U.S. Steel Hour: "The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon" (2/22/1961)

[@lizchapman7826]

My grandpa did the music for this. His name was Ralph Norman Wilkenson. I missed him so much today and I did some searching and found this. I am sad and happy at same time. I remember him trying..I wasn't very musical..to teach me piano, I tried though and we had fun together!! Miss u grandpa!

[@ArchieCastle]

I was thinking while I was watching how impressed I was with the music! Your grandpa must have been an awesome gentleman!

[@miapdx503]

How wonderful! I never knew a grandfather, your memories are a treasure. 🌹

[@NovemberReigne]

I am sorry for your loss. Your grandfather was talented and I absolutely loved his music score for this presentation of Charlie Gordon.❤

[@jamesdrynan]

Having seen this TV adaptation and the movie, " Charly, " I much prefer the Keyes' story and book. His choice to show the rise and fall of Charlie's intelligence with first person narration is brilliant. Charting his progress and decline through spelling and grammatical abilities brings the reader fully into the story.

[@Villiago]

Although I think the two adaptations of the book with Cliff Robertson are excellent, the film adaptation with Matthew Modine is my favourite because it is closer to the book. I totally agree it is an excellent book. The semantic and grammatical device, as you point out, works very well in the novel, however a film director and his/her actors must have a different approach to achieve the same immersion for the viewer; so we see Charley on a swing with a look of childish glee instead. It's a trade off in which we still get the point! Charley is a good person regardless of his Intelligence Quotient. Best wishes Villiago

[@qownson4410]

@@Villiago Some people forget this short film came out before the book. It inspired the writer to make the actual book because the short story became such a hit, and this short film was a huge success, which inspired Cliff Robertson over the course of 8 years to get a team of capable people to make an actual full length film almost all of his own effort and money. The Matthew Modine version is my favorite, but the movie Charly has some extremely good moments too.

[@Fred-mp1vf]

Based on the short story, "Flowers for Algernon", by Daniel Keyes (fiction). Also a 1968 film called "Charly", which is on KZbin.

[@KennethSloan]

Read the novel in high school and saw the movie. Loved them both. Robertson won the Oscar for his performance in "Charly" Daniel Keyes taught at Ohio University for many years. I was accepted to Ohio U, but backed out because they had dropped their architectural department. I wonder what would have happened if I had had Mr. Keyes in one of his writing courses.

[@lloydbotway5930]

I was a student at Tufts University when they were filming the 1968 movie version, "Charly," on campus. I saw Robertson a few times, but more interesting was the entire process of filming. I didn't realize it had been a TV production. This version is better, but the written story is best.

[@SenorZorrozzz]

Flowers for Algernon. It was a short story, this live tv play, a play, and a movie.

[@acaryadasa]

I like this better than "Charly". Although I did really enjoy "Charly's" Ravi Sankara soundtrack.

[@nicholasjanke3476]

Cliff Robertson later won whole new audiences when he played Spider-Man's uncle (Spider-Man's dad must have married a much younger lady, if Spider-Man-at age 17-has an 80 year old uncle!)

[@NovemberReigne]

Peter Parker was adopted by his Uncle Ben and his wife when he was a baby, Uncle Ben was like a father to him too.

[@nicholasjanke3476]

In the short story and film there's a long plot development of Charly educating himself, but here Charly just goes from low intelligence to scientist in a snap of the fingers!

[@miapdx503]

They had so little time...

[@filipeferpe]

here in brazil the pioneer tele-theater was lost forever. videotape comes in brazil TV in 1963.

[@jimvinespresents...8463]

Excellent. Great performances.

[@kenthefele113]

What I expected: An adaption of Flowers for Algernon What I got: Flowers for Algernon and STAINLESS STEEL

[@davidmay8104]

Mid 20th century US when steel industry was still strong.

[@scarrenomattinglyfan7534]

awesome! THANK YOU!

[@stevenfrasier5718]

The "Teleplay Adaptation". Brilliant format! ~S

[@Chocolatesonnet]

For something that was made in 1961 and performed to the standards of 1961 America this was very good. Remember in 1961 the expanded book form of "Flowers For Algernon" didn't exist yet. Cliff Robertson was wise to buy up the movie rights to make "Charly" 7 years later, after he missed out on the movie version of "Days of Wine and Roses."

[@antoniod]

This is probably better than the movie.

[@proto-geek248]

It isn't

[@antoniod]

Interesting that they added a ray of hope for Charlie at the end, which I don't think is in the book, and certainly isn't in the movie.

[@antoniod]

Yes, in the book they make it clear that as a side effect of the operation is to smooth out the brain, Charlie will only turn into a vegetable and die. Too bad.

[@fromthesidelines]

Cliff purchased the screen rights to Daniel Keyes' story, and insisted the downbeat ending be retained in the 1968 movie.

[@antoniod]

@Veronica A. I have no idea, but Robertson began shooting an unfinished film in the 70s or 80s where Charley gets his intelligence back.

[@toddmoore4349]

@@antoniod Hi Steve, any idea where to find information on that unmade film? According to IMDB apparently there was a sequel that was not so serious in the 70's where Charly was chasing out bad guys from his town using kung fu, lol. None the less, Ive always admired Robertson's commitment to this film and try to find as much info I can on it.

[@elonimran3013]

i guess I'm kinda off topic but does anyone know of a good place to stream newly released tv shows online ?

[@Mark-td5ux]

The mind of Mr Soames showed how hard it is to relearn.

[@nicholasjanke3476]

Cliff Robertson did an episode of the Twilight Zone-playing a mentally disturbed stage performer who believes his dummy is talking to him, which later became a film called Magic with Anthony Hopkins.

