying to open her up...and learns that she has a secret admiration for Elvis Presley. I’ll tell you, Diane did a good job as the handicapped child, that had me really feel for her character.
Never heard of film before especially back in 1980 when I was very much caught up in everything Elvis. I don’t know how well the the film did at the box offices but…
-
Like all 80s movies featuring a kid with a terminal illness, the ending is predictable (even if you didn’t know it was based on a true story like myself) but that doesn’t stop it from being very sweet at times. Also a very early role for Diane Lane who is great (and not offensive) playing a teen with cerebral palsy.
-
-
Early Diane Lane performance anchors this touching melodrama about a young teenage girl with cerebral palsy and her quest to become pen pals with Elvis Presley.
Definitely has TV movie-of-the-week feel to it, but worthwhile for Lane’s performance & getting to see a young John Amos.
-
Gus Trikonis’s drama in which a young nurse becomes resolute to reach an insensitive teenage intellectual palsy patient by inspiring her to write to her favourite rock singer, Elvis Presley. Starring Deborah Raffin and Diane Lane.
Adapted from the novel To Elvis, With Love by Lena Canada, the story concerns a nursing learner (Deborah Raffin) who persuades a teenager with cerebral palsy (Diane Lane) to pen to her hero, Elvis Presley.
Deborah Raffin gives an okay performance in her part as Lena Canada, the woman hoping to be a nurse and helps out Karen, while Diane Lane is alright as Karen, the woman with celebral palsy who does write to Elvis Presley. However, there are occasions where the two characters…
-
Roger Corman’s reportedly high opinion of Gus Trikonis is understandable—with Touched by Love Trikonis manages to turn out an emotionally manipulative bit of Elvis hagiography that somehow also often feels delicate and genuine. Raffin is touching in the lead, and Lane’s performance, coupled with her work in A Little Romance and The Fabulous Stains, makes it clear that she was a remarkable teen actor; here her precocity shows itself both in the level of craft and in the good taste she brings to her portrayal of a girl afflicted with cerebral palsy. The supporting cast—John Amos and Michael Learned and above all Clu Gulager—and the real children with disabilities they’re working with help Trikonis to give the movie its low-key,…
-
-
Based very loosely on a true event with Elvis Presley as the girls pen pal. That's about it. The film plays loose and fast with the facts and is more manipulation than honestly poignant.
-
I don't hear anyone talk about Touched by Love anymore but in the early 80s this film used to be on HBO all the time. youtu.be/u3yxbc6OTME It's the true story of a handicapped little girl who sends Elvis Presley a letter and he replies back and they become friends. Diane Lane made her debut in this film and Christina Raines from the Sentinel are the only people I recognize in this film. This film isn't even on dvd heck you can't even find it on VHS, and that's a shame:(
-
Based on the touching true story of a woman who worked with Karen, a young girl with cerebral palsy and encouraged her to write letters to her idol Elvis Presley who eventually wrote back. While the various twists and turns are fairly sappy and predictable, Diane Lane turns in a commendable early performance as Karen. The unfortunate closing titles dedicate the film "to all the Karens of the world"
1980 Ranking:
(141/168)