''A Long Way Home'' is a 1981 American

made-for-television 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 ...

drama film directed by

Robert Markowitz Robert Markowitz (born February 7, 1935, in Irvington, New Jersey, Irvington, New Jersey) is an American film and television director. He directed episodes of ''Serpico (TV series), Serpico'' (1976), ''Delvecchio (TV series), Delvecchio'' (1976- ...

, written by Dennis Nemec, and starring

Timothy Hutton Timothy Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees#Youngest winners 4, youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he ...

Brenda Vaccaro Brenda Buell Vaccaro (born November 18, 1939) is an American stage, film and television actress. In a career spanning over half a century, she received one Academy Award nomination, three Golden Globe Award nominations (winning one), four Primet ...

, and

Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film '' The Executioner's Song'' (1982) and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for th ...

. The film was nominated for two awards at the

40th Golden Globe Awards The 40th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1982, were given on 29 January 1983. Winners and nominees Film The following films received multiple nominations: The following films received multip ...

in 1982.

Plot

As children, Donald, David and Carolyn are abandoned by their parents and placed in

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family mem ...

by the government. About a decade later, Donald becomes determined to find his missing siblings. He has no idea where they are. A female counselor at the foster care breaks the rule and assists Donald in finding his long separated brother and sister who are now full adults.

Cast

as Donald Branch Booth *

as Lillian Jacobs *

as Rose Cavanaugh *

Paul Regina Paul Joseph Regina Jr. (October 25, 1956 – January 31, 2006) was an American actor and occasional screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Cliff Waters in the sitcom ''Brothers'' (1984–1989), as well as his roles as Felix Echeverria in ...

as David Branch Czaky * John Lehne as Riggins *

George Dzundza George Dzundza ( ; born July 19, 1945) is a retired American actor. He is known for his varied work in film and on television, including '' The Deer Hunter'' (1978), '' Skokie'' (1981), '' No Way Out'' (1987), '' The Beast'' (1988), '' Impulse'' ...

as Floyd Booth *

Bonnie Bartlett Bonnie Bartlett Daniels (born June 20, 1929) is an American retired actress. Her career spans about seven decades, with her first major role being on a 1950s daytime drama, '' Love of Life''. Bartlett is known for her role as Grace Snider Edwar ...

as JoAnn Booth *

Wil Wheaton Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor and writer. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', Gordie Lachance in the film ''Stand by Me (film), Stand by Me'', ...

as Donald Branch (Child) *

Brendan Klinger Brendan may refer to: People * Saint Brendan the Navigator (c. 484–c. 577), Irish monastic saint. * Saint Brendan of Birr (died 573), Abbot of Birr, County Offaly * Brendan (given name), a masculine given name in the English language Other uses ...

as David Branch (Child) * Neta Lee Noy as Carolyn (Child) * Lauren Peterson as Carolyn (Adult) *

Floyd Levine Floyd Levine (born February 23, 1932) is an American film and television actor. Career He played Dr. Ralph Harris in the 1978 film '' Bloodbrothers''. He also played Gen. Duncan in the 1988 film '' Braddock: Missing in Action III'' and Lt. Me ...

as Judge Sosna

Reception

Reviews

The film received reviews from sources including

Tom Shales Thomas William Shales (November 3, 1944 – January 13, 2024) was an American writer and television critic. He was a television critic for ''The Washington Post'' from 1977 to 2010, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1 ...

of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

'', and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* 1981 television films 1981 films 1981 drama films Films directed by Robert Markowitz American drama television films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub