Touched by Love

Last updated
Touched by Love
Touched by Love VideoCover.png
VHS cover
Directed by Gus Trikonis
Screenplay byHesper Anderson
Based onTo Elvis, With Love
by Lena Canada
Produced by Michael Viner
Starring
Cinematography Richard H. Kline
Edited byFred Chulack
Music by John Barry
Production
company
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • April 17, 1980 (1980-04-17)
Running time
95 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.5 million [1]
Box officeN/A

Touched by Love (originally titled To Elvis, With Love) is a 1980 American film directed by Gus Trikonis, starring Diane Lane and Deborah Raffin.

Contents

First released to theaters in April 1980, [2] the screenplay concerns a therapist who tries a novel approach with a girl named Karen who is dealing with cerebral palsy and depression. She encourages the teen-ager to write to her favorite singer, Elvis Presley. Karen eventually receives a reply, and they become pen pals. The interaction leads to an immediate improvement in her daily outlook. The movie was based on the book To Elvis, With Love by the real-life therapist, Lena Canada, in which she presented the correspondence as true.

Interestingly, Raffin was nominated for both a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress — Motion Picture Drama and a Razzie for Worst Actress for her performance. The film also received a second Razzie nomination for Hesper Anderson's screenplay.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Gordon</span> American actress and writer (1896–1985)

Ruth Gordon Jones was an American actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She began her career performing on Broadway at age 19. Known for her nasal voice and distinctive personality, Gordon gained international recognition and critical acclaim for film roles that continued into her 70s and 80s. Her later work included performances in Rosemary's Baby (1968), What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969), Where's Poppa? (1970), Harold and Maude (1971), Every Which Way But Loose (1978), Any Which Way You Can (1980), and My Bodyguard (1980).

<i>Annie Hall</i> 1977 film by Woody Allen

Annie Hall is a 1977 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay written by Allen and Marshall Brickman, and produced by Allen's manager, Charles H. Joffe. The film stars Allen as Alvy Singer, who tries to figure out the reasons for the failure of his relationship with the eponymous female lead, played by Diane Keaton in a role written specifically for her.

<i>Adams Rib</i> 1949 film by George Cukor

Adam's Rib is a 1949 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor from a screenplay written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. It stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as married lawyers who come to oppose each other in court. Judy Holliday co-stars as the third lead in her second credited movie role. Also featured are Tom Ewell, David Wayne, and Jean Hagen. The music was composed by Miklós Rózsa, and the song "Farewell, Amanda" was written by Cole Porter.

<i>Manhattan</i> (1979 film) 1979 film by Woody Allen

Manhattan is a 1979 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen and produced by Charles H. Joffe from a screenplay written by Allen and Marshall Brickman. Allen co-stars as a twice-divorced 42-year-old comedy writer who dates a 17-year-old girl but falls in love with his best friend's mistress. Meryl Streep and Anne Byrne also star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nora Ephron</span> American writer and filmmaker (1941–2012)

Nora Ephron was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing romantic comedy films and received numerous accolades including a British Academy Film Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award and three Writers Guild of America Awards.

<i>Silkwood</i> 1983 film by Mike Nichols

Silkwood is a 1983 American biographical drama film directed by Mike Nichols, and starring Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, and Cher. The screenplay by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen was adapted from the book Who Killed Karen Silkwood? by Rolling Stone writer and activist Howard Kohn, which detailed the life of Karen Silkwood, a nuclear whistle-blower and a labor union activist who investigated alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant where she worked. In real life, her inconclusive death in a car crash gave rise to a 1979 lawsuit, Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, led by attorney Gerry Spence. The jury rendered its verdict of $10 million in damages to be paid to the Silkwood estate, the largest amount in damages ever awarded for that kind of case at the time. The Silkwood estate eventually settled for $1.3 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane Lane</span> American actress (born 1965)

Diane Lane is an American actress. She made her motion picture debut in George Roy Hill's 1979 film A Little Romance. The film that could have catapulted her to star status, Streets of Fire (1984), was both a commercial and critical failure, and her career languished as a result. After taking a break, Lane returned to acting to appear in The Big Town and Lady Beware, but did not make another big impression on a sizable audience until the western miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Lane earned further recognition for her role in A Walk on the Moon (1999), for which she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. This was followed by several film roles of varying degrees of success such as My Dog Skip, The Perfect Storm, The Glass House, and Hardball.

