A Father for Charlie
{{Short description|1995 television film by Jeff Bleckner}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| caption =
| genre = Drama
| director = Jeff Bleckner
| writer = H. Haden Yelin
| starring = {{plainlist|
}}
| country = United States
| language = English
| executive_producer = {{plainlist|
- Katie Jacobs
- Pierce Gardner
- Louis Gossett Jr.
- Hillard Elkins
- Dennis Considine
}}
| producer = Patricia Finnegan
| location =
| runtime =
| camera =
| cinematography = Alan Caso
| editor = Alan Shefland
| music = David Shire
| company = {{plainlist|
- Jacobs/Gardner Productions
- LoGo Entertainment
- Finnegan Pinchuk
}}
| network = CBS
| released = {{start date|1995|1|1}}
}}
A Father for Charlie (alternate title: High Lonesome{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7eeb5643|title=High Lonesome (1995)|publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=August 20, 2022|archive-date=August 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820075415/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7eeb5643|url-status=dead}}), is a television film that premiered on CBS on January 1, 1995. The film was directed by Jeff Bleckner and written by H. Haden Yelin. It stars Louis Gossett Jr. as Walter Osgood, the only black farmer in the highly-prejudiced town of High Lonesome in the Ozarks, at the height of the Great Depression in 1932. Despite the racist abuse he endures from the townspeople and the Ku Klux Klan, Walter forms an unlikely friendship with Charlie, the 10-year-old son of his white tenant farmer.
Cast
- Louis Gossett Jr. as Walter Osgood
- Joseph Mazzello as Charlie
- James Greene as Sam
- Don Swayze as Reuben Cantwell
- David Hart as Woodrow
- William Lucking as Argus
- Jack Kehler
- Mark Cabus
- Patrick Labyorteaux as the Postmaster
- William Fichtner as the Sheriff
- Evan Rachel Wood as Tessa
Production
A Father for Charlie was filmed in Southern California.
Critical reception
Marion Garmel of The Indianapolis Star gave the film a favorable review, writing that it has "a wonderful spunkiness that makes you cheer for the human spirit."{{cite news|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/240115270|title=Gossett shows spunkiness in 'A Father for Charlie'|work=The Indianapolis Star|first=Marion|last=Garmel|date=December 29, 1994|page=C.5|via=ProQuest|access-date=August 19, 2022|id={{ProQuest|240115270}} }} Also giving the film a positive review in the Los Angeles Times, Ray Loynd praised Yelin's writing for "turn[ing] material that appears to be dangerously fraught with sentiment and giv[ing] it thrust and life."{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-12-31-ca-14829-story.html|title=TV Review: 'Father for Charlie': Gritty and Touching|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 31, 1994|first=Ray|last=Loynd|access-date=August 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820055002/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-12-31-ca-14829-story.html|archive-date=August 20, 2022|url-status=live}} Variety{{'}}s Alan Rich found the film highly unoriginal, but noted that "[t]he very predictability lends the viewers a comforting caress."{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1994/tv/reviews/a-father-for-charlie-1200439598/|title=A Father for Charlie|work=Variety|date=December 29, 1994|last=Rich|first=Alan|access-date=August 19, 2022|archive-date=August 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819150600/https://variety.com/1994/tv/reviews/a-father-for-charlie-1200439598/|url-status=live}} John Voorhees of The Seattle Times praised Gossett Jr.'s performance which he felt made the film worth watching.{{cite news|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/384187355|title=Two Worthwhile Movies Give New Year a Good Start|work=The Seattle Times|first=John|last=Voorhees|date=December 29, 1994|page=D8|via=ProQuest|access-date=August 19, 2022|id={{ProQuest|384187355}} }} Chicago Tribune{{'}}s Sid Smith thought the portrayal of racism was "heavy-handed," but found the film "ultimately irresistible."{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-12-30-9412300050-story.html|title=Coming Together|work=Chicago Tribune|first=Sid|last=Smith|date=December 30, 1994|access-date=August 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819163408/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-12-30-9412300050-story.html|archive-date=August 19, 2022|url-status=live}}
Ratings
A Father for Charlie earned a 14.8 national Nielsen rating, equalling 14.1 million households, making it the eighth highest-rated prime time program for the week of December 26, 1994 to January 1, 1995.{{cite web|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/388706107|title=Football Games Lead Nielsen List|author=Associated Press|work=Sun-Sentinel|date=January 6, 1995|page=5.E|access-date=August 20, 2022|id={{ProQuest|388706107}} |via=ProQuest}} In terms of total viewers, the film was the sixth most-watched prime time program with an audience of 22.9 million.{{cite magazine|title=The week|last=Fretts|first=Bruce|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=January 20, 1995|issue=258|page= |pages=44–45|issn=1049-0434}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=tt0113040|title=High Lonesome}}
{{Jeff Bleckner}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Father for Charlie, A}}
Category:1995 television films
Category:Films about racism in the United States
Category:Films about the Ku Klux Klan
Category:Great Depression films
Category:Films shot in California
Category:Films directed by Jeff Bleckner