[@wmbrown6]

The "Gunslinger" promo at the end was V/O'd by Bill Gilliand.

[@j.woodbury412]

I noticed that when the operation started to take effect, he held the pen differently when he worked the maze. Before the operation and for a while after the operation, he held the pen with his fist when he worked the maze, but when he did the maze again and finally beat Algernon, he held the pen the correct way, with his fingers. I wonder if that was in the script, or was it something Cliff Robertson came up on his own to signify that the operation was taking effect. Like in the movie "Charly", before the operation, he wrote left handed, but after the operation, he started writing right handed. I guess writing left handed was so his handwriting would look more like childlike scrawlings.

[@Mark-td5ux]

Never knew of this pre telemovie.

[@Lordmij]

My mom was 7 when this came out lol

[@claudiodigregorio4315]

Script by James Yaffe. It doesn't get any better than that. Yaffe's whodunits were of the best kind. I wish they were better known these days.

[@mihairaah8131]

do you have any idea where I can find the script?

[@fromthesidelines]

Jaffe wrote many scripts for the "U.S. STEEL HOUR".

[@DeadeyeTacitusKilgore]

I read this in school. My old classmates were sad do to his fate(and algernon's *****)

[@thebull3206]

Wow, never knew this existed, first read the short story in 1978 after seeing the film - which has some weird, psychedelic filler in it at one point, if I recall - not sure how much better the novel could have been, as sometimes less is more. Mona Freeman seems an odd choice here, though.

[@j.woodbury412]

I liked the short story much more than the novel. The novel had some sexually explicit material in it that the short story didn't have, which I felt was unnecessary.

[@Mr5lapp]

Ahh young cliff

[@aceyirl]

Just finished the book, and I can say, ALWAYS READ THE BOOK. The adaption was no where near close the the emotional and psychological depth of what a 9 hour listen on YT can be. Do yourself a favor and read the book. Start seeing all people as people too.

[@proto-geek248]

🙄

[@nicholasjanke3476]

The short story is seen all from 'Charly's' prospective (Rosemary's Baby is seen from Rosemary's prospective, Planet of The Apes is mostly seen from the astronauts prospective, A Clockwork Orange is seen from the thugs point of view, )

[@roberthurd328]

I've seen a lot of movies based on this excellent actor to pick for the part made of great impression to me growing up and to be honest I think Jim Carrey the actor can play this part with no problem if he does something such as that it would be a great honor to watch it

[@roberthurd328]

We are Beyond those things that are such

[@miapdx503]

"A simple, safe operation." Brain surgery that had never been performed. 😅 "Whenever you learn something, it seems as if you lost something." We read, we learn, we lose our innocence. We lose our ignorance...hence the expression, ignorance is bliss.

[@sethhalpern3375]

Today we'd be having violent arguments over whether the sponsor was a fanatically woke corporation or a racist purveyor of eugenics.

[@DeadeyeTacitusKilgore]

"Operashun" - C.G

[@michaelmitchell5098]

Gerald O from The Rookies!!!

[@jrt818]

Stainless steel has made something of a comeback. It comes from China mostly. Don't expect US Steel to make a comeback though.

[@roberthurd328]

In my lifetime right now I can identify with the character in this movie because it's something I have to deal with because of the Love canal I'm biologically altered just enough to be like one of those rats in the maze but I have attributes that no one believes in but those who are affected by it are saved by theft or mishap

[@michaelhoffman5486]

sorry bout love canal my friend

[@nicholasjanke3476]

The 1968 film and short story were FAR superior to this! Though it is interesting that this version ends with a suggestion that Charly might one day regain his intelligence. It's also interesting how in the film the filmmakers changed the character of the love interest. I did not like the scenes of the scientists agreeing to kill the mouse for dissection! Sorry but that scene I didn't like at all!

[@j.woodbury412]

I agree. I like that they implied that there might might a chance that he could regain some of his intelligence, even if he didn't regain all of it. But I don't think being a super genius was what he really wanted anyway,. I think he just wanted to be smarter than he was so he would feel more "normal"

[@davidvalensi8616]

The ending to this is hopeful, something missing in the movie, the movie said he went back to what he was, and that's it. The whole dissection part could have been handled differently, they could have had Algernon die naturally and then done the dissection, but maybe they were thinking people would wonder why Charly didn't die. He was even implying in that scene he was a subject for dissection, which is rougher than the movie ever got.

[@nicholasjanke3476]

@@davidvalensi8616 In the movie Cliff Robertson played Charly like a genuine mentally challenged man-at least in the early scenes. But in this episode he just plays,Charly more like a simpleton than a mentally handicapped person (all the critics agreed that in the movie sequence where Charly becomes a hippie-that Cliff Robertson looked really silly running around with long hair and a beard! For another interesting Cliff Robertson film check out Man ON A Swing-a creepy, semi horror type thriller)

[@dorryhaha]

7b.

[@shawnburnham1]

43:00

[@clevelandphil]

He was more tardy in the movie.

[@mistercool3859]

True. In this adaptation, Cliff Robertson plays Charly as an adult. In the movie, he plays Charly as child-like. But I guess the change paid off because Robertson got an Oscar for his movie performance.

[@dtmania]

Tardy?

[@mistercool3859]

@@dtmania He was referring to the movie version of Charly having more visual signs of mental retardation than the Charly in this television program.

[@proto-geek248]

Yes "tardy". It's a term used by ignorant assholes.

[@Mark-td5ux]

😅😅😅😅😅

[@lutyywmenfk6346]

sexual jokes 11:40