''A Father for Charlie'' (alternate title: ''High Lonesome''), is a

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

that premiered on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

on January 1, 1995. The film was directed by

Jeff Bleckner Jeff Bleckner (born August 12, 1943) is an American theatre, television, and film director. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Bleckner made his directorial debut off-Broadway with ''The Unseen Hand/Forensic and the Navigators'', an evening ...

and written by H. Haden Yelin. It stars

Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (May 27, 1936 – March 29, 2024) was an American actor. He made his stage debut at the age of 17. Shortly thereafter, he successfully auditioned for the Broadway theatre, Broadway play ''Take a Giant Step.'' Gossett co ...

as Walter Osgood, the only black farmer in the highly-prejudiced town of High Lonesome in the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

, at the height of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

in 1932. Despite the racist abuse he endures from the townspeople and the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

, Walter forms an unlikely friendship with Charlie, the 10-year-old son of his white tenant farmer.

Cast

as Walter Osgood *

Joseph Mazzello Joseph Francis Mazzello III (born September 21, 1983) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Tim Murphy in ''Jurassic Park'', Roarke Hartman in '' The River Wild'', Eugene Sledge in the HBO miniseries '' The Pacific'', Dustin ...

as Charlie * James Greene as Sam *

Don Swayze Donald Carl Swayze (born August 10, 1958) is an American character actor, noted for acting in dramatic series and soap operas as well as several feature films, and theatrical work. Early life Swayze was born in Houston, Texas, the middle child of ...

as Reuben Cantwell * David Hart as Woodrow *

William Lucking William Lucking (June 17, 1941 – October 18, 2021) was an American film, television, and stage actor, best known for his role as Piney Winston in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–2011), and for his movie roles in '' The Magnificent Seven Ride!'' ( ...

as Argus *

Jack Kehler Jack Kehler (May 22, 1946 – May 7, 2022) was an American character actor. He was best known for his role of Marty, a landlord in ''The Big Lebowski''. He also appeared in ''Men in Black II'', '' The Last Boy Scout'', ''Point Break'', ''Wyatt Ea ...

* Mark Cabus *

Patrick Labyorteaux Patrick Francis Labyorteaux (born July 22, 1965) is an American actor. In many of his earlier credits, his last name is spelled as "Laborteaux". He is best known for his roles of Andrew "Andy" Garvey on the NBC series ''Little House on the Pra ...

as the Postmaster *

William Fichtner William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. Born in New York, he started his career with supporting appearances in '' Virtuosity'' (1994), ''Heat'' and '' Strange Days'' (both 1995). A prolific character actor in film, ...

as the Sheriff *

Evan Rachel Wood Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987) is an American actress. She is the recipient of a Critics' Choice Television Award as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. She began acting in the 1990s, a ...

as Tessa

Production

''A Father for Charlie'' was filmed in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

Critical reception

Marion Garmel of ''

The Indianapolis Star } ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, whe ...

'' gave the film a favorable review, writing that it has "a wonderful spunkiness that makes you cheer for the human spirit." Also giving the film a positive review in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', Ray Loynd praised Yelin's writing for "turn ngmaterial that appears to be dangerously fraught with sentiment and giv ngit thrust and life." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''s Alan Rich found the film highly unoriginal, but noted that " e very predictability lends the viewers a comforting caress." John Voorhees of ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'' praised Gossett Jr.'s performance which he felt made the film worth watching. ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''s Sid Smith thought the portrayal of racism was "heavy-handed," but found the film "ultimately irresistible."

Ratings

''A Father for Charlie'' earned a 14.8 national

Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...

, equalling 14.1 million households, making it the eighth highest-rated

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

program for the week of December 26, 1994 to January 1, 1995. In terms of total viewers, the film was the sixth most-watched prime time program with an audience of 22.9 million.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Father for Charlie, A 1995 television films CBS films Films about racism in the United States Films about the Ku Klux Klan Great Depression films Films set in 1932 Films shot in California Films directed by Jeff Bleckner Films scored by David Shire Films set in the Ozarks