My Sweet Charlie

My Sweet Charlie is a 1970 American made-for-television drama film directed by Lamont Johnson. The teleplay by Richard Levinson and William Link is based on the novel of the same name by David Westheimer. Produced by Universal Television and broadcast by NBC on January 20, 1970, it later had a brief theatrical release. It is considered a landmark in television films. The film was made on location in Port Bolivar, Texas.

My Sweet Charlie
Videotape cover
Based on	My Sweet Charlie by David Westheimer
Written by	Richard Levinson William Link
Directed by	Lamont Johnson
Starring	Patty Duke Al Freeman Jr.
Theme music composer	Gil Melle
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Bob Banner
Producers	Richard Levinson William Link
Cinematography	Gene Polito
Editor	Edward M. Abroms
Running time	97 minutes
Production company	Universal Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	January 20, 1970 (1970-01-20)

Synopsis

Set during the Civil Rights Movement, Charlie Roberts is a militant African American attorney from New York City falsely accused of murder during a demonstration in rural Texas.

Escaping from his captors, Charlie breaks into a vacant coastal vacation home, where he encounters white Marlene Chambers, an uneducated, prejudiced, unwed pregnant teenager who has been shunned by her father and boyfriend due to her pregnancy and who sought refuge in the vacant home a few weeks before Charlie arrives.

Realizing their survival depends upon their willingness to help each other, their relationship, at first defined by mutual contempt, prejudice, and hostility, slowly evolves into a touching friendship.

Production notes

In 1966, Westheimer adapted his novel for a play that opened at Broadway's Longacre Theatre with Bonnie Bedelia and Louis Gossett in the leading roles. It ran for 12 previews and 31 performances.^[1]

The television production was filmed on location in Port Bolivar, Texas in 1968 and was plagued by almost as many racial tensions as those depicted in the film. According to Patty Duke in her autobiography, her friendship with Freeman led to rumors of an affair. Marijuana was planted in Duke's Galveston hotel room by locals, though it was quickly determined not to belong to Duke. Texas governor John Connally intervened with local authorities to stop harassment of the production company and Duke.^[2]

Principal cast

• Patty Duke ..... Marlene Chambers
• Al Freeman Jr. ..... Charlie Roberts
• Ford Rainey ..... Treadwell

Principal production credits

• Producers ..... Bob Banner, Richard Levinson, William Link
• Original Music ..... Gil Melle
• Cinematography ..... Gene Polito
• Art Direction ..... Robert Luthardt
• Costume Design ..... Charles Waldo

Reception

The film earned very high ratings, with a Nielsen rating of 31.7, an audience share of 48% and a record audience for a TV movie with 18.5 million homes watching.^[3][4]

Both leading actors were nominated for Emmy Awards, and Patty Duke won.^[5]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
1970	NAACP Image Awards	Best Program of the Year		Won	[6]
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Dramatic Program		Nominated	[7]
		Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role	Al Freeman Jr.	Nominated
		Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role	Patty Duke	Won
		Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama	Lamont Johnson	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama	Richard Levinson and William Link	Won
		Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Entertainment Programming – For a Special or Feature Length Program Made for Television	Gene Polito	Nominated
		Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing for Entertainment Programming – For a Special or Feature Length Program Made for Television	Edward M. Abroms	Won
		Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Mixing	Roger Heman Jr., Melvin Metcalfe Sr., Clarence Self, and John Stransky Jr.	Nominated
1971	Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television	Lamont Johnson	Won	[8]