<i>The Big Chill</i> (film) 1983 film by Lawrence Kasdan

The Big Chill is a 1983 American comedy-drama film directed by Lawrence Kasdan, starring an ensemble cast consisting of Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, and JoBeth Williams. The plot focuses on a group of baby boomers who attended the University of Michigan, reuniting after 15 years when their friend Alex dies by suicide.

<i>A Little Romance</i> 1979 film by George Roy Hill

A Little Romance is a 1979 American romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Laurence Olivier, Thelonious Bernard, and Diane Lane in her film debut. The screenplay was written by Allan Burns and George Roy Hill, based on the novel E=mc2 Mon Amour (1977) by Patrick Cauvin. The original music score was composed by Georges Delerue. The film follows a French boy and an American girl who meet in Paris and begin a romance that leads to a journey to Venice where they hope to seal their love forever with a kiss beneath the Bridge of Sighs at sunset.

<i>Tickle Me</i> 1965 film by Norman Taurog

Tickle Me is a 1965 American musical comedy western film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley as a champion rodeo bull rider and bronco buster.

<i>The Jazz Singer</i> (1980 film) 1980 film by Richard Fleischer, Sidney J. Furie

The Jazz Singer is a 1980 American musical drama film directed by Richard Fleischer and produced by Jerry Leider. The film stars Neil Diamond, Laurence Olivier and Lucie Arnaz, and tells the story of a young singer who is torn between tradition and pursuing his dreams as a pop singer. Based on the 1925 play of the same name by Samson Raphaelson, it is the fourth film adaptation, following the 1927 and the 1952 theatrical adaptions, and a 1959 television adaptation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Raffin</span> American actress (1953–2012)

Deborah Iona Raffin was an American actress, model and audiobook publisher.

<i>Compromising Positions</i> 1985 film by Frank Perry

Compromising Positions is a 1985 American film released by Paramount Pictures and directed by Frank Perry. The screenplay, by Susan Isaacs, was adapted from her 1978 novel. The plot concerns a Long Island housewife and former journalist who becomes involved in a murder investigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane McBain</span> American actress (1941–2022)

Diane Jean McBain was an American actress who, as a Warner Brothers contract player, reached a brief peak of popularity during the early 1960s. She was best known for playing an adventurous socialite in the 1960–1962 television series Surfside 6 and as one of Elvis Presley's leading ladies in 1966's Spinout.

Dance of the Dwarfs is a 1983 American horror adventure film directed by Gus Trikonis and starring Peter Fonda and Deborah Raffin. It is based on the 1968 novel of the same name by Geoffrey Household.

<i>I Never Promised You a Rose Garden</i> (film) 1977 film by Anthony Page

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is a 1977 American psychological drama film directed by Anthony Page from a screenplay by Gavin Lambert and Lewis John Carlino, based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Joanne Greenberg. The film stars Bibi Andersson, Kathleen Quinlan, Sylvia Sidney, Martine Bartlett, Lorraine Gary, Signe Hasso, Susan Tyrrell, and Diane Varsi. It follows a mentally ill teen who struggles between fantasy and reality, escaping to her own imaginary world.

<i>Tea and Sympathy</i> (film) 1956 film by Vincente Minnelli

Tea and Sympathy is a 1956 American drama film and an adaptation of Robert Anderson's 1953 stage play of the same name directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by Pandro S. Berman for MGM in Metrocolor. The music score was by Adolph Deutsch and the cinematography by John Alton. Deborah Kerr, John Kerr and Leif Erickson reprised their original Broadway roles. Edward Andrews, Darryl Hickman, Norma Crane, Tom Laughlin, and Dean Jones were featured in supporting roles.

<i>Nightmare in Badham County</i> American TV series or program

Nightmare in Badham County is a 1976 American women-in-prison television film directed by John Llewellyn Moxey and starring Chuck Connors, Deborah Raffin, and Lynne Moody. Its plot follows two female college students from California who, while traveling cross-country, are remanded to a women's prison farm in a corrupt Southern town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leone Lane</span> American actress

Leone Hallie Lane, known simply as Leone Lane or Leona Lane, was an American actress of the silent film era and the time of the early sound films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Selby</span> American actress (1905–1980)

Sarah Elizabeth Selby was an American actress.

References

  1. "AFI Catalog". catalog.afi.com.
  2. "Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 16, 1980". newspapers.com.