What the Deaf Man Heard

What the Deaf Man Heard is a 1997 Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie that aired on CBS television on November 23, 1997. It concerns Sammy, a boy who pretends to be deaf and mute, when in reality he can hear and speak perfectly well. The movie starred Matthew Modine and James Earl Jones. Young 10-year-old Sammy Ayers and his mother Helen are on a bus trip. During a stop, his mother ventures into a bar, while Sammy is asleep on the bus. She is then assaulted as the bus leaves. At the last stop in Georgia, he is woken up and realizes that his mother has disappeared. He takes to heart her... warning to "keep quiet." He is taken in by the bus station manager, Norm, and informally adopted by Lucille as the entire small town looks after him. As Sammy grows to adulthood, he pretends to be deaf and mute as a self-protective device. Over a 20-year period, he hears many secrets and confidences. However, when he hears something harmful he decides to take action, to protect the townspeople who have become his family, revealing his secret. The Ira Gershwin/Kurt Weill song "My Ship" is heard at the end of the film, as Sammy listens to a music box.
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