This is, as promoted, simply a nice story about a really good guy: a deaf mute who helps some people and, in the end, desperately needed someone to help him.<br /><br />Alan Arkin is memorable as the deaf mute and Sondra Locke, in her first screen role, also shines as the second lead. A pity Locke was never given roles this meaty since then. Percy Rodriguez also is memorable here.<br /><br />Since this is good storytelling, from a best-selling book by Carson McCullers, all the characters here stand out. It's not a fast-moving film yet it is an involving story in which the viewer winds up caring about these people. Yes, the ending is sad and shocking but, in this case, a good ending because it makes you reflect more on what perhaps you and I neglect to do: to remember that everyone needs encouragement from time to time, even the encouragers.<br /><br />This movie a throwback to some of the nice films of the 1940s, except that, despite being rated "G," there were several instances of profanity in here, including one usage of the Lord's name in vain. Still one for the whole family.