What the Deaf Man Heard  

In this Hallmark Hall of Fame production, a young boy (Sammy, played by Frankie Muniz as a child, and Matthew Modine when an adult) pretends to be deaf and mute in a strange attempt to follow his mother's wishes. Spoiled rich brat Tolliver (Jake) considers Sammy a moronic fool who exists to do his bidding.

Jake Store
cover Click here to buy What the Deaf Man Heard from Amazon at a special low price!

A schemer who's always out for a quick buck, Tollie thinks he's going to get away with scamming the church funds. But Sammy's got a surprise for him when he finally speaks up to reveal the truth about the scandal.

Jake, as always, managed to make Tolliver three-dimensional despite some really bad writing and the generally "oh isn't this cute and funny" style of direction.

Here are two images sent to me by Lindsay, a UK-based Jake fan who purchased a press kit for "What the Deaf Man Heard." The kit included a CDROM with images, including the below Jake-esque pics. They depict Tollie as he's trying to get Sammy to burn a bunch of albums by "The Weevils," a fictional version of the Beatles.

Tolliver shows Sammy how to burn things.

Waiting for Sammy to burn the records

Check out the last two pictures, which reveal Tolliver's final realization that he's getting what he deserves in life: disinherited and imprisoned. Jake imbues Tollie with a sudden self-awareness that's genuinely touching.

Deaf Man #1 Deaf Man #2

Deaf Man #3  Deaf Man #4 Deaf Man #5

 Deaf Man #6  Deaf Man #7

 Deaf Man #8  Deaf Man #9

 Deaf Man #10

 Deaf Man #11  Deaf Man #12

 Deaf Man #13  Deaf Man #14

 Deaf Man #15

 

Jake Store
cover Click here to buy What the Deaf Man Heard from Amazon at a special low price!