Charly (1968)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Ralph Nelson

Writers:

Daniel Keyes (short story "Flowers for Algernon")
Stirling Silliphant (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 September 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A less than ordinary man is turned into a genius. He awakens to an exquisite love experience, but at an impossible price for CHARLY

Plot:

A retarded man undergoes an experiment that gives him the intelligence of a genius.

Plot Keywords:

Experiment | Genius | Mouse | Intelligence | Scientist

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Cliff Robertson	...	Charly Gordon
Claire Bloom	...	Alice Kinian
Lilia Skala	...	Dr. Anna Straus
Leon Janney	...	Dr. Richard Nemur
Ruth White	...	Mrs. Apple
Dick Van Patten	...	Bert (as Richard Van Patten)
Edward McNally	...	Gimpy (as Skipper McNally)
Barney Martin	...	Hank
William Dwyer	...	Joey
Dan Morgan	...	Paddy

Also Known As:

The Two Worlds of Charly Gordon (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | UK:PG | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Boston City Hospital - 818 Harrison Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

ABC Pictures

Trivia:

Cliff Robertson saw more than one TV production he'd starred in turned into hit movies with other actors (such as Days of Wine and Roses (1962)), so when he starred in the 1961 "The United States Steel Hour" (1953) production of "The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon," based on the novel "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes, he bought the rights and later was responsible for turning that story into this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Charly is riding the tour bus past Boston University the Marsh Chapel on the campus passes the bus window twice.

Quotes:

Convention speaker #5: Modern science.
Charly Gordon: Rampant technology, conscience by computer.
Convention speaker #1: Modern art.
Charly Gordon: Dispassionate draftsmen.
Convention speaker #4: Foreign policy.
Charly Gordon: Brave new weapons.
[laughter]
Convention speaker #1: Today's youth.
Charly Gordon: Joyless, guideless.
Convention speaker #6: Today's religion.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

A beautiful film

"I want to be smarter, just so I could get a little closer, you know?" Charly Gordon

Made in the days when doctors smoked cigarettes, this is Cliff Robertson's brilliant portrayal of a man isolated from society by an IQ of 69 who through a brain operation becomes a genius.

Robertson won a well-deserved Oscar for Best Actor in 1968 for his part in this wonderful and inspiring film, and it's a great movie, albeit on a "b-movie" budget. But entwined in its message is a dark reflection on how society treats people who are mentally handicapped.

Charly is the nicest guy you would ever meet, considerate of all, kind, but simple and naïve. Everyone around him either laughs at him or is condescending toward him. No one sees him as a man, not even a human being, just whatever they label him as - "dumb-assed janitor", or just plain "moron". Then he gets his operation and becomes the smartest man on Earth, but still he is labeled, and still he is isolated.

What I got most from this film is not a clinical study of mental retardation but the way society deals with mental retardation, and in this the film soars, and it will bring a tear or two if you have even a bit of humanity. It is a wonderful film, on many levels, testing us all on how we deal with those who are so unfortunate as to be mentally handicapped.

In "Charly", society doesn't win in the end, but the movie does! 9 out of 10.